Tag Archives: Wisconsin Ave.

This week on not so long ago, GM visits just one small storefront in the upper Wisconsin Ave. stretch. Nowadays it houses Rooms With a View, a homewares shop. Eighteen years ago it housed Hatum Valet.

Hatum Valet was a dry cleaner/cobbler. It appears that at some point Hatum Valet moved up to 1800 Wisconsin and changed its name to Sky Valet (or Sky Shoes). The new shop seems to have become really more of a straight shoe store, whereas Hatum Valet was really more of a shoe repairer.

What’s also interesting about comparing the two shots is just how much ivy has grown on the adjacent buildings since 1993. Actually, the ivy (and Rooms with a View) was already there in 2004, according to this DDOT photo:

That stuff can be murder on siding. GM hopes the owners are checking for leaks! Continue reading →