The Georgetown Metropolitan

1200 block of 36th St.

We had a little SNAFU at the Breakfast With Santa with the printer, so some photos took a little too long to print. If you are someone who had to leave before you got your photo, please come back to Volta Park sometime and check the bulletin board outside the rec center. A handful of photos that got left behind are taped to the wall. Perhaps yours is there?

The event was a huge success for the Friends of Volta Park and we should have raised enough money to install a new tire-style swing in the playground for next summer. Thanks to all that attended!

Photo by Joe Flood.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Some troubling robberies on the C & O Canal recently.
• Swiss Watch Works has closed.

1000 block of 29th St.

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Smith Point for sale.
• If you have a lot of money and hate color, this might be the place for you.

1300 block of 33rd St.

Just as a follow-up to the earlier linked article about freezing the canal for skating, GM wanted to republish his article from 2012 about how skating on the canal is legal. Of course the canal will be dry for the next two years as some of the locks in Georgetown are repaired. So you won’t actually get a chance to practice this right. But keep it in mind come 2018!

As the days finally get colder, GM starts to think back to his childhood days skating on a tiny frozen pond behind his friend’s house in Connecticut. (The fact that the pond was only about 25 feet across helps explain why GM never really learned to stop on skates; he hardly had room to start). It was this nostalgia for outdoor skating that led him to wonder: why not build a waterfront rink? GM’s question was answered in the affirmative shortly afterwards when MRP Realty announced plans to bring an ice rink to the Washington Harbour.

But that won’t get built in time for this winter. And what if you want to skate on a natural body of frozen water? Well we’ve already got one of those: the C & O Canal.

While it hasn’t been cold nearly enough for the canal to freeze yet this winter, by late January, February at the latest, it should ice over. And guess what? You are allowed to skate on it if you want. GM just assumed the NPS would prohibit such a fun activity since, lets face it, they can kinda be killjoys. But according to C & O Canal National Historic Park:

It’s that time of year and weather when Park visitors may go ice skating.

The ice skating issue is addressed in the Park’s rules (reprinted in the C&O Canal NHP Volunteer Manual):

“Ice skating is permitted at your own risk park-wide, except where prohibited by signage.” Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Could we ensure that the canal is always skatable over the winter?
• GM missed this over the holidays, but Qatar is taking up in the old Corcoran school on 28th.

1500 block of 33rd St.

GM documented how a beautiful catalpa tree right by the canal needed to be cut down to restore the lock. It was, according to NPS, an essential loss for the project to go forward. GM was somewhat skeptical, but ultimately willing to believe the decision was correct.

Well jump ahead a bit and work has significantly progressed on the canal. But as far as GM can tell, the earth that previously held the tree’s roots so far looks basically untouched. Did the tree really have to be cut down, or was it just more convenient to do so? Continue reading →