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It’s the summer doldrums, and GM is getting ready for his vacation so this week please enjoy a rerun of his Field Guide to Georgetown Homes:

If there’s one constant in Georgetown real estate listings, it’s that every house, no matter its shape and style, is described as “Federal”. The problem is that only a small percentage of homes in Georgetown could fairly be described as “Federal”.

Georgetown represents a cross section of 19th century architecture. It has buildings of just about every major style from that time period. To help his readers better appreciate the wealth of architectural styles in Georgetown, GM is going to take a shot at writing a field guide to Georgetown homes.

First up: Colonial and Federal Homes

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Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Angelina Jolie is not teaching at GU next year, despite rumors.
• The Peet’s Coffee shop is supposedly set to open next month (based on the state of the construction, GM is skeptical they’ll meet that date).

Photo by Catherine Shyu.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• If there was a lot of security presence at the waterfront last night, it’s because President Obama had his birthday dinner there.
• Scary attempted sexual assault on 35th St. Tuesday night.

C & O Canal

This week on Now and a Long Time Ago, GM is taking a different tack. In searching for old postcards of Georgetown, he found one that confused him. It said it was Billy Martin’s restaurant, but it looked nothing like how the tavern looks today. Could it have changed that much?

Looking closer GM realized that the name of the establishment was “Billy Martin’s Carriage House Restaurant”. A little more digging confirmed that this was a totally different restaurant opened by the same Billy Martin. And it was just up the street in the building seen here. Continue reading →

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Kojo does the gondola.
• What the future might hold for the Key Bridge Marriott.

1000 block of 33rd St.

The National Park Service has recently release an environmental assessment of the proposed “Non Motorized Boathouse Zone”. This report moves us ever so slightly closer to the construction of new boathouses along the Potomac in and near Georgetown.

History of Boathouses on the Potomac

Curtesy of the Potomac Boat Club.

Boathouses have long been on the Potomac in Georgetown. There were once as many as six along the shore. The first was the Potomac Barge Club, founded in 1859. The club built the boathouse seen above at what is now 31st and K St. In 1908 they sold that location and moved to where the club (which was renamed the Potomac Boat Club) now sits.

Just up the river from this 1908-built boathouse is the only other historic boathouse still around, the Washington Canoe Club:

Continue reading →

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Robbers hit Morgan’s Pharmacy but only get couch syrup.
• If Georgetown University weren’t exempt from taxes, they’d owe $9 million a year (which actually is less than what GM would’ve thought).