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This week for Know Your Trees, GM is going to highlight a tree people start to notice this time of year. They notice and wonder about this tree so much that GM publishes the same article every year explaining them and it’s always one of his most read articles of the year. So this year he’ll fold it into his new tree series.

Have you ever seen the weird green brain-like fruit and wondered what it is? They are Osage oranges, grown by Osage trees.

You don’t find Osage trees randomly around Georgetown. They are only in Volta Park and Montrose Park. Even without the dozens of large fruits on the ground, you can recognize an Osage by the bark. It has a yellowish and chunky texture like this:

These trees are prevalent in the Great Plains states, where they are often planted along hedgerows. Traditionally, the pliable but strong nature of this tree’s wood made it valuable for fence posts and archery bows. Continue reading →

Photo by Mark Andre.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GM attended a party over the weekend where he learned that the guest house was rumored to have been used by JFK for his affairs. This is at least the second building that GM has heard such a tale about, which would call it into question if it weren’t so likely that JFK probably had lots of places around town like that.
• Man arrested in West Virginia for Georgetown murder.

1300 block of 29th St.

The historic Francis Scott Key Bridge is undergoing a significant restoration process. It is essential for the long term survival of this 1923-built landmark for this work to be done. But at the same time, the city is contemplating adding architectural lighting to the bridge. You now have a chance to weigh in on that.

Since the bridge is a protected landmark and the project involved federal money, the city needs to go through the Section 106 process. And part of that process is a public meeting at the Georgetown library on September 27th, 6-8 pm.

So what is being contemplated? The proposal–which first surfaced in the Georgetown 2028 report–would call for upward facing spotlights near the base of the bridge.

Right now at night the bridge below the top is completely dark. Of course the ambient light around means it’s not pitch dark, but the details are certainly obscured. Continue reading →

Photo by Olli Thompson.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice writeup of the Water St. decision by the ANC last week.
• This “Georgetown” home is so non-traditional that it’s actually in Burleith.

Georgetown Waterfront Park

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, GM shifts over to the southwest corner of Georgetown. Specifically, the photo above is an aerial photo looking down at where Canal Rd. and Foxhall Rd. merge.

Dating this photo is remarkably easy since the date is in the upper left corner. It’s April 3, 1963. It was a Wednesday.

Some fun things upon closer inspection:

The B&O Freight railroad was still running, so where today the Capital Crescent Trail is, the railroad tracks were:

There’s a small boathouse structure on the water. GM’s not sure what it is. It’s up river from where the Washington Canoe Club was (and is).

Speaking of railroad tracks, the Glen Echo trolley tracks were still around. The cars had last traveled them only 15 months earlier: Continue reading →

Photo by Olli Thompson.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Some other thoughts on the waterfront sculpture.
• GM would rather have the frozen yogurt place back, but this new salon seems fine too.

Georgetown University

The above photo does not quite do justice to just how crazy the new abstract sculpture that is being built next to Sequoia is. You really have to see it in person.

It is 40 feet tall and consists of a rigid three pointed frame adorned with what appears to be refuse from a spray paint factory. Continue reading →