The Georgetown Metropolitan

The Washington Post reported last week that the mega online retailer, Amazon, would be opening a brick-and-mortar bookstore on M St. in Georgetown. It will go into the space that used to house Barney’s Co-op at 3040 M St.

If you are confused by the idea of Amazon opening a real honest-to-God bookstore, you have company. It is a strategy they have only started to pursue in the last couple years. They have opened such stores in just three other cities: San Diego, Seattle and Portland, OR. There are rumors that they plan to eventually open hundreds of the stores across the country.

But what is the strategy about? Theories abound. Perhaps they want to sell more kindles? Build brand loyalty? Use the stores as cheaper distribution centers (i.e., the customer pays for the final mile, not Amazon)? Who knows. Continue reading →

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A Georgetown University student has created a fascinating website charting the results of her research project into the history of bars in Georgetown from the 1980s forward.
• A cookie store is coming into 3204 O St. (which most recently housed P St. Pictures, which has relocated to the owner’s house in Chevy Chase, DC).

1200 block of 29th St.

If you’re looking for a great nursery school right here in Georgetown, look no further than the fabulous Children’s House of Washington. The school is having an open house this Saturday, from 9 am – 12 pm. It’s located in the Dumbarton Methodist Church at 3133 Dumbarton St., just east of Wisconsin Ave.

The Children’s House of Washington (or C.H.O.W.) is a Montessori school. It doesn’t get quite the same attention as some of the other nursery schools around Georgetown, but GM has sent his daughter there for three years, and he can say with confidence that it was absolutely one of the best decisions we made for her. Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice article on the wonderful Tudor Place.
• 72% of all the active real estate listings in Georgetown in March were over $1 million.

Tudor Place

The long promised, and long delayed, extension of the Georgetown-Union Station Circulator bus route to the Cathedral is not likely to happen any time soon, if ever.

At the ANC meeting this week, the head of DDOT, Leif Dormsjo, spoke and accepted questions from the audience. GM asked him about the planned extension and whether he could give an estimate on when it would occur. His answer was not encouraging.

A bit of background: DDOT has never wanted this extension. It doesn’t like the fact that the Circulator goes up to Whitehaven in the first place. It has several times in the past tried to cut off the Wisconsin Ave. segment but backed off each time. (The original route did not include the leg up Wisconsin Ave. north of M. When it first was rolled out, the bus came up Wisconsin and took a right on M St. back downtown. When the BID got rid of its Foggy Bottom “Blue Bus”, the Circulator was extended up Wisconsin.)

The justification for cutting the route is that the ridership is too low on that leg. And as a consequence the per-rider subsidy (i.e. the amount the city has to pay per rider to keep the fleet going) is really high. Continue reading →

Photo by Ontheway Advice.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GU campus police have recovered the clock arms from Healy Hall and have identified the culprits. Hope it was worth it!
• Why to keep coming back to Pizzeria Paradiso.

3200 block of Volta Place

This Saturday, May 6th, Grace Episcopal, on Wisconsin Ave., will be celebrating its 150th year with a party open to the public. It will be from 2 – 5 pm.

There will be music, food from Dog Tag Bakery, games for kids, and an appearance by the Mayor.

Grace Episcopal grew out of two of the other Episcopal churches in Georgetown, Christ Church and St. John’s. Specifically, according to the church’s history:

Two major Episcopal parishes, St. John’s Georgetown and Christ Church Georgetown predated Grace Parish. The custom of the day financed the church by the payment of “pew rents” which residents below the canal could not afford to pay. Yet both parishes felt an obligation to serve that community, and each contributed to a mission church, initially held in private homes, ultimately in a small wooden chapel which stood in the southwest corner of the present churchyard.

By the early 1850’s three vestrymen of Christ Church founded the chapel, with services held by lay members and volunteer students from Virginia Theological Seminary. Only after the end of the Civil War, through the generosity of Christ Church member H.D. Cooke was the present Grace Church built.

Continue reading →