ANC Tonight: Public Works and Trash Containers, Exorcist Steps Condos, Baptist Church Condos

Robert Devaney • May 1, 2014

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The May meeting for Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E is 6:30 p.m., April 28, at Georgetown Visitation Prep, 35th Street and Volta Place, NW, Heritage Room, Founders Hall.

The following is this evening’s agenda, as provided by ANC 2E.

Approval of the Agenda

Approval of April 28, 2014, ANC 2E Public Meeting Agenda

Administrative

Approval of March 31, 2014, Meeting Minutes

Public Safety and Police Report

Financial Report

Transportation Report

Commendation for Peter Prindiville

Community Comment

DPW Director William Howland joins us for a community conversation about the Department of Public Works functions, options for residents regarding the new trash and recycling containers, and other timely topics.

New Business

Georgetown Presbyterian Church picnic in Volta Park on Sunday, Sept. 28

WMATA proposal to remove the northbound bus stop for 30’s buses at
Wisconsin Avenue and Dumbarton Street, NW

DDOT proposal to add 40 feet of No Parking School Days on the east side of 35th
Street, NW, next to Hardy School

Application to remove a gingko tree at 1312 27th St., NW

Old Georgetown Board

MAJOR AND PUBLIC PROJECTS

SMD 07, National Park Service / DDOT / Cultural Tourism DC Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
Way-finding signs on lampposts, Interpretive signs at Tudor Place and Dumbarton House, Concept/Final

SMD 05, 3601-3607 M Street, NW, OG 14-113 (HPA 14-220) Residential, New building, Concept

SMD 06, 2709-2715 N Street NW, OG 14-143 (HPA 14-283), Alexander Memorial Baptist Church, New construction, alterations, Concept

PRIVATE PROJECTS

1. SMD 02, 1552 33rd Street, NW, OG 14-150 (HPA 14-319) Residence, Replacement metal fence on areaway, metal gate, Permit

2. SMD 02, 1686 34th Street, NW, OG 14-155 (HPA 14-325) Residence, Alterations: chimney, porch, replacement windows, Concept

3. SMD 02, 3336 Dent Place, NW, OG 14-175 (HPA 14-346) Residence, 3- story rear addition, alterations to front, Concept

4. SMD 02, 1622 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-157 (HPA 14-327) Mixed-use, 2-story in-fill rear addition plus basement, alterations, Permit

5. SMD 03, 3332 O Street, NW, OG 14-171 (HPA 14-342) Residence, Metal fence on brick wall in front yard, Concept

6. SMD 03, 1357 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-084 (HPA 14-158) Commercial, Three-story rear addition, Revised Concept

7. SMD 05, 3600 M Street, NW, OG 14-120 (HPA 14-234) Office building, Demo and reconstruct brick walls, alterations to roof terraces for waterproofing work, Permit

8. SMD 06, 3015 P Street, NW, OG 14-172 (HPA 14-343) Residence, One- story rear addition, dormer, Concept

No Review At This Time by ANC 2E: The following additional projects, which are on the upcoming May 1, 2014, agenda of the Old Georgetown Board, have not been added to the ANC meeting agenda for OGB-related design review and we do not propose to adopt a resolution on them at this time. If there are concerns about any of these projects, please contact the ANC office by Friday, April 25.

