The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by ChistiNYCa.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• M St. bridge haunted? Who knew. (Tim Krepp, I bet).
• Not that you’d want to, but you now can’t order “the Fruendel” at a local deli.

1500 block of 33rd St.

Last week, the Slate advice column, Dear Prudence, took a letter from a grumpy person whose circumstances are uncomfortably close to the average Georgetowner. He or she writes:

Dear Prudence,
I live in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, but on one of the more “modest” streets—mostly doctors and lawyers and family business owners. (A few blocks away are billionaires, families with famous last names, media moguls, etc.) I have noticed that on Halloween, what seems like 75 percent of the trick-or-treaters are clearly not from this neighborhood. Kids arrive in overflowing cars from less fortunate areas. I feel this is inappropriate. Halloween isn’t a social service or a charity in which I have to buy candy for less fortunate children. Obviously this makes me feel like a terrible person, because what’s the big deal about making less fortunate kids happy on a holiday? But it just bugs me, because we already pay more than enough taxes toward actual social services. Should Halloween be a neighborhood activity, or is it legitimately a free-for-all in which people hunt down the best candy grounds for their kids?

—Halloween for the 99 Percent

Photo by Oscar Levine.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• What the Georgetown waterfront used to look like:
• GM just wishes we still had Cannon’s, but a bigger Il Canale is pretty good.

3100 block of Dumbarton St.

Tomorrow the third annual Fashion Art and Design fest (“FAD”) will hit Georgetown. This event grew out of the defunct Fashion Night Out a few years ago. While that was a branch of a national event, FAD is a Georgetown original.

The event runs tomorrow from noon to 9 pm. Rather than summarize the extensive events, just check out the release:

The worlds of fashion, art, and design will collide in Georgetown—recently named the city’s top retail destination by Lonely Planet—as the neighborhood celebrates the second annual Fashion Art Design Georgetown (FAD) onOctober 25, 2014, from noon-9 p.m. 50 neighborhood fashion specialty stores, art galleries, home furnishings and design showrooms and restaurants will host in-store events and promotions to inspire the city’s creative enthusiasts, while dedicated areas throughout the neighborhood will host exciting activations. From the exclusive D.C. premiere of the celebrated fashion documentary Advanced Style to roaming dancers, street-style photo opps, art installations, dozens of store events and promotions and much more, Georgetown’s Fashion Art Design promises to be a memorable and stylish day of inspiration.

Hosted by the Georgetown Business Improvement District, this neighborhood-wide celebration kicks off on with a noon media and industry preview and will continue through the day. Shoppers can score deals at participating Georgetown retailers hosting shopping parties, promotions, gallery exhibits, and other treats. Continue reading →

Photo by Rue Merindol.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown when Bradlee and Alsop were kings.
• Georgetown students in 1895.

3200 block of P St.

If you’re like GM, you’ve always assumed the bridge that P St. travels over as it travels over Rock Creek was simply called “P St. Bridge”. You’d be forgiven in thinking this primarily because A) that’s what it is and B) there’s an old copper sign along the bridge that calls it that.

Well apparently the bridge has a fancier name too: Lauzun’s Legion Bridge. This name was generated by the Dupont ANC way back in 2006. The name was chosen to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. Lauzun’s Legion was, according to Wikipedia:

Lauzun’s Legion was a specially constructed unit that was formed in March 1780 from various detachments of French and many foreign volunteers in the French army and navy. Most of the Legion was composed of units from the Volontaires Etrangers de la Marine (Foreign Marine Volunteers) created in September 1778 by the naval minister Gabriel de Sartine, and ‘propriétaire’ status had been granted to Armand Louis de Gontaut, due de Lauzun. The corps comprised three legions, each consisting of four companies of grenadiers, chasseurs and fusiliers, plus artillery, cavalry and pioneer detachments. As with other 18th century “legions” the intention was to create a miniature army which could campaign as a single entity. As indicated by the title, the corps was recruited primarily from German, Polish and Irish mercenaries.

Continue reading →

Photo by Wagner Tamanaha.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The night U2 played Georgetown.
• New book celebrates Georgetown’s historic saloons.
• Beloved former dean of GU’s foreign service school passes away.
• Don’t forget the CAG Gala this Friday.