The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by Iain Ding.

The focus of Under Armour’s connection to Georgetown recently has been on the company’s plans to open a store in the old Nathan’s building. But GM realized that starting last year, the company has been putting out a subtle tribute to the company’s Georgetown roots.

It comes in the form of the store’s “lifestyle” non-athletic brand “35th and O”. This isn’t a testament to Under Armour’s founder’s love of Saxby’s but rather a reference to his grandmother’s house. He explained to the Post last year:

[W]e bootstrapped, and my first year in business, we did $17,000 in sales out of a little townhouse on the corner of 35th and O Street in Georgetown…It was three floors. I was living upstairs, and the kitchen was up there. I had a sales office on the ground floor, which was essentially the dining room and living room. In the basement, we kept inventory. And in the corner of the sales office, we kept “The Price is Right” on the television.

Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Some nerds debate the Georgetown gondola. Nerd at the end wins argument.
• Too bad this was fiction.

1800 block of Wisconsin Ave.

Photo by John M.

As we mourn/celebrate (depending on your age) the passing of the Rhino Bar, you have a chance to own a piece of it. Like many closed bars before it, Rhino Bar is auctioning off pretty much everything. Here’s the link.

While most of the items are things you probably don’t want, like old tvs or a conveyor pizza oven, you may find some charm in these items:

• 10542.

  BAR MEMORABILIA TITLED WINSTONS, WOOD, APPROXIMATELY 9 FOOT WIDE, FROM ORIGINAL WINSTONS BAR IN GEORGETOWN WASHINGTON D.C.

• 10446.

  RHINO HEAD 31D X 22H, MOUNTED FLOOR 1

• 10465.

  SPORTS MEMORABILIA FRAMED, SIGNED JOE NAMETH JERSEY, 34W X 42.5H, BLACK WOOD FRAME, BEHIND GLASS

• 10541.

  BAR MEMORABILIA TITLED THE SHAMROCK, APPROXIMATELY 12 FOOT LONG, METAL, MOUNTED, FROM ORIGINAL SHAMROCK BAR IN WASHINGTON D.C.

GM once had a co-worker win a stained glass window from the auction after LuLu’s closed. So it can be done. You just better be ready to come and take the stuff away fast.

Happy bidding!

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• New building on Doggett’s parking lot is going to look a lot better than the first proposal would’ve been.
• Orange Anchor now open, half priced today.

1700 block of 32nd St.

The announcement yesterday of the imminent closure of the Rhino Bar means that come March, there will be no more “college bars” left in the heart of Georgetown. Just ten years ago, such an outcome would seem impossible, but after a few years of relentless closures, the inevitable has come about.

Just think back a few years ago and list the rowdy bars that almost exclusively attracted college-aged (or very recently graduated) patrons:

• Third Edition: This one was legendary among GU students for its lax entry policies. And, of course, it was partially the model for the St. Elmo’s bar in St. Elmo’s Fire. It closed two years ago and became El Centro.
• Garrett’s: GM spent many hours at this bar in his early 20s. He’s not sure why. It closed in 2011.
• Mr. Smith’s: This piano bar abruptly closed last year, it immediately reopened in the space that Chadwick’s occupied. Which brings GM to:
• Chadwick’s: GM can speak from a brief personal experience that this bar was popular with GU students (at least in the late 90s) and that its entry standards were largely to blame.
• The Guards: This one was more popular with the post-collegiate set, particularly in W. Bush’s Washington when the formerly scuzzy basement became the still scuzzy Gryphon Room. There were lines of boat shoes out the door every Friday night.
• Champions: This sports bar at the end of the alley next to Benetton entertained drunk college kids for years before it briefly became the upscale Blue Gin. That didn’t last long, and the old Champions returned for a little while longer before closing a few years ago.
• Georgetown Billiards: GM loved this place. And it was popular with college kids primarily because you didn’t even need a fake ID to get in; it was 18 and over. This became the preppy list-restricted George-more popular with a slightly older 20-something crowd of transplant Southerners-which itself recently became Chinese Disco.

Continue reading →

Photo by Brian Roberts.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Yeah, that Vapor Fi place is a cheesy as GM expected.
• Some fun old Georgetown maps.

1700 block of 32nd St.

Last week, the local CBS news ran an expose on something all Georgetowners already knew: Jack Evans takes advantage of his parking privileges as Councilmember to park illegally a block away from his house without getting a ticket. It’s a subject GM himself looked into six years ago. But the real question isn’t whether Evans abuses his parking privileges, the question is does it matter?

Don’t get GM wrong, he hates seeing elected officials abuse their power. And nobody gets quite as indignant about their right to abuse that power as Evans and his parking. Last time GM wrote about this, he got an angry missive from Evans’ office. And when CBS’ Russ Ptacek confronted Evans, he essentially blew him off.  Continue reading →