The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Madeleine Albright’s former home for sale.
• New spot for breakfast burritos.

Buried in the submissions to the Old Georgetown Board this month is an application to convert the former Old Glory building to a New Balance shoe store.

The application calls for a somewhat dramatic alteration to the street level facade, as you can see above. I didn’t happen to catch the Old Georgetown Board discussion on this application last Thursday, but I would be surprised if it were approved as is.

But in either event, the New Balance is going to come. This is a bit of a shame. Not for any fashionable reasons, but because it means yet another restaurant building on M St. is being converted to fashion retail. While the decline has been less steep in recent years, the aggregate loss of dining options on M St. over the past 10-15 years has been significant. True, Old Glory itself closed way back in 2018. But the relatively short-lived Americas Eats Tavern maintained a lot of the same casual dining spirit (although not quite at the same prices). The two restaurants combined for nearly 30 years of food being served at this address. Now it will be only dad shoes served instead.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Election chaos at GU.
• Canal boat doing a ghost cruise for Halloween.

This week for the Georgetown Time Machine, I’m swinging by a great example of faux historical archictecture that once sat on Wisconsin Ave. The address is 1235 Wisconsin Ave. Today the Apple Store occupies this space. But in 1993, it was the home of something called Boogie’s Diner.

As for the actual Apple store address itself, there stood a building that Apple knocked down to build its store. I believe that building was built in the 1980s and replaced a parking lot. In 1993, it hosted a diner called Boogies. One commentator described it thusly:

In the early 1990s, there was a branch of Boogies Diner in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. They tried to sell trendy clothes in a diner atmosphere.

The clothes smelled like grease, and the restaurant area smelled like leather. Suffice to say, the concept did not work.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice rundown on the history and future of Metro in Georgetown.
• Lots of aspiring senators aspire for senate.

It’s time for my monthly update for neighbors of Hyde Addison Elementary School, Georgetown’s only public elementary school! 

The 2023/2024 school year started almost a month ago (The first day of school was August 28^th for grades K through 5 and the 31st for the PK-3 and PK-4 classes).  Hyde has approximately 380 total students, with an average class size of 19 (not including Hyde’s PK 3 class which is capped at 16). 

I have lived in Georgetown and Burleith for almost 15 years and this is our second year at Hyde, with our oldest in 1^st grade and our 2^nd oldest in PK4.  They love heading to school each day and practically smack my coffee mug out of my hand each morning (“We don’t want to be late, Dad!”). 

Hyde Impresses Me

I am always happy to answer your questions about Hyde—please just shoot me an email.  Having completed one full year with two of our kids, we had no hesitation about sending them back to Hyde.  It’s a great school.  One reason Hyde is great is the focus on learning, and the test scores bear that out.  For example, in testing administered this past June at the end of the 22/23 school year, 96% of Hyde students in grades K-2 were on or above the literacy benchmark established by DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), a national standard, compared to the DC public school average of 78%. 

Stop by Hyde This Friday at 5:30!

As part of Georgetown Art All Night, Hyde has an awesome program this Friday evening and you and your young ones are invited to participate. 

5:30 – 6:15 PM: The Great Zucchini performance

5:30 – 7:30 PM: Enjoy eight rotating hands-on make and take activities for elementary age children hosted by Hyde-Addison’s very own Art Teacher, Ms. Zaid, along with other community members. Activities include painting, crafting, jewelry making, print making and more.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Martin’s offering clam chowder for 20 cents to celebrate its 90th anniversary.
• Questions linger after the death of the most recent Jack the Bulldog.

Welcome to the October Northwest Georgetown ANC update! There is a lot going on, so let’s get right to it!

Streatery Progress

As I’ve discussed in previous updates, the future of the Georgetown streatery program is in some doubt as the Business Improvement District’s (“BID”) permit to run them expires at the end of this year. Earlier this year I reached out to the community to hear what their thoughts were on the program and whether they wanted to see it continue. The message I received was clear: Most people

1 like the streateries and want them to continue and would be even happier if they could be improved.

Throughout the summer I have been participating in meetings with my ANC colleagues, BID staff, and others to discuss a path forward for keeping and improving the program. As part of that process, I proposed and got approved a resolution last month that called for the BID to reapply for its permit, citing the benefits of the program, as well as areas where improvements are needed. Since then the BID has submitted its application to continue the program.

This Monday night the ANC will hear the BID’s presentation on its application and the Commission will decide whether to support it or not. I plan again to submit a resolution supporting the application. I think the program has been a clear positive for the community and the BID has put forward a milestone plan that lays out a timeline for addressing the issues that remain.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Big law firm leaves the Georgetown Harbour for the Wharf.
• Volta Park Fall Fest returns Oct. 21.

Art All Night returns this Friday night! It will take place along Wisconsin Ave. from N all the way up to the library. The events will run from 6 pm to 11 pm (with an afterparty at Clubhouse running till closing).

Here is the full schedule!:

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GEORGETOWN ART ALL NIGHT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

6:00PM – 11:00PM

WISCONSIN AVE, N STREET – R STREET

ACTIVATION SCHEDULE

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