The Georgetown Metropolitan

This time last year, GM was discussing how the relatively new pandemic would impinge on your ability to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. And while he is not about to tell you that you can enjoy it as you might have in the past, things are looking brighter on several fronts. And there’s nothing more Irish than to look for the bright side of a dark cloud. So without further ado, here is a slightly modified version of GM’s annual St. Pat’s article giving you a guide to enjoy the day around Georgetown:

As you may know, during the early 20th century, parts of Georgetown were heavily Irish. The center of it was on the west side, close to the Catholic landmarks of GU, Trinity and Visitation.

The Irish concentration is long gone, but with the help of old photos you can imagine the ghosts still walking the streets. In the 30s, photographer Carl Mydans walked through the poor and heavily Irish blocks of west Georgetown and captured the scene of children treating the sidewalks as their playroom:

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Photo by Jeff Vincent.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• G2 weekend bus service has been restored.
• GU reports just 22 individuals testing positive for Covid this past week in its community, a drop of 80% since the school’s late January spike. Hopefully NCAA watch parties won’t throw off the progress!

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:

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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 →