The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by Jacquesofalltrades.

The DC Board of Elections is strongly encouraging voters to vote by mail for the upcoming elections. And these will be consequential elections for Georgetowners, so you should act now to ensure that you take advantage of this procedure.

There used to be a time when you needed an excuse to vote absentee. But DC has long joined many jurisdictions across the country in letting you vote by mail with no excuse. And now we all have a great excuse anyway! For the elections in June, DC will only be opening only 22 voting centers (normally it’s 144). So you will be well advised to use the mail option. Continue reading →

Photo by Olaf Zerbock.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• In case you were wondering, despite the fire in the meat department Monday night, the Safeway was open yesterday (although had a bit of a smokey smell).
• After being patient zero for DC, the Christ’s Church pastor gave a virtual Easter service.

1200 block of Potomac St.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, GM is visiting a beloved, lost part of Georgetown history: Neam’s Market.

This photo is from the Historical Society of Washington, DC and is apparently from an unknown photographer from the 1970s or 80s. When GM saw it in the collection, he was unsure what he was looking at.

All it had was the street and block number. GM was surely aware that Neam’s once was at the location of the former Marvelous Market, but didn’t realize the configuration was so different. The entrance was on P St. and the short extension by the parking lot was not there yet.

Long term residents surely remember it this way, though. The market is legendary for them. It once stocked the kitchens throughout the neighborhood with fine goods and groceries. Sadly it closed in 2000. Shortly afterwards Marvelous Market opened in the space, but closed in 2014. GM can hardly bring himself to write that a goddam Chase Bank now occupies the space. Hopefully it will eventually close, like the HSBC, but we’re many years away from that. At least the old-timers have memories, the rest of us old photos…

Photo by Streets of Washington.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Cellist serenades her neighbors with Bach.
• Small fire in the Safeway meat department yesterday.

1500 block of 33rd St.

It’s starting to be wisteria season. So it’s especially sad that we cannot get in to Dumbarton Oaks to see their garden’s amazing collection of this stunning vine.

To help alleviate the pain of that somewhat, GM is gathering as many of his photos of Dumbarton Oaks wisteria here as he can find in his collection (many with his daughter through the years!). Let it be a small reminder of what we’re missing out, and a promise for better springs in the future:

Continue reading →

Photo by Lisa Palmer.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• There’s a Facebook group for Georgetown’s own teddy bear safari.
• George Conway stealing GM’s bit.

3200 block of Volta Pl.

Georgetown has become absolutely inundated with bank branches in recent years. As of last week, there were 18 of them open in the neighborhood, with no signs that we’ve remotely flattened the curve on them. Well perhaps there is now a glimmer of hope: the HSBC has closed.

The now former branch, located at 1715 Wisconsin Ave., is probably closing as a result of the bank’s decision to trim 30% of its branches. (This slimming was announced even before the COVID-19 pandemic.) Would that other banks would follow them! Continue reading →