1. SMD 02, 3205 R Street, NW, OG 14-166 (HPA 14-337) Residence, Alterations to pool house, Permit

2. SMD 02, 3314 Dent Place, NW, OG 14-158 (HPA 14-328) Residence, Alterations to rear, Permit

3. SMD 02, 3520 Reservoir Road, NW, OG 14 -122 (HPA 14-239) Residence, Replacement windows and door, Permit

4. SMD 03, 3310 N Street, NW, OG 14-161 (HPA 14-332) Alterations to stoop, Permit

5. SMD 03, 3106 P Street, NW, OG 14-165 (HPA 14-336) Residence, Rear addition at second floor, Permit

6. SMD 03, 3238 P Street, NW, OG 14-103 (HPA 14-206) Residence, Two- story rear addition, Revised Concept

7. SMD 03, 3306 R Street, NW, OG 14-177 (HPA 14-348) Residence, Dormers, Permit

8. SMD 03, 1236 Potomac Street, NW, OG 14-162 (HPA 14-333) Residence, Replacement windows, Permit

9. SMD 03, 1242 Potomac Street, NW, OG 14-148 (HPA 14-309) Residence, Replacement fence, Permit

10. SMD 05, 1101 30th Street, NW, OG 14-15 (HPA 14-323) Commercial, Back-lit sign – Georgetown Workspaces, Permit

11. SMD 05, 3060 M Street, NW, OG 14-149 (HPA 14-318) Commercial, Replacement windows at rear, Permit

12. SMD 05, 3256 M Street, NW, OG 14-035 (HPA 14-057) Commercial, Rooftop antennas Permit

13. SMD 05, 3286 M Street, NW, OG 14-034 (HPA 14-051) Commercial, Signs, alterations to parking lot, Permit

14. SMD 05, 3314 M Street, NW, OG 14-111 (HPA 14-217) Commercial, Alterations to Cady’s Alley: green screens, lighting, speeding tables, landscaping, Revised Concept

15. SMD 05, 3106 N Street, NW, OG 14-167 (HPA 14-338) Residence, Replace light fixtures – options, Permit

16. SMD 05, 3121 N Street, NW, OG 14-151 (HPA 14-320) Residence, Rooftop solar panels, Permit

17. SMD 05, 1209-1211 Potomac Street, NW, OG 14-070 (HPA 14-112) Commercial, Alteration to first floor window, 2nd floor replacement windows – existing, Permit

18. SMD 05, 3508 Prospect Street, NW, OG 14-169 (HPA 14-340) Residence, Replacement windows and French door, Permit

19. SMD 06, 1521 29th Street, NW, OG 14-164 (HPA 14-335) Residence, Replace metal fence with wood fence, terraces, Permit

20. SMD 06, 1409 30th Street, NW, OG 14-163 (HPA 14-334) Residence, Alterations to rear, rebuild garden wall, Permit – revised design

21. SMD 06, 1231-1235 31st Street, NW, OG 14-137 (HPA 14-277) Front windows, rear additions, alterations, roof terrace, Revised Concept

22. SMD 06, 1409 31st Street, NW, OG 14-168 (HPA 14-339) Residence, Alterations to rear for basement entrance areaway, Permit

23. SMD 06, 2903 M Street, NW, OG 14-147 (HPA 14-307) Commercial, Awnings and sign – Izzy Salon, Permit

24. SMD 06, 2722 P Street, NW, OG 14-124 (HPA 14-263) Residence, Replacement windows, door, shutters, Permit

25. SMD 06, 3011 P Street, NW, OG 14-173 (HPA 14-344) Residence, Garage, Concept

26. SMD 07, 3021 Q Street, NW, OG 14-174 (HPA 14-345) Residence, Alterations to window openings at rear, Permit

27. SMD 08, 3700 O Street, NW, OG 14-159 (HPA 14-330) Georgetown University – Dahlgren Chapel, Installation of Healy Hall crosses in berm, landscaping, Concept

28. SMD 08, 3700 O Street, NW, OG 14-160 (HPA 14-331) Georgetown University – Ryan and Mulledy Hall, Alterations and replacement windows, Concept

Agenda is of noon, April 21. Contact info: 202-724-7098 — anc2e@dc.gov — www.anc2e.com.

Applicants Camp Out for 4 Liquor Licenses in Georgetown

Robert Devaney •

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[UPDATED April 11 with list of applicants from ABRA.]

This morning, TV news crews reported on restauranteurs waiting overnight to submit their applications for a liquor license in Georgetown to the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration at 8:30 a.m. The small line-up of tents in front of the Reeves Municipal Center at 14th and U Streets, NW, looked like people waiting to buy concert tickets or the latest electronic gadget. Applicants had to wait in line because of ABRA’s policy of “first come, first served.”

Here is the list of applicants from ABRA:

1. Restaurant Enterprises, Inc. trading as Smith Point (applied for a tavern license)

2. AN & JM (trade name is TBD) (applied for a restaurant license)

3. FR & LH, LLC (trade name is TBD) (applied for a restaurant license)

4. Ching, LLC trading as So MI (applied for a restaurant license)

5. Luke’s Lobster VIII, LLC trading as Luke’s Lobster (applied for a restaurant license)

6. Georgetown Restaurant Partners, LLC (trade name is TBD) (applied for a restaurant license)

7. Restaurants, LLC trading as Yummi Crawfish and Seafood Restaurant (applied for a restaurant license)

8. Prospect Dining, LLC trading as George (applied for a tavern license)

Within the Georgetown Historic District, there are three restaurant liquor licenses and one tavern liquor license available. D.C. law allows six tavern licenses and 68 restaurant liquor licenses in Georgetown. There has been a liquor license moratorium in Georgetown since the 1990s. A tavern license allows an establishment to have a smaller percentage of food to alcohol sales.

