The Georgetown Metropolitan

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 →

Photo by Jeff Vincent.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A year ago, the first positive Covid case was Christ Church’s Rev Tim Cole. He looks back on what the year has taught him.
• Covid positive numbers from the GU community ticked down again last week.

Montrose Park

A new stationery store is coming to 1355 Wisconsin Ave. It’s called Duly Noted.

The shop would be the only location for the new store. It will offer paper goods, cards, gifts and similar products:

Continue reading →

Photo by Jeff Vincent.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Sandlot beergarden aiming to open by summer.
• Coronavirus numbers continue to be high in Georgetown, likely largely due to is spreading among young adults.

3300 block of Volta Pl

Photo by Vincent.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Fancy mattress store opening on Cady’s Alley.
• The battle over the Transformer sculptures.

1500 block of 33rd St.

Over a year ago, at a time when the Coronavirus was only just starting to make national news, WMATA proposed to severely degrade the quality and quantity of bus service to and through Georgetown. GM detailed the proposals here and here. Luckily those proposals were pulled back later that spring, but they have returned again with a vengeance.

Briefly, the proposals last year could be boiled down to these:

• Merge the D2 with the G2
• Eliminate all fully crosstown trips on the 30 series buses
• Eliminate the D5 and the D1

All of these proposals are being put forward again in some fashion (read GM’s articles from last year to see exactly why they’re so bad). However, things are worse for the G2. Last year, WMATA proposed for the G2 to be essentially grafted on to the eastern end of the D2. This year it is simply calling for it to be eliminated entirely. So not only would there be no bus service through the west village any more, there would be no more bus options to take you east of Dupont Circle.

But that’s not the worst of it.

WMATA is now proposing to completely eliminate the D6. It proposes to replace it with a new N6 route that would largely follow the D2 route through Georgetown and up through Glover Park. Notably it would not get any closer to GU Hospital than 35th and Reservoir. No bus would go to GU Hospital anymore. Patients would have to walk nearly half a mile from the hospital to the bus stop in front of Duke Ellington. Continue reading →