The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by Steve Fernie.

The DC Historic Preservation and Review Board ruled last week that WMATA’s application to raze the foundry branch trolley trestle should be denied. This is an important step towards saving the bridge and repurposing it for pedestrian and bike travel.

The bridge once carried streetcars from Georgetown out to Glen Echo amusement park. But the streetcars stopped running in 1962, and the trestle has just sat there ever since. As a result it is in terrible shape and represents a genuine hazard. But that is not enough of an excuse to tear down the last remaining streetcar bridge in DC, at least not according to HPRB.

Ultimately the plan–supported by the citizens associations of the Palisades, Foxhall Village and Georgetown–is to repurpose the bridge to carry foot traffic between Foxhall and Georgetown, with the aim of eventually linking it up with a trail using the old trolley right-of-way through the Palisades. But the bridge needs to be saved first. Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Free food at America Eats Tavern if you’re a visiting Eagles fan.
• Kintaro on 33rd St. gets included in a list of best sushi in DC.

2900 block of O St.

This week on Know Your Trees, GM is visiting with one of the more peculiar species of trees: the birch.

Birches are almost immediately identified by their distinctive barks. The exhibit the classic “peeling paper” look, although the look differs slightly between species.

The first GM will discuss is the river birch. The bark of the river birch is extremely curled and peeled. An example of a mature river birch bark is seen above.

The often grow with two or three main trunks. At maturity they can grow as tall as 80 feet, although even at that large size the trunks will still typically only be a foot or two in diameter.

The leaves of a river birch are medium sized ovals with slightly serrated edges, like this:

River birches are native to the south, and can tolerate heat fairly well. That is not true for its cousin, the paper birch. Continue reading →

Photo by Elvert Barnes.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown waterfront flooded again.
• Wave mural on N St. one of the best in the country, according to this.

1500 block of 33rd St.

GM heard two restaurant related tidbits that he wants to pass on today:

First: Despite GM’s speculation that the new owners of the old Dolcezza building would seek a salon tenant, GM hears a restaurant is coming. A reader passed on a conversation she had with people working inside the building who told her it was being transformed into an Indian restaurant. GM would still prefer the old Dolcezza, but another Indian option in the neighborhood would be welcome. The space will likely pose a challenge for a sit-down restaurant, but maybe the kitchen will be in the basement?

This section of Wisconsin Ave. has really turned into a United Nations of different cuisine in recent years, with two French restaurants, a Mexican joint, a Korean restaurant, an Italian market, a Japanese noodle shop, two Vietnamese restaurants, and a taco/juice shop. Continue reading →

Photo by Elvert Barnes.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Tragedy by the Key Bridge as a boat ferrying workers flipped. One person is believed to have drowned.
• The America Eats Tavern is open.
• Georgetown’s got a new theme song!

3200 block of M St.

A new 24-hour diner has been announced for 1424 Wisconsin Ave. The name of the restaurant will be Mono Diner.

The restaurant has a webpage, but most of it seems to be stock photos and text. The gallery page, however, appears to have photos uploaded to WordPress this month, so that may be representative of what the restaurant plans to offer. Except, oops, it looks like most of the photos are from IHOP.

The more GM digs into this, the more apprehensive he gets. Setting aside the half baked website and the stolen photos of food, the people behind the restaurant don’t have a great track record.

The business name “Mono Diner” was just registered with the PTO by Mohammad Esfahani. The name will be familiar to those that closely follow the history of this stretch of Wisconsin Ave. In 2002 he leased 1329 Wisconsin Ave. But after idiotically placing a tar machine on the roof, the building collapsed. Then he tore down all but the facade. A historic mid-19th century building was essentially destroyed by his actions. Continue reading →