The Georgetown Metropolitan

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, GM shifts over to the southwest corner of Georgetown. Specifically, the photo above is an aerial photo looking down at where Canal Rd. and Foxhall Rd. merge.

Dating this photo is remarkably easy since the date is in the upper left corner. It’s April 3, 1963. It was a Wednesday.

Some fun things upon closer inspection:

The B&O Freight railroad was still running, so where today the Capital Crescent Trail is, the railroad tracks were:

There’s a small boathouse structure on the water. GM’s not sure what it is. It’s up river from where the Washington Canoe Club was (and is).

Speaking of railroad tracks, the Glen Echo trolley tracks were still around. The cars had last traveled them only 15 months earlier: Continue reading →

Photo by Olli Thompson.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Some other thoughts on the waterfront sculpture.
• GM would rather have the frozen yogurt place back, but this new salon seems fine too.

Georgetown University

The above photo does not quite do justice to just how crazy the new abstract sculpture that is being built next to Sequoia is. You really have to see it in person.

It is 40 feet tall and consists of a rigid three pointed frame adorned with what appears to be refuse from a spray paint factory. Continue reading →

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown Community Day this weekend.
• It’s a monkey puzzle tree.

Potomac Boat Club

The proliferation of tall construction cranes across DC has become the shorthand way to describe the wild development that is spreading to each corner of the city. That symbol now stands along M St. in Georgetown.

This is the first time such a large crane has been used in Georgetown, at least in GM’s memory (a similar crane was used with the Duke Ellington School, but that’s technically Burleith). And the visual impact is actually quite jarring. Continue reading →

Photo by John Sonderman.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• That adaptation of the Albrecht Muth story by Christopher Walz is still moving forward and will star, with Walz, Vanessa Redgrave and Anette Benning.
• Did you see this gentleman around Georgetown?

2900 block of R St.

Today for Know Your Trees, GM is going to talk about a new superstar for Georgetown street trees: the London plane.

The first thing to know about London plane trees is that they look an awful lot like another tree you see a lot in North America: the sycamore. And that makes sense, since the London plane is a hybrid of the sycamore.

And the way GM was taught as a child to identify sycamores applies just as well to London planes: they look “sick” (as in “sick-amore”). What that meant was that the bark has a distinctive look like this:

This mottled appearance does not actually indicate sickness. But you get the drift.

Planes and sycamores also have distinctive leaves. They are about the largest you’ll find on a street tree and look somewhat like massive maple leaves:

The trees are also known for their fruit, which looks like these fuzz balls:

So why talk about London planes instead of sycamores? Generally London planes are more frequently planted as street trees than sycamores. They are incredibly hardy both to heat and cold. And they grow like gangbusters. Continue reading →