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The mural honoring JFK’s speech at Berlin that was being painted last week on the side of 3401 Water St. is complete. The allusion to Kennedy’s speech is now clearer, with the phrase “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” now written.

Other than the text, the mural has added quite a dash of color since GM first saw it being painted. (And, no, the phrase doesn’t really mean “I’m a jelly doughnut“). It’s quite attractive now. Continue reading →

Photo by Joe Flood.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Always fun to see old photos of the waterfront and remember just how different it used to be.
• Bank of Georgetown is getting the band back together.

Georgetown Waterfront

Washingtonian magazine published a piece last week about an interesting project that uses Wikipedia data to identify the most famous person associated with each city, town, and (in some cases) neighborhood. For Georgetown, that person turns out to be John F. Kennedy. While this comes at no surprise, it doesn’t answer a more interesting question: who is the most famous person who’s actually from Georgetown?

GM doesn’t have a definitive answer, but he’s got a couple candidates:

Olivia Wilde

Olivia Wilde is a successful television and Hollywood actress, most famous for her role on the medical drama House. She has also performed on stage and even directed a recently released movie (Booksmart).

Wilde was born in New York, but raised in Georgetown. She is the daughter of Andrew and Leslie Cockburn, DC-based journalists and prominent socialites. (Leslie Cockburn ran unsuccessfully for Congress representing Rappahannock County, VA last year). She attended Georgetown Day School for high school.

Rostam Batmanglij

Rostam Batmanglij is a musician most famous for being in Vampire Weekend, a group he helped form at Columbia University. In that band he contributed significantly towards the group’s sound by handling keyboards and backing vocals. He split with the band in 2016 and is now a solo artist performing simply under the name Rostam.

Like Wilde, Batmanglij is also the child of talented parentage. His mother is Najmieh Batmanglij, who is a famous cook and author specializing in Iranian cooking. The family lived on 35th St. (the house just sold for $3 million). Batmanglij also attended Georgetown Day School Potomac School. Continue reading →

Photo by Bill Starrels.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GM noticed that the fountain is finally on at the waterfront.
• A large building with lots of retail had been planned for the parking lot across from Cafe Milano. But construction never started, and now the developers are pitching a much more residential-focused project.

Key Bridge

Photo by Bill Starrels.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• How an Irishman became the whiskey chief at Ri Ra, by way of Atlanta.
• 31st St. bridge closing for a year and a half starting next week.