Category Archives: Not So Long Ago

This week on Not So Long Ago, GM stops by Wisconsin and Dumbarton. GM’s not going to pretend this is an interesting flashback; the only thing that changed was the name of the bank and the awning color. But the history of American Security Bank is kind of interesting!:

American Security Bank was founded in 1889 in Alexandria, Virginia, as a banking and trust concern, operating a branch in the District of Columbia at 1419 G Street, NW; the following year it reincorporated in the District and moved to 1405 G Street. It was the second trust company established in the District and the first to offer a woman’s department. By 1903 business had grown to the extent that a new location was once again sought. The present location (a block from Lafayette Square and part of the Lafayette Square Historic District) was selected, and construction began in 1904. The design was praised in the banking press, and it was featured in The American Architect and Building News in 1905. The building now houses a branch of Bank of America as a result of the latter’s merger with NationsBank, which purchased MNC Financial in 1993. MNC had purchased American Security Bank in 1987 but continued to operate it under the original name. Due to its location immediately north of the Treasury Building the building appeared on the back of the ten dollar bill for many years,[5] a fact exploited in advertising with the slogan “right on the money.”

It’s too bad this building continues to be occupied by a bank (as several of the more prominent corners of Georgetown are). Banks provide little in the way of street life and with online banking becoming more dominant, bank buildings are becoming even more unnecessary. Hopefully someday Bank of America will clear out and something more interesting will move in.

GM’s still a little busy unpacking from the move, so he’s going to keep this Not So Long Ago brief. This week GM stays on the upper end of Wisconsin Ave.

For expedience sake, GM will reprint what he wrote about these two places a few weeks ago:

On the right of P.O. Boxes Etc., it appears that in 1993 the space was empty. At some point the Indian restaurant Curry Club opened up there. This restaurant stayed open until a few years ago. In its place a Korean restaurant called Arisu opened up. GM passed Arisu a million times without going in. Finally he stopped by, somewhat out of pity for the apparently struggling restaurant. And it was very, very good food. GM was resolved to stop by more often, but sadly they closed a few weeks later. The space sat empty for a long time until Shanghai Lounge moved in earlier this year. What GM would love to see would be a restaurant that fused all three of those styles, Indian, Korean and Chinese. Mmmmm…..

Beyond that space, you can’t quite see it in the 1993 photo, but as we’ll see in a later edition, Bistro Lepic’s space was occupied by Greek Port, a Greek restaurant. The French favorite moved in in 1995 and has obviously been there ever since.
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