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GM was taking a pleasant stroll through Dumbarton Oaks Park yesterday, and for no other reason than that everyone should know about the park, and people should pitch-in to help it out, GM felt like restating his love of the park today.

History

Dumbarton Oaks Park is twenty-seven acres of wilderness and Italian romanticism, all hidden away in the northern boundaries of Georgetown. It, along with the Dumbarton Oaks mansion and gardens formed the original Dumbarton Oaks estate.

Robert and Mildred Bliss bought Dumbarton Oaks in 1920. They soon after hired Beatrix Farrand–an influential landscape architect who had already established her reputation with her work at the White House and the National Cathedral–to reshape the gardens and grounds of the estate.  Farrand, for her part, had studied extensively the Italian renaissance style of gardens and brought that expertise to bear on her work for the Blisses.

While the gardens and grounds immediately around the mansion are quite formal, Farrand’s plans for the land that ultimately became Dumbarton Oaks Park were rustic and natural. In fact, according to Historic American Buildings Survey, much of the natural landscape of the park predated Farrand’s work there. In other words, Farrand made her work accommodate the nature she found there, rather than vice versa. Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A peek inside Jackie Kennedy’s former house.
• Baked and Wired will be featured on an upcoming WETA series.

Montrose Park

Photo by Ehpien.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Kojo waxes nostalgic for Hoya bball days of yore.
• Check out the BID’s twitter stream for a list of what Georgetown establishments made the Washington City Paper’s list of Best Of.

Last night GM was eating take out pizza with his daughter when around 7:30 a constant stream of fire engine sirens got him curious enough to investigate. He quickly found about seven fire trucks and a few ambulances tending to a smoking fire at 1510 Wisconsin Ave.

When GM arrived there was still smoke coming out a hole in the roof of the building. Soon firefighters worked their way inside and helped put down whatever was smoldering. They smashed the glass windows on the second floor in the process.

While the fire did not appear to be major, Luigi Parasmo next door was filled with smoke (and you could smell the smoke from the blocks around).

All in all, while there will certainly be damage to repair, it does not appear that anyone was harmed. Continue reading →

Photo by Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• If you want to eat healthy, and you’re loaded, the Four Seasons has some great news for you.
• What $6,000/mo gets you in Georgetown (and other places)

Dumbarton Oaks Park

This week for Now and a Long Time Ago, GM visits P and Wisconsin. The old photo again comes courtesy of the fantastic Old Time DC (which GM highly encourages you to follow!).

The scene is supposedly 1959, and shows some fantastic relics. Like the last edition, the most obvious site is the PCC streetcar chugging up Wisconsin. If you zoom in the photo, you can see at the far right where the streetcar would switch from getting power from the slot on the ground to overhead wires. Here’s a shot looking south from a block up:

As for the rest of the shot, you can make out quite a bit. Starting in the distance, you can just make out what appears to be a Texaco sign at what is now the Shell gas station.

The streetcar obscures the view of the shops south of Volta (but the Phoenix was there having been opened a few years before). Moving down to the corner of P St., the first visible shop is something called “Ann’s Kitchen”. According to her 1980 obituary, Ann R. Taylor owned and operated the shop from 1948 to 1959 (i.e. supposedly the year of the photo). According to the obituary it was a location “where gourmet fare as the very best cheeses, hopies, croissants, and espresso machines were sold.” Although she sold gourmet foods, apparently it wasn’t necessarily her cup of tea. She once told the Post “I frankly can’t understand why snails are so popular. They taste like little pieces of old rubber to me.” You and GM both, Ann… Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Great long profile of Nancy Taylor Bubes, a Georgetown original.
• Mayor proposes budget that still supports streetcar extension to Georgetown.