The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Some suggestions for shops to check out around Georgetown.
• Great idea from the Hoya: Treat the descendants of the slaves sold by Georgetown University the same way they treat legacies.

1500 block of Wisconsin Ave.

The ANC met last night for its May session. GM unfortunately had to leave before the real meat of the meeting, but here are the items he caught:

Crime:

An officer presented the monthly update on crime. The most noteworthy piece of news he presented was that several suspects have been arrested in the alarming robbery of the Georgetown Visitation students from several weeks ago. They are minors, aged 16 to 17, but the US Attorney is now considering whether to charge them as adults.

New Face Old Faces

The Commission gave out two ceremonial commendations to Leslie Maysak and Kendyl Clausen. Leslie is stepping down from her position as the executive director of the ANC. Kendyl, a graduating GU student, is moving to New Haven to attend Yale Law School.

The new face is Peter Sacco, who is taking over Leslie’s position as executive director. Apparently Peter is an ANC member himself and serves as an executive director for several other ANCs. Guy loves ANCs! Continue reading →

Photo by Alan Kotok.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The H & M spinoff & Other Stories is scheduled for a fall opening in the old Tacklebox and Bandalero spaces.
• If you thought El Centro’s hours were weird lately, don’t worry, they aren’t anymore.

1500 block of 33rd St.

In the reminisces shared after the passing of Prince, GM happened to notice this funny story about the time Prince caused a shut down of Georgetown, just so he could get a haircut. It’s told by Alan Leeds, Prince’s tour manager during the 80s:

I think the third city we played was D.C., and coincidentally we were staying in the Watergate Hotel of all places. He decided that he needed to get his hair done. And what he would do is have his personal hair stylist find a salon in whatever city we were in and rent out the salon. And when I say “rent out,” I mean basically close it down. Nobody else was in there. We’d ask the proprietors and the other stylists to leave the building, secure it and even put up newspapers on the windows if you had to and then privately do Prince’s hair in this facility. And we’d pay them whatever it took to make them willing to do this. Sometimes it was just an autograph and a couple free tickets because the guys would love to say Prince was there. So I guess his stylist found a hair salon in Georgetown; I didn’t go with him. I was just in the hotel minding my own business doing whatever. And the next thing I knew there’s breaking news on the local TV channel that there was everything short of a street riot in Georgetown: They had closed down Wisconsin Avenue because somebody had spotted Prince getting out of a car and going into this building that housed the salon and basically had shut down Wisconsin Avenue. People had come out of the stores, fans had heard about it on radio and got in their cars and drove there or walked there or whatever. That was the point where I said, “OK, this is out of hand.”

Continue reading →

Photo by Alan Kotok.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Donuts coming to Cady’s Alley.
• The position of Georgetown in an increasingly competitive office market.

1300 block of 31st St.

This week in the Georgetown Current, Georgetowner and former ANC Commissioner Ray Kukulski offered his thoughts on the appropriateness of modern architecture in Georgetown. He raises several interesting points, but the premise of his views is based upon a mistaken view on the role of preservation and its governing principles.

Kukulski asks whether buildings like the one above, which Eastbanc has proposed for the intersection of Pennsylvania and M St., are appropriate for a historic neighborhood like Georgetown. He writes:

To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever asked our community as a whole if Georgetown should retain its historic character. I’m doing so now…Do Georgetowners want new buildings to blend in with the historic fabric of our village, or is modern architecture with materials that do not match the traditional color palette or design of our late-19th- or early-20th-century buildings acceptable? Do international visitors come to immerse themselves in history or to see modern architecture they could see at home?

The Old Georgetown Act was not passed in order to keep the architecture of Georgetown in a style that Georgetowners want. It was passed by the United States Congress on the belief that historic Georgetown is a national treasure and should have almost unique federal protection. While it sometimes acts like one, Georgetown is not a homeowners association. The opinions of Georgetowners are immaterial.

In practice, the Old Georgetown Board and its parent body the Commission of Fine Arts occasionally listen to the opinions of neighbors when deciding to approve or reject a proposed project. But listening to Georgetowners is not in its mandate. Its mandate is to preserve the historic character of Georgetown. Continue reading →

Photo by Steve Conger.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Architectural firm chosen to study gondola proposal.
• Check out the new Korean restaurant Zannchi!