The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GU still recording over 100 covid cases a week.
• Former Key Bridge Exxon site possibly heading to foreclosure.

GM’s back with another Tiktok video. This time it’s a countdown of the ten oldest shops in Georgetown. Ennjoy!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Takeout Tuesday today is Mason’s lobster rolls and the new Noosh restaurant in upper Georgetown.
• Great shot of a steam engine idling by the Georgetown waterfront.

A notable commercial property has hit the market. The L’Enfant Gallery building at the corner of Wisconsin and P is for sale. The asking price is $7.25 million.

Here is a description from the listing:

Historic Commercial/Residential Space For Sale! Rare opportunity to own 19th Century landmark property on one of the most prominent corners in historic Georgetown. Three story Italianate style building with 10 foot ceilings on each above ground level . A lower level large basement is used for storage. For many years the building included residential space with multiple two-bedroom units. Presently two floors are used as gallery space. The top floor has been converted into a spacious two Bedroom apartment flooded with natural light streaming from the walls of windows. The building has been featured in several Hollywood movies due to its optimum setting and noted architecture such as eight sets of double Palladian windows with sweeping views across the city. Whether residential or commercial use, the location is in the heart of Georgetown with excellent traffic. First time on the market in 25 years. Building is a mixed use property and can be used as commercial, residential, or both as it is currently set up.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Live in an old police station.
• Thinking about buying or selling a house this year? Here’s some advice from Georgetown brokers.

This edition of Where the Streets Had Old Names, GM is tackling one of the oddest old street names in Georgetown: Road Street. But sadly he couldn’t get to the bottom of it.

Road Street is what is now known as R St. It became R at the same time the other streets changed over in the 1890s. (Although starting in the 1880s, it was already getting called R St. occasionally.)

But what an odd name. Road Street. What could explain this redundant name?

The first thing to note is that it was called Road Street seemingly from the very beginning. There is an act of the City of Georgetown in 1808 referring to the roadway with this name:

That’s notable because being such a northern street for Georgetown, it was very much the backwoods of the neighborhood at the time.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Are you concerned about the situation with Ukraine and Russia? Come to the next Q & A Cafe Feb 22 for a talk with Margaret Brennan of CBS on the topic.
• Great photo of a streetcar passing the old Georgetown Theater in the 1950s.