Ben Conniff, vice president of Luke’s Lobster, which has one of its seafood restaurants on Potomac Street, arrived yesterday to pick up the proper paperwork from ABRA and decided to stay at the Reeves Center in the line. “A co-worker brought me a tent for the evening,” said Conniff, who was fifth in line. One of those in front wanted a tavern license. So, being at least fourth in line, Conniff said he was hopeful of getting a restaurant liquor license.

Of the available licenses, Amir Yeroushalmie told a Fox5 reporter, “I believe we’re going to get one.” He wants to open an upscale sushi restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue. Another person on line wants to open a crayfish restaurant.

Liquor licenses rarely become available through ABRA in Georgetown. When Gypsy Sally’s recently obtained a tavern license, it had been 20 years since such an opening.

In an earlier Georgetowner report, advisory neighborhood commissioner Bill Starrels, who heads the Alcohol Beverage Committee, said the newly available licenses were “not performing” and said he was “absolutely appreciative of what ABRA is doing here. It showed due process.” Some licenses can sit for years before put back in circulation, so to speak.

“We have some serious restaurant people looking at Georgetown,” Starrels said. “We cannot have licenses sitting on the shelf.” Fox5 News described Georgetown in its April 9 report on the liquor licenses described Georgetown as “red-hot.”

Part of K Street to Close for Inspection of Whitehurst Freeway Bridge Over K Street, NW, April 22 to 23

Robert Devaney •

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The District Department of Transportation will be conducting an inspection of the Whitehurst Freeway Bridge over K Street, NW, from Tuesday, April 22, to Wednesday, April 23. This will require single-lane closures and take place during off-peak hours between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., weather permitting.

The required lane closures and inspection activities are scheduled to occur as follows: Whitehurst Freeway over K Street, NW. On Tuesday, April 22, there will be a right-lane closure of eastbound K Street, NW, under the Whitehurst Freeway. On Wednesday, April 23, there will be a right-lane closure of westbound K Street, NW, under the Whitehurst Freeway.

Traffic controls will be in place to warn motorists as they approach these areas

Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy Fete at Evermay

Robert Devaney • April 25, 2014

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The Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy marked the renewed park known as Georgetown’s “Secret Garden.” The group of community and environmental leaders enjoyed another Georgetown treasure, Evermay, on April 16. [gallery ids="101719,142989" nav="thumbs"]

N Street Village

Robert Devaney • April 24, 2014

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N Street Village, the social services agency that provides shelter and support to homeless and low-income women, held its annual gala at the West End’s Ritz Carlton March 21. The upbeat, always joyous event brought together women who benefitted from the non-profit, volunteers and benefactors, especially those in government and media. Comcast’s Melissa Maxfield and A.B. and Jill Cruz were gala co-chairs; Byron and Kim Dorgan were honorary co-chairs. Founders’ Awards were given to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and his wife Diana, and also to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). [gallery ids="100727,120805,120801" nav="thumbs"]

Public Works Floods the Town With Trash Containers

Robert Devaney • April 23, 2014

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D.C.’s Department of Public Works has delivered new trash and recycling containers to residents in Georgetown. But you knew that — and saw that. Georgetown is awash in old and new trash and recycling containers, some of which make no sense for those who in rowhouses that have no side alleys. One resident looked bemused and annoyed and said, “I am not taking that through my living room.” Georgetown already enough trash and recycling boxes or barrels hanging around its sidewalks and front steps.

There will be time to express yourself at the April 28 meeting of the local advisory neighborhood commission at Georgetown Visitation Prep on 35th Street.

Jeff Jones of the ANC offered the following advice:

First, read and follow the instructions in the pamphlet provided with the new containers.

If you plan to keep the new containers:

Please remove them from public space. Containers are to be placed on the point of collection during DPW collection hours only. Generally, public space in Georgetown starts at the exterior wall (or very close to) most all of the rowhouse-type dwelling. Therefore, placing them on the sidewalk up against your home, is likely not within code. Note: disabled or elderly may obtain a waiver to have DPW collect from private space on a case by case basis. Please place the yellow stickers on your old container(s) for removal by DPW, and the current process requires you to call 311 to have those picked up.

If you do not want the new containers:

Most of the residents contacting me prefer this option, due to the larger size of the recycling container, making it more difficult to store on private space. You may place the stickers on one or both of the new containers, and call 311 to have them picked up. Continue using your current container(s) and if you would prefer you may purchase a container from a private vendor. Again, please only place the containers to the POC during collection hours only.

