The Georgetown Metropolitan

This week on Georgetown Time Machine, GM is exploring a photo of a tiny church that once stood along the canal just outside Georgetown.

The photo, from the DCPL archives, is undated. The only information was written on the back of the photo: “unidentified church on towpath above Georgetown. B.Thompson, purchase. Rec’d: May 1, 1945.” This date listed is likely the date that B. Thompson purchased the photo, and not the date of the photo. But GM will see what he can do to put a rough date and location for it.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GU students take a mass pledge to marry each other should they get really desperate.
• What inspires one of the Georgetown GLOW artists.

Taking a break from manufacturing tires, Michelin issued its 2021 Bib Gourmand list for DC, and Georgetown was largely left off it.

The list is Michelin’s attempt to identify restaurants that offer exceptionally good food at moderate prices. (So, not quite good enough for the famous Michelin star designation). This year’s list includes 41 restaurants. And like last year, there is only one for Georgetown: Das.

No restaurants in Georgetown have any Michelin stars. Two restaurants, 1789 and Fiola Mare, are on Michelin’s third tier list, Plate Michelin.

So, no much love from the tire folk! Domage…

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Wisteria at Dumbarton Oaks really making a strong case for ponying up for the season pass right now…
• A nice history of the B&O rail spur that eventually became the Capital Crescent Trail.

This week on Georgetown Time Machine, GM is revisiting the Willard R. Ross postcard collection for a snapshot along the canal.

The photo is dated August 31, 1918, and is titled “One Bachelor Two Benedicts”. And the photo helpfully points out which one is the bachelor and which are the “benedicts”. This was a term GM was unfamiliar with, but it apparently was used to refer to married men who had been a bachelor for a long time. According to Merriam-Webster, it has Shakespearian roots:

Benedick is the chief male character in Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing. Throughout the play, both Benedick and his female counterpart Beatrice exchange barbed comments and profess to detest the very idea of marriage, but the story eventually culminates in their marriage to each other. As a result, Benedick’s name came to be applied to men who marry later in life. The spelling was changed to benedict, possibly by association with a use of benedict meaning “bachelor” (although the evidence for this use is scant). Some early 20th-century usage commentators regarded the respelling as incorrect with regard to the etymology, but benedict has become the established spelling nevertheless. These days “benedict” is fairly uncommon and most typically encountered in historical sources and references.

The postcard gives no information for who these men are, and why their marital status is worth noting.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Baked and Wired hits 20 years. Who remembers it when it wasn’t even known for cupcakes?
• An arrest was made of a man suspected of committing homicide on Water St. last November.