The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by Manylaughs.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown has a surprisingly large group of very successful alumni comedians.
• DC-area Congress reps asking for look into the level of helicopter noise.

2900 block of R St.

Photo by Nathan Arrington.

Over the weekend, GM finally took down his Christmas tree and chucked it to the curb for pickup. Many would surely laugh that it was still up at all. And the ease with which each branch snapped suggested that the tree would agree with that assessment.

GM grudgingly agrees that explicitly Christmas decorations like a tree or a creche should probably come down in January. GM doesn’t agree with the people who completely de-Christmasify December 26th. But, sure, a rapidly drying Douglas fir should probably not still be inside come MLK Day. Continue reading →

Photo by Amaury Laporte.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The Circulator will be free throughout February.
• By the end of 2018, 80% of Georgetown real estate listings were over $1 million.

Photo by Amaury Laporte.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice profile of Georgetown architect, Ankie Barnes.
• An argument against landmarking the Exorcist steps.

3400 block of Q St.

This week, the website DC Urban Turf dug up a wonderful map from the Library of Congress that shows the prevailing rents for each block in the city as of 1937. GM wanted to focus on what this map says specifically about Georgetown, and how much more affordable of an neighborhood it was then.

The selection above shows Georgetown. This is the legend for the colors:

Of course these numbers are 1937 era costs. To relate to our present day you need to adjust the prices for inflation. This is what the consumer price index inflation calculation produces for the colors:

• Yellow: Less than $356
• Orange: $356 – $517
• Green: $517 – $695
• Brown: $695 – $873
• Blue: $873 – $1336
• Red: $1336 – $ 1764
• Purple: Over $1764

As you can see from the map, large swaths of Georgetown were Orange, Green, and Brown, suggesting rents in today’s dollars of $356 – $873. That would be a pretty good price!

But inflation calculators can sometimes be deceiving, particularly for real estate. And the fact that the top color starts at $1764 (which is not exactly a premium rent by today’s standards) suggests that the adjusted numbers aren’t quite right. Continue reading →

Photo by Pelican.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The funniest headstone at Oak Hill.
• The stone lions at this house always seemed a bit silly to GM, but not to whoever just dropped $7 mil, apparently.

1500 block of 33rd St.

Yet another coffee shop is on its way to Georgetown. But this one comes with a twist. It is Spero Coffee and it will be located at 3255 Water St.

The coffee shop will be an extension of Veritas City Church, which was opened at this location two years ago. The evangelical church is opening Spero Coffee as a “weekend coffee house that will provide transitional employment to homeless men, women, and teenagers.” It is scheduled to open Easter.