The Georgetown Metropolitan

Four years ago, GM documented all the shops and restaurants that had been holding on in Georgetown for at least 30 years. Surprisingly, the list came to 23.

It’s been a tough four years for Georgetown shops and restaurants, with rents continuing to climb before the pandemic impacted everyone. But surprisingly, only one of the old timers closed over that time period: J. Paul’s. And this closure was born more of Capital Restaurant Concepts winding down than a drop in business or a landlord dispute. And among the old timers, J Paul’s was actually one of the younger establishments, having opened in 1983.

The oldest shop on GM’s list in 2017 was Scheele’s, which opened in 1894. But he egregiously overlooked W.T. Weaver and Sons, which has operated in Georgetown since 1889. GM also missed Ristorante Piccolo, which opened in 1986, La Chaumiere, which opened in 1976, Bicycle Pro Shop, which opened in 1958, and Wisemiller’s, which opened in 1953. And at least one shop has reached the age of 30 since 2017: Georgetown Frame Shoppe was opened 1989.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, GM is exploring an absolutely lovely photo of an earlier incarnation of the P St. Bridge.

The photo comes from the DCPL archives and came to GM’s attention by way of the fantastic Old Time DC Facebook group. It shows the bridge in the late 19th century.

Riding across the top is a horse-drawn trolley. It would have likely been from the Metropolitan Railway, which operated from 1864 until being acquired in 1902. It ran cars along the green lines below:

It was the Metropolitan that constructed the trolley lines along O and P St. that are still visible (albeit in reconstructed form).

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• ICYMI: What did they do to F. Scott’s?!
• Great color shot from the 1950s.

There are too many damn banks in Georgetown. And until recently, it felt like it was a one way ratchet; more and more opened, but none ever closed. But then hope arose last year with the closing of HSBC. And now hopefully that glimmer will bloom into a trend with the news that M & T Bank is closing as of next week.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Fitzgerald’s opens in the former F. Scott’s space. (Shame to see the old Art Deco F. Scott’s replaced with what looks like just another Clyde’s).
• This is one of GM’s favorite houses, and it could be yours for a measly $8.5 million.

The ANC will meet for its July session next Monday night via Zoom at 6:30 pm. This is the last meeting of the ANC until September due to the annual August break.

The agenda is, frankly, pretty dry. It’s mostly just small construction projects. However, one item might get a bit more spicy: the proposal to build a semi-permanent beer garden on the site of the former Latham Hotel. The proposal calls for a 300-seat outdoor dinning and drinking area located on the northern half of the 3000 M St. property. This property has been in a state of suspended construction for years as various plans fall through. At one point it was going to be a micro-unit apartment building. More recently it’s been pitched as a hotel once more. But in either event, nothing is moving forward on that front any time soon. That’s where the beer garden comes in, as a way to use the space while a final plan is generated.

A 300-seat beer garden seems genetically designed to bring out livid residents complaining about the angry neighbor trifecta of parking, noise, and trash. But GM thought similar concerns would derail the Sandlot proposal at the intersection of M and Pennsylvania, and that went through. So who knows, maybe this has a chance?

Although the complaints will likely revolve around ABC-related issues, the matter is only now being considered by the Old Georgetown Board for its architectural impact. But then again, that never prevented non-architectural concerns from derailing a project in this venue!

Here is the full agenda: