The Georgetown Metropolitan

Last week, the City Tavern Club put out for permanent display a photograph of Alfred Delaney Clarke. Clarke, along with several generations worth of family members, was an enslaved resident of the building in the decades leading up to the Civil War when it was host to the Georgetown Hotel. The photo is the only known photo of any resident of the historic tavern building.

The photo was in the possession of descendants of Clarke, seventeen of whom were present for the dedication last week:

Clarke and his family were enslaved by Eleanor Lang, who ran the hotel from 1832 until 1865. This relationship first began when Lang purchased two teenage girls in the 1820s. She would ultimately enslave no fewer than eleven members of Clarke’s family.

The connection between the tavern building and the Clarke family has been rigorously researched by Yvette LaGonterie (who is also one of the members of the family). She gave a fascinating talk at the City Tavern Club in the weeks before Covid hit. (It was probably the last time GM was in a crowded indoor space!) The club itself has actively welcomed and encouraged this research and this display is part of its own reckoning with its past. Or as Mary Beth Torpey, president of the club, stated in the event’s press release “it is through the Clarke lineage that we collectively can honor and appreciate the full story of the building’s past.”

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Developer pitches idea to redevelop some properties on Water St., only truly waterfront homes in DC.
• GU to soon require all visitors to be fully vaccinated.

A lot of people know that Dumbarton Oaks is beautiful in the spring. But GM likes to issue this annual reminder that it’s also quite lovely in the fall:

Dumbarton Oaks is well known for its spring displays of incredible seasonal bounties. But people often overlook how spectacular the acres of gardens are in the fall. Hurry up and catch it now before it’s gone.

But here’s just a taste. The wildflowers of the Herbaceous Border are breathtaking:

The rest of the garden is at that magical moment when the gardeners loosen their grips and the plants give off one more explosion before the winter:

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Trail construction threatens historic black cemeteries.
• Beautiful vintage sketch of Georgetown from Rosslyn.

Since early August, the 7-Eleven at the corner of O and Wisconsin has been closed by order of the Department of Health. However it is completely unclear what the violation was nor whether the store is attempting to remedy it.

When GM inquired with the Department of Health for information about the closure, he was directed to the agency’s online record database. But when he searched for the order, none came up. There are plenty of orders relating to 7-Elevens around the city, but none are for this particular location. So GM can’t say what the actual violation was, nor any records that indicate that 7-Eleven is trying to fix it.

Browsing records for other stores, it looks like common violations include things like not keeping warming trays warm enough, or refrigerators cold enough. For instance, at their location at 1315 2nd St. NE, they were cited in November of last year for failing to, among other things, “have proper eating, tasting, drinking or tabacco use”, “receive food at proper temperature”, and “wash fruits or vegetables”. That location continued to display some bad behavior during the agency’s follow up inspection three weeks later. But ultimately no further action appears to have been taken.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GM was told by a tipster that despite losing by country mile last year, Jack Evans indeed is planning on running for the Council next year.
• A dog was briefly stuck on top of the Haagen Dazs sign yesterday.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, GM is exploring another Ebay postcard find. Like last week, the subject appears to be trails through the forest that once stood on the northern edges of Georgetown University’s campus.

This card dates from 1905. It shows a road through the woods that is not terribly helpfully titled “Road Through the Trees, Georgetown University”. Given the subject of last week’s card, GM is guess that this too is the Walk (or the Walks). But given the date, it could be any number of possible areas around that once bucolic campus.

The note is a simple and charming glimpse of life pre-telephone: “Dear Papa: We arrived in Washington at 6:30 o’clock so far all o.k. Your son Arthur.” It is dated August 22, 1905.