ANC2e is working with DPW in attempt to schedule a wholesale old and/or new container pickup date, but this has not been confirmed. This would negate the current requirement to call 311 for pickup, however please follow the instructions on the pamphlet in the meantime.

The 2014 Georgetown House Tour, APRIL 26

Robert Devaney •

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1689 34th St., NW

This house and the surrounding townhouses on 34th Street and Reservoir Road were built around 1951 on the site of the extensive gardens and pool of Friendship House, the last of the large estates owned by Evalyn Walsh McLean, heiress and socialite. McLean is best known as the last private owner of the 44.5-carat Hope Diamond, now on exhibit at the Museum of Natural History.

This brick, colonial-style, semi-detached home has four levels. The current owners purchased it in 1998, when they combined households from England, South Africa and Virginia. They immediately embarked on a series of renovations allowing for a more open floor plan, finished the top floor, upgraded the carriage house and, most recently, renovated the original 1951 kitchen in the English basement. Almost all of the main floor and lower level is the owners’ design. Much of the built-in cabinetry and furniture in the basement was handmade by them. The mature wisteria, planted in 1998, was the owners’ first addition to the garden. The carriage house is an architectural gem and serves as the guest room of first resort.

2906 P St., NW

This charming house, on a large lot set back from the street, was originally built sometime between 1844 and 1865, when the frame structure that forms the heart of the house (a double parlor on the first floor and two second-floor bedrooms) was erected. Sometime later, a rear addition was built, comprising the kitchen on the first floor and an additional bedroom suite on the second floor. During the 1960s, the house underwent a major renovation, which included altering the curved stairs in the main part of the house and an addition to the front at the west side of the property to include a garage, an indoor pool and a second-floor artist studio connected by a spiral staircase.

The current owners purchased the property in 1999 and later began another major renovation within the existing footprint to expand the kitchen, open up several smaller rooms and add the back staircase and French doors leading to the side and rear gardens. The renovation, designed by architect Outerbridge Horsey and executed by contractor John Richardson, transformed the indoor pool room into a family room and added a lower-level playroom to accommodate the family’s three children.

3102 P St., NW

The current homeowners purchased the house four years ago, when they moved to Georgetown from New York. They removed walls on the lower level to create a small theater room for family movie-watching and redid the lower foyer with blue slate flooring and white beadboard cubbies to accommodate the sporting activities of their four children.

Outside, notice that the bay window that matched those of the three neighboring houses was removed in the 1980s so that the garage could be added. In the entryway is a striking green and white Kelly Wearstler wallpaper. The Lucite waterfall console table coupled with the faux-bamboo mirror maximizes the use of the narrow space.

3141 O St., NW

This distinguished townhouse, built between 1957 and 1959, was once the home of F. Joseph Donohue, a District Commissioner from 1951 to 1953. The site dates back to the early 19th century, when it was a livery stable on what was then Beall Street, a few doors down from the legendary Connecticut-Copperthite Pie Baking Company on the corner of today’s Wisconsin Avenue and O Street.

The current owner has renovated the house, aspiring to “take the 1960s out of the house” and “create the ambience of a Paris apartment,” she said. The exterior is a contemporary adaptation of the Federal architectural style. The offset door, a departure from rigid Federal symmetry, allows for a modern necessity: a full-size garage. The spacious garden was completely redesigned for LB Design by local landscape architects Fritz & Gignoux. It has been nearly doubled in size by converting what used to be a back alley into a croquet lawn with an attractive water fountain and a stone seating area.

3254 O St., NW

This detached residence sits on a large lot that includes a detached brick carriage house at the back. The property was first conveyed in 1770 to Caspar Shaff. The original structure was built in the 1830s. Subsequent owners included both George and William Beall, who bought it in 1841 for $10 and sold it in 1853 to the Vestry of St. John’s Church for $100. In 1860, the house was enlarged by the creation of the front living room and a formal Federal façade was added in front. Notice the mounting block outside the front gate and the original ironwork stairs.

The current owner is an architectural and interior designer and real estate agent. She has spent the past 15 years improving and updating her home while preserving its many period details, such as the original heart-of-pine, random-width planked floors. The entryway suggests coziness, but the house is actually of substantial size with multiple bedrooms and a lower-level guest suite that offers a serene garden view.

The owner just completed a major renovation of the combined kitchen and family room. With the addition of three more sets of French doors, the kitchen area has been transformed into a more open floor plan to unify the kitchen, family room, brick patio and garden. The dining space, with its Pembroke drop-leaf table and English Chippendale armchairs, affords a splendid view over the manicured, southern-facing garden with its circular brick pathway and dramatic weeping willow tree.

