The Georgetown Metropolitan

This week on Georgetown Time Machine, GM looks to the opening of a new gym on GU’s campus from 1906.

The photo appeared in the Washington Times November 11, 1906. The caption reads:

Interior of Recently Opened Gymnasium Which Is Expected to Be a Big Boost for All Sports at the Old University

The gym was named Ryan Gym, after benefactor Ida M. Ryan. Here is a clearer photo of the inside from GU’s archives taken four years later:

The balcony seen above the floor was actually a hanging running track, a feature you often see in gyms from the era. But it posed a serious problem for basketball players, as recounted in GU’s archives:

Note the elevated running track around its perimeter which created shooting problems for the basketball players. A ‘Hoya’ article of January 10, 1940, reports the track’s removal and notes: “This structure had long been a hindrance to basketball players . . . as students know, it was impossible to make a shot from the corner of the court as the ball was blocked by the overhanging balcony.”

Georgetown played home basketball games here from 1915 until 1931. They played at other locations around DC, including Uline Arena, until the construction of McDonough Gym in 1950. Continue reading →

Photo by Vincent.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice review of Lutece, the former Cafe Bonaparte.
• Great old photo of the Georgetown waterfront after a flood.

Potomac River

For a neighborhood that is not known much for live music anymore, Georgetown has an incredibly rich history of it. Whether it’s Mile Davis recording at the Cellar Door, John Denver debuting “Take Me Home Country Roads” at the same venue, or Roberta Flack getting her start at the Georgetown Mr. Henry’s before getting her own venue at the Capitol Hill spot, Georgetown has a lot to brag about. But another legend–one who died before her time–staked her place in Georgetown music lore: Eva Cassidy.

Cassidy was a DC-based singer songwriter who worked in jazz, blues and folk. After a successful stint working with the great Chuck Brown, Cassidy looked to record as a record to launch her career as a solo artist. She brought her band to Blues Alley a few days after New Years Day 1996 and recorded over two nights. The result was Live at Blues Alley.

Sadly, Cassidy died eleven months later. But her story didn’t end there. A British radio deejay plucked one of her albums from relative obscurity and played it. The public responded with huge enthusiasm, picking up 100,000 copies. Her posthumous success took off even more when a video from her appearance at Blues Alley of her singing her signature tune, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, hit the British airwaves. Her album sales skyrocketed, eventually reaching millions of copies sold. By 2005, Amazon was listing her as the fifth highest selling artist of all time.

The video above is a documentary on Cassidy’s nights at Blues Alley, the place it all kicked off. It’s well worth your watching.

Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• How did the old streetcar from Georgetown to Glen Echo get around the Delcaria reservoir?
• Double digit numbers of people in the GU community still testing positive for coronavirus each week.

Montrose Park

At last week’s ANC meeting, BID CEO Joe Sternleib gave a presentation on the state of retail in Georgetown. During his presentation he displayed an updated version of the BID’s list of recent closings and openings.

The list above (click on it to enlarge) shows 63 shops and restaurants that have closed over the past year or so. That’s about twice the rate Georgetown normally sees. That’s obviously bad news, but in a way it’s good news in that it’s only twice as bad. Given the devastation that the pandemic has wrought on commercial activity, it could be a lot worse.

On an even more optimistic front, Sterneib put up a slide showing recent and future openings too: Continue reading →

Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• More on how GU plans to punish any medical students who got the Covid vaccine when they shouldn’t have.
• Wisemiller’s shifting to cookie delivery to maintain their business during the pandemic.

2900 block of R St.

The New York Times published an absolutely fascinating map this week gathering election data from every election precinct they could from across the country. It shows at a glance how each precinct voted, and more interestingly, how that vote differed from 2016. Georgetown’s map reflects a slight shift towards Trump for east Georgetown. While this is true in a sense, drilling down into the numbers tells a slightly more complicated story.

First off: in either event the vast majority of Georgetowners voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020. Here are the vote totals for the combined precincts for each election:

• 2016
  • Clinton – 4355
  • Trump – 578
• 2020
  • Biden – 4393
  • Trump – 697

While Trump added over 100 more votes across Georgetown from 2016 to 2020, Biden added almost 40. So across the neighborhood, the voters nudged towards Biden. Continue reading →