Category Archives: Uncategorized

This week on Georgetown Time Machine, GM is returning to the fantastic archive of the Historical Society of Washington, DC. The photo is of the old streetcar barn that once stood where the Georgetown Park mall is.

You may not realize it, but just about the entirety of the mall footprint was once a giant streetcar storage facility. You can see from this map near the turn of the 20th Century:

You can see how this facade looks today: Continue reading →

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GM was mistaken in reporting the English Rose closed back a few weeks ago. They simply moved to yet another new location after leaving 1251 Wisconsin Ave. They’re now on the alley behind this location, 1251 Congress Ct., to be specific.
• Reminder that Volta Park Day is this Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm.

Cady’s Alley

Riccardi Clothier is a suit shop at Wisconsin and O. It’s been there since about 2015, when it relocated from M St. And it’s business story is one of repeated miracles.

For you see, there have been multiple times when the store was about to close. They had signs up and everything. Here is the store in April 2016 when they were clearly in the final stages of a store going out of business:

Despite facing the end, somehow a miracle occurred and the store stayed in business.

Then, despite this amazing recovery, the storm clouds appeared again in July, and sadly they had to put the signs back up announcing the closure all over again:

And yet, miracle of miracles, the store stayed open.

This was not the first time Riccardi had a brush with imminent closure only to defy the odds and stay open. For instance, when it was on M St. way back in 2011, they announced with the same signs that they were about to close: Continue reading →

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Vornado, which redeveloped the mall, sold its last property in Georgetown, the Nike Store building.
• The candidates vying to replace Jack Evans debated last week.

3100 block of Dumbarton St.

The ANC will meet for its October session next Wednesday at 6:30 pm at its normal location, Georgetown Visitation. (Please note the odd day of week; the Commission would usually meet on Mondays, but due to Rosh Hashanah the meeting is being shifted to Wednesday).

The agenda has a couple of interesting items for foodies:

The first is a presentation by the District Department of General Services regarding the Georgetown Market building (i.e. the former Dean and Deluca). The building is actually owned by the District (it was built by the City of Georgetown and transferred to the District when Georgetown was dissolved). It is under a 99-year lease that is currently held by Jamestown (which purchased the Georgetown Park nextdoor). Under federal law, the building has to be used as a market. It is GM’s understanding that the city intends to hold Jamestown to that requirement and that Jamestown will need to get the city’s approval before leasing the building. GM does not know, but he speculates that DGS will be at the ANC meeting to discuss this process. We’ll see! Continue reading →

Photo by Daniel Lobo.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Father of former Georgetown student sentenced to four months in jail as part of the admissions scandal.
• Next weekend, the shops of Book Hill will be holding a fall market. The weather forecast looks like it might actually be a little chilly! Finally!

Montrose Park

This week on Georgetown Time Machine, GM visits Herring Hill, the traditionally African American quarter of east Georgetown. The photo comes from the collection of Charles W. Cushman, held at the Indiana University archives. (And thank you to the fantastic Old Time DC group for locating it).

The photo is marked as being on 28th St., but it’s actually on 27th St. The homes look quite a bit different now:

The photo was taken September 24, 1940. According to the 1940 Census, the home at the center, the one with the woman standing in the doorway, was occupied by the Washington family:

It’s possible that the woman in the doorway is Josephine Washington, the head of the household. She lived there with her mother, brother and sister, and also her three sons, a niece, a cousin and a boarder. She was 27 years old. Continue reading →