The Georgetown Metropolitan

Let’s first get this out of the way: The reason there is no Metro stop in Georgetown is two-fold: technical difficulties from the hardness of the bedrock and the proximity of the river meant a station would be infeasible; and at the time the Metro planners were laying out the system, Georgetown was not enough of a population or job center to justify working out a solution to the feasibility problem.

This explanation is the one settled upon by Zachary Schrag, the unofficial historian of Metro. As you will see below, this is a conclusion shared by those who were actually involved with the planning. You will note that it does not include any reference to Georgetown residents thwarting the station in order to keep out minorities. Yet, this is an incredibly common belief, enough so to qualify as one of the great urban legends of the District. (Alongside such chestnuts as the reason there’s no J St. is that Pierre L’Enfant hated John Jay.)

An obvious explanation for where this urban legend came from and why it persists is that it so conforms with what many people think of Georgetown residents. “Of course Georgetowners stopped Metro to keep out minorities, that’s just the sort of thing Georgetowners would do”, goes the reasoning. This probably explains why the legend persists, but there’s a bit more to the story of where the legend came from in the first place.

No Contemporaneous Mentions

GM researched the archives of the Washington Post and the Washington Star, looking for contemporaneous mentions of local opposition to a Metro stop in Georgetown. Throughout the period of the planning of Metro (i.e. the 1960’s through to the systems opening in 1976) GM could not find one example.

Early mentions of the absence of a Metro stop in Georgetown reflect the truth, namely that it just was either too difficult or not a high enough priority. In an August 23, 1977 article, the Washington Star answered some frequently asked questions about the still relatively new system. One was about Georgetown:

Later in 1978, the absence of a Georgetown station is described more as a quirk than a conspiracy. The article in the Washington Star, describes a theater troupe from New York traveling around Metro to promote the new night service:

(It’s possible that there is discussion of resident opposition in the archives of the Northwest Current or the Georgetowner, both of which were published at the time, but GM did not have an opportunity to search those archives.) Continue reading →

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The story of how a man who tried to kill Napoleon lived out his days in Georgetown.
• Lots of Georgetowners have weekend homes out in the countryside, but do any have them in the suburbs?

Rock Creek

The new Trader Joe’s is opening this Friday. The grocery store, located just north of Georgetown at Wisconsin and Whitehaven, will provide a new option for shoppers in the area.

Trader Joe’s certainly has its hardcore fans, but it is a bit of a quirky place. It’s not really a direct competitor to a general grocery store like the Safeway, just a block south. It doesn’t pretend to be a place where you can stock up on all the food you’ll need for a week (unless you only eat frozen food). But what it does have is always a bit of a grab-bag of stuff, mostly under its own brand.

It will be interesting to see what impact its opening has on the Safeway. Trader Joe’s aims for a younger audience, so we may see fewer GU students stocking up around the Safeway. But, again, it can’t really fully replace Safeway in offerings. So any changes will probably be at the margins.

Regardless, it’s great to have another option. And once the apartment building that the Trader Joe’s is in finally opens, hopefully the increase in residents will help support the shops and restaurants of upper Georgetown.

Photo by Marc Andre.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Hyde-Addison construction really coming along ahead of its Fall return to Georgetown.
• How the canal plan would improve trail cycling.

Georgetown University

Yesterday, the DC Tax Office released its annual list of tax sales. This is a list of properties around the District that are so delinquent on property tax payments that the city is auctioning off the claim against the property. What this means is that anybody can bid and win a claim against these properties. Once they win the claim, they can move to foreclose on the property if the property owner continues to not pay the tax.

There are a bunch of properties on the list here in Georgetown. One in particular caught GM’s attention. It’s a tiny lot that covers a small walkway behind four houses at the northeast corner of Q and 30th:

The list from the tax office states that the owner of the lot is unknown. The only record for the lot in the DC Recorder of Deeds is a record of a mortgage being paid off on the lot in 2001. The listed owners at that point don’t appear to live in DC anymore, nor own any of the surrounding properties. Continue reading →

Photo by Bill Starrels.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Why a misanthropic approach to historic preservation of the C & O Canal is misguided.
• City exploring setting aside more space for commercial deliveries.

3100 block of M St.

An incredibly rare opportunity to buy two of the only three truly waterfront homes in the city is available right now. Specifically, 3524 and 3526 Water St., are available for sale at $4.6 million.

These two rowhouses are part of a group of three homes located between Key Bridge Boathouse (the old Jack’s Boathouse) and the Potomac Boat Club:

All three of the rowhouses here were built in 1959. And the two for sale (the left one, which is twice the size of the others, and the center one) are currently owned by George Washington University. They had listed them for sale last year and even marked the sale as pending. But it appears the deal fell through, and the properties were re-listed May 31st. (The far right property is owned by another entity and is not for sale. However, all three are currently vacant.)

The interiors of the two listed properties reveal that the properties could probably use a renovation. But let’s face it, the reason they are selling for so much is that the homes literally back up to the Potomac River:

There is literally no other property like these in the entire District. Some apartment buildings, like Washington Harbour, are practically next to the water, but a boardwalk separates it. Some homes in Bolling Air Force Base are a stone’s throw from the water, but you’d be throwing the stone over a promenade. A few other homes are relatively close to the Anacostia. But no other homes are quite like this. Continue reading →