3417 P St., NW

Think of 3417 P Street as two independent structures combined into a single home. The heart of the residence, to the east, was build in 1852 as a carriage house and stables by William Herron, a local contractor, to serve his large 35th Street home (seen on previous house tours). In 1951, Wesley Steele, acclaimed organist for St. John’s Church in Lafayette Square, purchased the carriage house and later added to the property, building the two-story guest house and garden area. The house was featured in the 1967 Georgetown House Tour, when visitors were invited to inspect Steele’s personal pipe organ. A sensitive recent renovation, overseen by the current owner and architect Dale Overmeyer, restored beams in the living room, moved the kitchen to the garden level by the pool, re-landscaped the garden and created a harmonious flow, the better to integrate the two structures into one home.

Approaching from the east along P Street, note the original carriage doors and well-preserved brick carriage tracks. By the entrance stands a massive antique Italian door, where a flight of flagstone stairs ascends to the living level of the house. From the garden, look up and to the right to see the outlines of the original carriage house and two subsequent additions. The garden is unusually large for Georgetown. Walk past the pool to the upper terrace to take a look at the dining area secluded under a magnolia tree near the soothing fountain. Because the garden is effectively above and protected from the street level, little traffic noise reaches here.

3413 P St., NW

This house’s bright yellow brick and deep green shutters cannot be missed as one walks along P Street. Behind this facade lies an appealing private garden spanning the entire side of the house and offering seclusion from the public street. This garden was among those featured in Adrian Higgins’s 1994 book, “Secret Gardens of Georgetown.” Glass-paneled doors along the side of the house give one the feeling of living in the garden. The layout of the house is linear, the front room being the living room, behind which the hall provides the entryway from the garden. Next comes the dining room and kitchen, with a doorway to the rear of the garden.

For all that comfort has been the owners’ top priority, on display in the house are many antiques, interesting and unusual objects and family heirlooms. These include paintings by Mr. Knight’s great-grandfather, Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839-1924), and grandfather, Louis Aston Knight (1873-1948). The frames that hold these artists’ paintings have been expertly restored by Bill Adair. Mrs. Knight is herself a talented and accomplished artist.
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3026 Q St., NW

This grand four-story mansion, built around 1850, has passed through many hands since it was first sold in 1871 for $4,500. The property was added to during the early 1970s, when land was excavated to create a garage and driveway (something much coveted in Georgetown), and the rear gardens were replaced by a 15-foot-wide swimming pool. The present owner has narrowed the pool to make way for a terrace for entertaining and outdoor reading, a particular passion of the owner, who has made sunny reading nooks on all four levels, both inside and out.

The house is full of fine original millwork, particularly near the entrance. A sumptuous archway frames the staircase and hall, which leads to the kitchen overlooking the pool. Note the dark oak hardwood floors throughout and the owner’s choice of an impressive if unusual palette of blue and purple, intended to convey an air of serenity. While the 1970s addition is restrained in appearance, the double-high dining room with skylights is spectacular. Visible through the glass atrium, a star magnolia and a weeping cherry soften the more modern rear exterior.

1530 Wisconsin Ave., NW(The George Town Club)

The George Town Club is an elegant city dining club providing a warm retreat for its members, with fine cuisine, privacy and friendly, gracious service. Formed in 1966, the club brings together leaders from the business, professional, social, philanthropic, political, social, cultural, academic and diplomatic sectors.

The club occupies 18th-century frame buildings. Club founders extensively renovated the run-down historic building, adding the brick entryway, excavating the lower level and importing European wood paneling. The wrought-iron work by Samuel Yellin was rescued from the demolition of the original Morgan Guaranty Trust Company building in New York. Over time, two adjacent brick townhouses were incorporated into the club premises.

On the second floor, the extraordinary oak paneling in the main dining room was created in the style of Robert Adam, England’s premier architect in the late 1700s. At either end of the sideboard are large fishing-vessel figureheads, framing a leaded-glass demilune that was originally a feature of J. P. Morgan’s private office.

In the past year, the interiors of the club’s main-floor rooms have been substantially updated, preserving historical architectural features. Light sisal floor coverings have replaced the worn dark rugs, and some parts of the walls have been upholstered in a light neutral linen fabric to offset the extensive dark wood paneling. The most dramatic change has been the complete renovation of the Grill Room. The updating of the club’s decor was a collaboration of interior designers Andrew Law and Debbie Winsor, both Georgetown residents and club members.

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