Photo by Ontheborderland.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
The Post published a touching article on Sunday about the eventful past of the Belin family, which owned the grand Evermay estate from the 1920s until this year. It was initiated by the journalist’s desire to tell the story of Harry Belin, who, faced with a massive real estate tax and maintenance bill, was forced to sell his family’s jewel. But in catching up with Harry, the writer, Ian Shapira, found a man excavating fascinating stories of the family’s past.
Shapira writes:
The weather for Peter Belin’s flight home from Europe was largely serene. It was early in May 1937, and as touchdown in New Jersey approached, the recent Yale graduate snapped photos of the airport’s three-story hangar, the ground crew, and the stark, oval shadow of his mode of transportation, the Hindenburg zeppelin.
Moments later, after the crew flung down the landing ropes, an explosion rocked the Hindenburg’s rear. Peter grabbed his things — his datebook, his camera — and leapt from the doomed craft. He survived the 30-foot plunge…“He landed on a sandbank!?” Harry marveled, standing amid his basement archives, after finding a family letter. “I never heard about the sandbank.”
Having a father dramatically survive the Hindenburg disaster is just the start. Later Shapira writes that Harry’s grandfather bought a ticket on the Titanic before changing plans. Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
Man in a hammock at the waterfront by M.V. Jantzen.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
This week on Not So Long Ago, GM jumps all the way back to the top of Wisconsin to S St. Nowadays it’s home to the Homemade Pizza Co. and Cafe Divan.
As we’ve seen in earlier entries, several stores on Wisconsin Ave. were simply of an era gone by. That includes a video store and a whole store for books on tape. And this week we add another dead, or nearly dead, industry to the group: travel agents. In the space that currently houses the Homemade Pizza Co. there once was Adventures in Travel. And according to Google, this company is still around, now located up in Glover Park. Who knew there were still travel agents?
By 1997, this space hosted the late great Spiral Yoga, which closed last year.
Next to the travel agency was a frame store called Rowe House. It eventually moved across and down the street to next to Wagner’s Liquor. Sadly it closed a year or so ago.
Next to Rowe House was Apricots Deli, with the ubiquitous Gyros poster you see in all Greek restaurants.
Both of these spaces were eventually combined into Cafe Divan, a fantastic Turkish restaurant that offers sit-down service as well as take-out. They even run a small hotel!
Continue reading
Filed under Not So Long Ago
Photo by M.V. Jantzen.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Every once and awhile, GM remembers to get around to updating his “Aren’t They Building” list. And today is one of those onces in a while.
So here’s GM’s updates on the items that need updating:
Paul Bakery
-GM’s old predictions:November 2010spring 2011Late summer 2011
-Clearly GM’s been wrong now three times on this project. But it really does look like it’s opening soon; so GM is going to say November, a full year after the first prediction.Calvin Klein Underwear
-GM prediction: fall 2011
-GM was a bit too conservative, they opened a few months agoAll Saints
-GM prediction: August 2011
-That one was about right.Boutique Hotel on 31st St.
-GM prediction Late 2012
-They are now finally moving forward with this one, but don’t have a new announced date, but late 2012 still seems likely.Georgetown Waterfront Phase II
-GM prediction: –Late 2010 to early 2011August 2011
– They were just one month later.Developing Georgetown Post Office
-GM prediction:2011 at the earliestLate 2012
-This project seems to have been a bit stymied. It’s still moving forward, but the procedure is just taking a lot longer. GM thinks this now won’t come on-line until 2013 at the earliest.Billy Reid
-GM prediction: Fall 2011
-This one was supposed to go into the Riccardi shop on M St., but last time GM checked, Riccardi hadn’t left yet. So it’s unlikely Billy Reid is coming in very soon.Jack Wills
-GM prediction: Winter 2011
-Another one GM was way too conservative on. This one’s been open for months. Continue reading
Filed under Development
Photo by Jim Malone.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
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