The Georgetown Metropolitan

3200 block of Volta Pl.

This week, GM is running a rerun of his series on Georgetown architecture:

This week GM is exploring the varieties of historic architecture in Georgetown and offering a field guide to help you identify each particular style.

Today: Romantic Period

For American architecture, the Romantic period stretched from 1820s to the 1880s representing the last years of the Federal Period through to the middle stages of the Victorian Era. In Georgetown the two most common Romantic Period styles are Greek Revival and Italianate.

First up: Greek Revival.

Greek Revival style homes were the dominant style across the U.S. from 1830s to 1850s. So much so that it is also called the “National Style”.  Whereas Roman designs influenced the Federal period, increasingly intellectuals looked to Greece as the more appropriate model for the young democracy. Continue reading →

Photo by Dion Hinchliffe.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• How is Georgetown like the Olympics?
• Avocado Cafe building for sale (it’s had a sign saying it’s for sale for a long time, but this is the first official listing GM’s seen).

Cady’s Alley

It’s the summer doldrums, and GM is getting ready for his vacation so this week please enjoy a rerun of his Field Guide to Georgetown Homes:

If there’s one constant in Georgetown real estate listings, it’s that every house, no matter its shape and style, is described as “Federal”. The problem is that only a small percentage of homes in Georgetown could fairly be described as “Federal”.

Georgetown represents a cross section of 19th century architecture. It has buildings of just about every major style from that time period. To help his readers better appreciate the wealth of architectural styles in Georgetown, GM is going to take a shot at writing a field guide to Georgetown homes.

First up: Colonial and Federal Homes

Continue reading →

Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Angelina Jolie is not teaching at GU next year, despite rumors.
• The Peet’s Coffee shop is supposedly set to open next month (based on the state of the construction, GM is skeptical they’ll meet that date).

Photo by Catherine Shyu.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• If there was a lot of security presence at the waterfront last night, it’s because President Obama had his birthday dinner there.
• Scary attempted sexual assault on 35th St. Tuesday night.

C & O Canal

This week on Now and a Long Time Ago, GM is taking a different tack. In searching for old postcards of Georgetown, he found one that confused him. It said it was Billy Martin’s restaurant, but it looked nothing like how the tavern looks today. Could it have changed that much?

Looking closer GM realized that the name of the establishment was “Billy Martin’s Carriage House Restaurant”. A little more digging confirmed that this was a totally different restaurant opened by the same Billy Martin. And it was just up the street in the building seen here. Continue reading →