The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Bangkok Joe’s space to be taken over by the River Club.
• Afghania now open.

The cherry trees will hit peak bloom over the weekend. And there’s nothing quite like being surprised by a beautifully, fully blooming cherry on a walk or ride through the neighborhood. But some cherries are worth seeking out just to make sure you don’t miss them for the year! In my humble opinion, here are some of them. Add more in the comments!

31st and P:

The first cherry is seen above. It’s a huge weeping cherry (which tends to bloom slightly ahead of the rest). Set against the stately corner home, it’s a don’t miss!

32nd and P:

Just down the block is another beautiful weeping cherry. It’s not quite as large but is just as stunning.

Dumbarton Oaks

No conversation about cherries can forget Dumbarton Oaks; although few would need reminding. The grove on the north end of the property is perhaps the best in the region (again, in my humble opinion).

Montrose Park

I don’t have a photo of it, but there is lovely weeping cherry on the west side of Montrose Park. With so few flowering trees in the park, it really stands out.

Cashell Alley

I’m a bit biased on this one, but there is a gigantic cherry tree along Cashell Alley behind my house. It’s worth checking out, particularly as the petals fall and create a snowfall of flowers.

Where are some cherries that you will go out of your way to take in?

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• As part of a chain-wide closure, Outdoor Voice is kaput.
• The value of a good door. (If you want that incredibly mirror finish many are seeking these days, it’s actually quite expensive!)

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, I thought I’d share a photo bursting with the joy of spring. It comes from the DC Historical Society.

According to the attached record, the photo is from Emil Press from May 1967. The text accompanying it says “Georgetown balloon pedlar. His cry: make the children happy, make the ladies happy!”

He looks to be peddling his balloons at the corner of Wisconsin and N St. The Little Tavern burger shop (which, many tenants later, is Dig) sits behind him.

Nothing much more to say but to enjoy the happy scene!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Canal boat won’t return until 2026.
• Some crime updates from the area.

The DC District of Transportation has issued the draft recommendations coming out of the Circulation and Access Study it has been performing in Georgetown since last year. The recommendations are in the document below, but here are a couple highlights:

• They recommend a couple one-way street conversions. In Georgetown this includes making 28th St. northbound only between M and P and making 29th southbound for that same stretch. Notably, the recommendations do not include making N St. one-way, which has been the subject of a lot of debate over the years. The recommendations also do not include any changes to 30th and 31st, which were recommended for conversion way back in the 2008 Georgetown Transportation Study.
• The consultants found that the removal of the rush hour lanes on M and Wisconsin can be permanent. The strongest evidence in connection with this is the sharp drop in collisions since the introduction of the extended sidewalks/streateries in 2020.
• The draft recommendations suggest further looking into a Barnes Dance for M and Wisconsin. This is a term for an all-pedestrian phase in the light cycle. In other words, every few minutes the entire intersection will be closed to cars and pedestrians can cross any side (or walk diagonally). (This was also recommended in the 2008 study but was later rejected by DDOT.)

There’s a lot more in there, so please read it for yourself. There will be a public meeting to formally present the recommendations the first week of April (in person on April 2nd at 6:30 – 8:00 pm at St. John’s; virtual April 3rd at the same time). So please attend to have your say!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Pur last ANC was largely focused on crime and law enforcement.
• C. Boyden Gray’s house is back on the market.

Georgetown’s parks are often considered some of the greatest assets for the neighborhood. So much so that the term emerald necklace has been used to describe the only-slightly-broken chain of green wrapping around the neighborhood from Montrose, down Rose, across the waterfront, and back up Glover Archbold Park.

But have you ever wondered where those names come from? Well, even if you haven’t, here’s the answer:

The source of the name for the Georgetown Waterfront Park is self-evident. I’m unaware of any efforts to replace this perfunctory name with something with more character. If there were ever a candidate for that, it would have probably have been Sen. Charles Percy, the Illinois senator who was instrumental in securing funding for the creation of the park. He was honored instead with Percy Plaza, the ceremonial name of the intersection of Wisconsin and K St.

But the other parks’ names are not nearly as self-explanatory.

Let’s start with Montrose Park.

In a literal sense, the park is named after the former estate that once stood on R St. near the current rose garden. But where did the estate get the name? I answered this question back in 2020:

The rope factory burned down and Parrott abandoned the property. The estate became known as Parrott’s Woods at this point, and was a popular recreation spot for Georgetowners seeking some air. It was purchased by Clement Smith, a man who was the first cashier at the Farmers and Mechanics Bank (the bank which eventually occupied the building which is now the PNC at Wisconsin and M St.) and rose to be its president. He named the property Elderslie. In 1837 it was sold to William Boyce, who renamed it Montrose, in honor of his familial connections to the Scottish Earls of Montrose.

The fact the name has a Scottish origin dovetails nicely with Dumbarton Oaks, which derived its name from Scotsman Ninian Beall. He once owned a large portion of Georgetown, which he named the Rock of Dumbarton after a geographic feature in his native country. (In fact a lot of early Georgetowners were Scots, but perhaps due to easier assimilation with the English, they are not quite as often remembered.)

Moving around the necklace, so to speak, brings us to Rose Park.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• More on the C&O Canal divorce.
• Stachowski’s gets featured in Netflix show.

I’m officially declaring the arrival of spring, and with that comes the best time to be at Dumbarton Oaks Gardens. So I am reprinting my guide from several years ago about how to make the most of it:

The gardens of Dumbarton Oaks are spectacular throughout the year. But during the spring, they are somehow even more beautiful. But the beauty comes in successive waves. Visit only once a season, and you might miss out. Or even if you do visit at a perfect moment, you might simply miss out on some corner of the gardens that are especially gorgeous that day.

I spend every spring carefully timing his visits to the gardens to maximize the best parts. And its only fair that he share this knowledge with the public. So without further ado, here is a Users Guide to Dumbarton Oaks in the spring.

The guide is broken down by the particular attraction and when to visit to see it. Weather obviously can affect the timing a great deal. So if you are really eager to see one or more of the vernal shows below, it’s best to check it out on the early side and come back again if you’re too early.

Refer to this map on the gardens’ website for where to find the exact locations of the scenes below.

Plum Walk

One of the first displays of spring in the gardens is the Plum Walk. It’s a row of about a dozen plum trees that blossom with strikingly purple flowers. Like many of the items on this list, it is perfect for portraits, particularly of couples. When it’s in bloom, you often find newly engaged couples posing along the walk.

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