The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by BKL.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The Old Stone House in 1910. (It wasn’t really George Washington’s headquarters).
• One of the more striking garden on the Garden Tour is now for sale for $10 million (you also get the house).

2900 block of Q St.

It’s that time of year again, when people start to wonder what the hell are those giant grain brain-shaped fruit around Georgetown. As in past years, GM is ready with the answer, as reprinted below:

This time a year, if you wonder around Montrose or Volta Parks you’re bound to find on the ground weird softball-sized green fruit like the one above. People are often so struck by the sight of the fruit, they pick up one or two of them and bring them home. But what are they, you ask?

Despite their green color, they’re oranges. Osage oranges, to be specific. They are grown by Osage trees, which line the Parrot rope walk. These trees are prevalent in the Great Plains states, where they are often planted along hedgerows. Traditionally, the pliable but strong nature of this tree’s wood made it valuable for fence posts and archery bows. Continue reading →

Photo by Joe Flood.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• What to expect when you’re expecting Taste of Georgetown.
• Q&A Cafe this Friday to talk Secret Service.

2800 block of K St.

Photo by NCDA.

Last fall, GM reported on the coming of a new Children’s Theater program from the Georgetown-based National Conservancy of Dramatic Arts. The first fruits of that program have finally arrived. The first play “The Story Thief and the Prince of Dreams” opened last weekend, and will run through this coming weekend. It will be shown twice on Saturday (11 am and 1:30 pm) and twice on Sunday (1 pm and 3 pm).

GM’s neighbor attended last weekend and raved that it was a blast. GM will try to bring his daughter there this weekend.

The Conservancy is a school first, so it will probably never be able to have as many shows running as the children’s theaters in Glen Echo and Bethesda. But having it so close will be a great boon to the neighborhood’s families, especially as winter rolls in.

Photo by Paul Goddin.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Originally the restored Georgetown Theater neon sign was supposed to be officially relit tonight, but the ceremony will have to be put off for now, GM has learned.
• The first Catholic American cross found in GU basement, will get a close-up with the Pope.

3200 block of O St.

Photo by Alpha.

Is there a mini-foodie node emerging along Wisconsin Ave.? It’s too early to judge the long term viability, but in the near future three new gourmet-food oriented shops will be open within a short walk of Wisconsin and P.

The first one has already been open for a while earlier this year (technically in preview mode): Via Umbria at Wisconsin and Volta. This Italian shop sells cooking equipment and crockery straight from Italy, along with fancy Italian pastas and wine. They’ve been closed, however, for the last several months and the “temporary” store gets converted into its final shape.

The next shop that is coming is Boulangerie Christophe at 1422 Wisconsin Ave. Not too much has been made public about the project, but it has been identified to GM as a “nice, local high-end bakery”.

And finally, there are now signs outside 1524 Wisconsin Ave. (which used to house Darrell Dean) announcing a new shop called “The Georgetown Olive Oil Company”. That’s all that GM knows at this point, but it sounds like a promising shop. Continue reading →

Photo by Alan Kotok.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Buy local at Madewell.
• Bank of Georgetown employees: happy.