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Today on Georgetown Time Machine, GM floats you above the Key Bridge looking north. There are actually few changes between then and now, but GM will try to point some out.

The first question is when is this from? The DDOT page from where this came doesn’t say. But it comes from a series that appears to be from the early 1960s. The arrangement of the ramps off the Whitehurst would be consistent with that.

One significant difference from today is the Car Barn. It is a building that has changed dramatically over the years. When it was first built it looked like this: Continue reading →

Photo by Daniel Lobo.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Very distressing news! The Current Newspapers have filed for bankruptcy protection. Hopefully they’ll be able to right the ship, but it’s a grim outlook.
• The Cat Cafe goes BYOB.

Potomac River

Sitting there, staring at the ever falling mercury, you’re probably really looking forward to spring. And you should! But GM wants to take today to consider what other things we can look forward to around Georgetown this coming year. Here they are:

Dumbarton Oaks Gardens Reopen

While we were able to walk around Dumbarton Oaks’ gardens through the springtime last year, since the beginning of summer the gates have been closed to the public. The gardens are undergoing a significant and long overdue modernization. As they explained last year:

The time has now come to undertake large-scale improvements to the garden’s water supply network, which dates to the garden’s original creation in the 1930’s. We are therefore obliged to close the gardens to the public from July 10, 2017 to March 15, 2018.

If they are still on schedule, the March 15th opening will be just in time to enjoy the spring fireworks (although it may miss the peak of the forsythia, which depending on the spring can happen before then). There really is no more beautiful spot in DC in springtime than Dumbarton Oaks, and this year we’ll be able to enjoy the summer and fall there again.

Canal to Get Water Again

The work on the canal lock at 30th St. is scheduled to be completed this year. Once it does, the water will be allowed to refill the canal once more.

In a small way this will be a shame, since the dry canal has actually turned into quite an ecosystem. (Although don’t mention the word “wetland”, because if it turns into that, due to EPA regulations they could be prevented from refilling it, or at the very least it would become a much more administrative burdensome task to accomplish). Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Not really Georgetown news, but lots of Georgetowners (like GM) will be sad to hear that Johnson’s garden center is closing.
• How Arthur Cotton Moore changed DC (and Georgetown).

Cashell Alley

GM knows that this is the time of year when parents of young children looking to make plans for next fall start applying to nursery schools. And with that in mind, please consider GM’s heartfelt recommendation: the Children’s House of Washington.

The Children’s House of Washington (or C.H.O.W.) is a Montessori school located in the Dumbarton Methodist Church right here in Georgetown. It doesn’t get quite the same attention as some of the other nursery schools around Georgetown, but GM’s daughter graduated from there last spring after three wonderful years, and he can say with confidence that it was absolutely one of the best decisions he (and Mrs. GM) made for her. Continue reading →

Photo by Ron Cogswell.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• MPD weighs in on the obvious: Don’t call 911 to report people riding dockless bikeshare bikes.
• It’s approximately negative zero outside, so why don’t you stop by this regular Havana party to warm up?

3400 block of Volta Pl.

Now that it’s been below freezing long enough, GM wanted to republish his annual article reminding everyone that skating on the canal is legal. Granted, the canal is dry through Georgetown nowadays due to the lock work, but further west the canal has some water, so grab some skates and explore!

As the days finally get colder, GM starts to think back to his childhood days skating on a tiny frozen pond behind his friend’s house in Connecticut. (The fact that the pond was only about 25 feet across helps explain why GM never really learned to stop on skates; he hardly had room to start). It was this nostalgia for outdoor skating that led him to wonder: why not build a waterfront rink? GM’s question was answered in the affirmative shortly afterwards when MRP Realty announced plans to bring an ice rink to the Washington Harbour.

But that won’t get built in time for this winter (ed: obviously that’s not true anymore!). And what if you want to skate on a natural body of frozen water? Well we’ve already got one of those: the C & O Canal.

While it hasn’t been cold nearly enough for the canal to freeze yet this winter, by late January, February at the latest, it should ice over. And guess what? You are allowed to skate on it if you want. GM just assumed the NPS would prohibit such a fun activity since, lets face it, they can kinda be killjoys. But according to C & O Canal National Historic Park:

It’s that time of year and weather when Park visitors may go ice skating.

The ice skating issue is addressed in the Park’s rules (reprinted in the C&O Canal NHP Volunteer Manual):

“Ice skating is permitted at your own risk park-wide, except where prohibited by signage.” Continue reading →