The Georgetown Metropolitan

GM noticed this last month, but forgot about it until he walked by it again last weekend: But an unfortunate things has occurred to an historic M St. building. It’s been painted yellow.

It’s the building in the center of the photo. It is occupied by L’Occitane. Until last month the facade was completely unpainted brick, as it has been presumably since it was built in the 19th century. But now, perhaps to match the French soap maker’s brand, it has been painted a bright goldenrod color. Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The haunting of Halcyon House.
• Men accused of robbing CVS’s across DC, including one of Georgetown’s, were arrested.

1300 block of 30th St.

This week on Now and a Long Time Ago, GM visits the other end of the same block he visited last week, namely the 3300 block of M St.

This stretch is now home to the chic Cadey’s Alley, full over high priced furniture and homewares. But at the time the photo was taken, it was a far more down market stretch.

As for timing, the photo has no date, but based on the cars, GM places it in the mid to late 1950s. The white car at the center appears to be a 1954-56 Cadillac El Dorado.

As for noteworthy items consider the following. At the far left of the photo is an empty lot, which is now occupied for a late 20th century building containing Intermix. In the mid fifties it hosted Stohlman’s, a used car lot. Next door is a used furniture shop. It’s hard to pick out what the other shops are, but there appears to be a tailor and a general store. Continue reading →

Photo by BKL.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• DUE TO THE WEATHER, VOLTA PARK DAY IS CANCELED. Hopefully next year will be more lucky with the rain!!
• The certified biggest fan in the world for the Exorcist visits the steps for an interview.
• The Sovereign’s always a good place to go, but around Halloween is an even better time to visit.

Today on Know Your Trees, GM explores a tree even worse than the ginkgo: the bradford pear.

Badford pear trees are trees that often get confused for cherry trees since they bloom with poofy white flowers around the same time that cherries do. But they are not cherries, and their flowers are not quite as attractive. They lack the subtle shade of pink and have small green leaves:

Once you realize how to distinguish a bradford pear from a cherry, you realize they are everywhere. Where once you thought you saw street after street lined with cherries, you now see pears.

And if the only distinguishing factor was that the flowers are not quite as attractive as cherries, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But that’s not the case.

Bradford pears are invasive. They were introduced in the 1960s as a sterile ornamental tree. But they turned out not to be sterile. And they started to spread like wildfire.

And the worst thing about bradford pears is that they grow so fast that their limbs are extremely weak and fragile. There was a lovely row of them on GM’s block a while ago, but after every slightly serious storm, the street would be littered with broken boughs. And the trees only have a lifespan of 20-25 years, which is extremely short for large trees. Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Whatever exactly a “main street” is, Georgetown’s got one.
• Retail rents are higher in Chinatown than Georgetown.

3000 block of P St.

Perhaps you already saw this, but GM wanted to spread the word: you can now recycle pizza boxes!

They were added, along with several other items, to the list of acceptable items for recycling by the DC Department of Public Works. So feel free to pitch them in your blue boxes.

Here’s the list of the new items you can recycle:

• Pizza boxes
• Paper and plastic plates
• Paper and plastic cups and cup lids
• To-go containers
• Plastic produce containers
• Deli and bakery cups and trays

Continue reading →