Georgetown is DEAD. Georgetown used to be so much FUN. So what happened?

[Anonymous]

Some of my best memories are of skipping school, walking across the bridge into G-town, buying hair dye at Smash! (no Internet back then, and no other stores sold crazy colors) and dying my hair at a friend's house before going home and getting in major trouble.

[Anonymous]

I think the sidewalks are too narrow. Maybe they could scrap parking and widen the sidewalks to make the area more pedestrian friendly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its all a bunch of chains now. It used to have character and fun stores when we were teens.

+1
I grew up in McLean and was in high school during the 80s - we used to hang out in Georgetown all the time. Such a cool and funky place. Commander Salamander and tons of funky bars (Poseurs! Black Rooster! etc) that we could get into with no problem. Those were the days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in Georgetown on Saturday afternoon and it was PACKED with people--mostly tourists I think. The people on this thread saying it's become too upscale are nuts--all the old stores have been replaced with fast-fashion chains and junky crap like Wawa. Back in the good old days, there was a great independent bookstore (RIP Olsson's), a upscale department store (Garfinkel's), fun shops like Commander Salamandar etc. There was a great French restaurant where Banana Republic is now, and Nathan's was a mainstay for decades on the corner across from there. Oh well.

Don't forget about the Punk record store.

DP. I remember hearing OMD for the first time there - on a record. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in Georgetown on Saturday afternoon and it was PACKED with people--mostly tourists I think. The people on this thread saying it's become too upscale are nuts--all the old stores have been replaced with fast-fashion chains and junky crap like Wawa. Back in the good old days, there was a great independent bookstore (RIP Olsson's), a upscale department store (Garfinkel's), fun shops like Commander Salamandar etc. There was a great French restaurant where Banana Republic is now, and Nathan's was a mainstay for decades on the corner across from there. Oh well.

Rive Gauche.

Yes! And remember Le Steak on M St? It was the original version of what Medium Rare does now--just steak, salad and frites. So good!

Yes! And remember that the banana republic had the faux safari look? Loved Britches too.

DP - YES!!! Banana Republic was so cool and novel. And I wore tons of rugby shirts from Britches (I'm a woman).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of my best memories are of skipping school, walking across the bridge into G-town, buying hair dye at Smash! (no Internet back then, and no other stores sold crazy colors) and dying my hair at a friend's house before going home and getting in major trouble.

I remember driving down to G-town from the suburbs (after telling our parents we were going to the movies at the mall), and barhopping all night. It was a different world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of my best memories are of skipping school, walking across the bridge into G-town, buying hair dye at Smash! (no Internet back then, and no other stores sold crazy colors) and dying my hair at a friend's house before going home and getting in major trouble.

I remember driving down to G-town from the suburbs (after telling our parents we were going to the movies at the mall), and barhopping all night. It was a different world.

My sister and I went once in high school, parents were away or something and we accidentally got the car towed. My parents didn't care but my sister freaked out about how to get the car back, which was no big deal and I figured it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in Georgetown on Saturday afternoon and it was PACKED with people--mostly tourists I think. The people on this thread saying it's become too upscale are nuts--all the old stores have been replaced with fast-fashion chains and junky crap like Wawa. Back in the good old days, there was a great independent bookstore (RIP Olsson's), a upscale department store (Garfinkel's), fun shops like Commander Salamandar etc. There was a great French restaurant where Banana Republic is now, and Nathan's was a mainstay for decades on the corner across from there. Oh well.

Rive Gauche.

Yes! And remember Le Steak on M St? It was the original version of what Medium Rare does now--just steak, salad and frites. So good!

Yes! And remember that the banana republic had the faux safari look? Loved Britches too.

DP - YES!!! Banana Republic was so cool and novel. And I wore tons of rugby shirts from Britches (I'm a woman).

I'm so DC that my first job in high school was at Clyde's and my second was at Britches. I graduated from high school in 1987.

[Anonymous]

I live in Georgetown and wish you were right.

People move out of Georgetown because it is becoming impossible to afford it. Georgetown is more expensive than ever.

And, unfortunately, we don't suffer a lack of visitors. Last weekend it was so hard to find a parking spot on my street! I feel like all Virginia people come here to shopping when the weather is good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Georgetown and wish you were right.

People move out of Georgetown because it is becoming impossible to afford it. Georgetown is more expensive than ever.

And, unfortunately, we don't suffer a lack of visitors. Last weekend it was so hard to find a parking spot on my street! I feel like all Virginia people come here to shopping when the weather is good.

+1

The high rent prices are driving a lot of shops out, too. They're not getting the revenue they need to keep paying more and more in rent every year. Same thing a little further up in Glover Park on Wisconsin.

[Anonymous]

Traffics sucks, too many obnoxious college kids, too many tourists. There are so many better spots in DC!

[Anonymous]

I remember in the early 1990s when G'town had three or four used bookstores and I could spend the whole day browsing...

That was even before B&N was there. Good times!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what went wrong?

High retail rents?

Other areas of DC were developed and Georgetown could not keep up?

Everybody grew up, matured and simply moved on?

I don’t think it’s dead at all. We enjoy Georgetown shopping and there are some really great new eateries and smoothie places there. Yes there is a block on Wisconsin which has several shops which are empty and that is a little depressing but besides that there are many other areas which have been built up quite nicely. A few of those buildings that can’t keep commercial should become residential.

Several empty storefronts = DEAD

[Anonymous]

How come nobody has mentioned the video game arcade that was on M?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in Georgetown on Saturday afternoon and it was PACKED with people--mostly tourists I think. The people on this thread saying it's become too upscale are nuts--all the old stores have been replaced with fast-fashion chains and junky crap like Wawa. Back in the good old days, there was a great independent bookstore (RIP Olsson's), a upscale department store (Garfinkel's), fun shops like Commander Salamandar etc. There was a great French restaurant where Banana Republic is now, and Nathan's was a mainstay for decades on the corner across from there. Oh well.

And the late, lamented Au Pied Du Cochon for a late night glass of wine, onion soup and fries.