The Georgetown Metropolitan

Tudor Place

The most beautiful gardens in Georgetown are finally getting ready for their close up again. GM has learned that Dumbarton Oaks is targeting a mid-April reopening of their gardens.

Exact details have yet to be announced, but the public’s return to these grounds will provide a huge psychological boost as we enter the bell lap of this horrible pandemic.

A mid-April opening would mean we’d miss a couple of the early highlights of the spring, including the Plum Walk, the saucer magnolias, and, of course, the cherries:

Continue reading →

Photo by Jeff Vincent.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Coffee shop with mission to employ people with disabilities is opening in the old Calvin Klein Underwear space.
• Great article on the impact the pandemic had on Georgetown retail.

Dumbarton Oaks

Photo by Jeff Vincent.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown in the 20s.
• Interview with the CEO of Foxtrot on what to expect with the Georgetown store.

Potomac River

Photo by Bill Starrels.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice look at Georgetown Butcher, a year after they opened with the worst timing imaginable.
• Georgetown Glow returns in April.

This week on Georgetown Time Machine, GM is visiting a school he only just learned about: the Threlkeld School.

Recently, GM went through a list of all the current and historic schools in Georgetown and where their names came from. But he missed this school building and only learned about it while searching through old newspapers.

The photo above comes from the DC Public Library archives and shows the school at some unknown date. (Although it is likely no later than 1935, since the same photo appeared in a newspaper that year.) The school was on the northeast corner of Prospect and 36th. It was constructed in 1868 and was a public school. It was named after John Threlkold, the fourth mayor of Georgetown. Continue reading →

Montrose Park

GM has a bit of a green thumb and a mild obsession with trying to identify plants and trees. It’s why he started his series on street trees. Well recently a friend told him about a smartphone app that can be used to do the IDing for him, and it’s pure sorcery. If you’re like him, you might want to check it out.

The app is called Picture This and its free to download and use. You just open it up, snap a picture of the plant or tree’s leaves and literally seconds later you get an accurate answer. (And no, this isn’t a sponsored post or whatever. GM is not getting paid to say this.)

For example, GM noticed this attractive small tree in front of a house last week. He had a few guesses at what it was, but wasn’t sure. After snapping a photo he found out almost instantaneously: it’s a cherry laurel. Also recently, GM wanted to finally figure out the name of an unusual plant that has been mysteriously growing in one of his flower pots for a couple years. (Turns out it’s a lemon tree, which is crazy since GM never planted a lemon seed.) Continue reading →