Robert Devaney • June 6, 2016

The Bank of Georgetown is no more. The $269 million acquisition by United Bankshares, Inc., was completed over the weekend.

Robert Devaney • June 2, 2016

Before the rain and cooler air swept in, the weather for the annual Volta Park Day was perfect on Oct. 6. Food, music, games, rides and a flea market greeted the young and old who visited and filled the park at Volta Place and 34th Street. It was an easy and fun gathering that showed off the best of Georgetown, especially its youngest residents.

John Lever, a member of the Friends of Volta Park, had this to say about the day: “Generally, Volta Park Day is less about making money than getting the community involved in Volta Park. For the year, the Friends of Volta Park tries to cover $50,000 in needed maintenance and upkeep for our little park which the city would otherwise not provide. Through our Volta Park Gala in the spring and with sponsorships, we have been able to get close to our goal but still need more than $10,000 dollars from the community. This event builds awareness of the great facilities so the public can help. Go to www.voltapark.org to lean more.”

Lever added: the West team of Georgetown’s west side beat the East team of the east side in the annual softball game. [gallery ids="101487,152000" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney • May 23, 2016

It isn’t every day that you get to walk in the building and in the yard of a great inventor, especially when you happen to be in Georgetown.

The Georgetown Business Association held its monthly reception at Alexander Graham Bell’s Volta Bureau on 35th Street to talk up innovation in Washington, D.C., past and present. Most Georgetowners, much less Washingtonians, have never come to the AG Bell headquarters, but all use Bell’s most famous invention, the telephone.

The nonprofit, also known as the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, aims to change that. It welcomed guests to the yellow building at 35th Street and Volta Place, built in 1893, and explained that it is celebrating 125 years of Bell’s laboratory and legacy in Georgetown. Across Volta Place stands Bell’s original laboratory and the home of the inventor’s father, Alexander Melville Bell.

GBA President Sonya Bernhardt touted Georgetown’s innovation credo — take Herman Hollerith, for example, who located his Tabulating Machine Company in what is now the Canal Square Building on 31st Street, next to the C&O Canal. The company merged with others to become International Business Machines, IBM. You could say that the computer was invented here — at least part of it.

Tech firms, such as Palantir Technologies and EverFi, thrive in D.C.’s oldest neighborhood. Add to that initiatives like StartupHoyas at Georgetown University and S&R Foundation’s Halcyon Incubator. Bernhardt also mentioned that the D.C. government is calling this month, innoMAYtion, a program that provided resources to 500 disadvantaged small businesses, and welcomed at-large council member Vincent Orange.

There are anniversaries coming up, guests learned.

The GBA will celebrate 40 years as Georgetown’s biggest business advocate at the Rosewood Hotel, June 15, and salute one of its founders, Rick Hindin, who also began the legendary clothing store

To celebrate Bell and AG Bell’s 125th anniversary, a gala will be held Sept. 29 at the National Geographic Society. One of the awardees at the gala will be Gilbert Grosvenor, who retired as chairman of the society in 2011.
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Robert Devaney • May 16, 2016

Nine gardens of Georgetown were open May 7, as neighbors, horticulturalists and the curious visited some spectacular back yards from the east side to the west side of town.

Each place proved its special worth — whether it was the Pyne household on 30th Street with its unexpected spaciousness so close to M Street and the Old Stone House, the Langhornes’ sweep of lawn and pool on 31st Street, next to the Tudor Place property or Connie Milstein’s classic pool and gardens on R Street.

Across from Milstein, the Terceks’ efficiently planned patio and garden delighted, too, as did the garden of Jackie Pletcher and Charlie Eisen on O Street. Especially surprising were the gardens of Jane Hannaway on Dumbarton Street and those of John Danielson on Scott Place — tucked away and carefully thought out but with a natural flow.

Newcomer Kevin Plank and wife Desiree impressed with a re-do of the gardens on 34th Street by Amy Mills, prompting the garden club to opine: “This house and garden have recently undergone a dramatic renovation, with great care in preserving original details while implementing the latest technology. A large ballroom and outdoor terrace overlook the formal lawn while, hidden around a corner, one discovers a long lap pool. A rare treasure, the home once belonged to Evangeline and David Bruce.”

Other garden club comments — some of which are from “Gardens of Georgetown” by Edith Schafer — included the following:

The Pyne residence: “Passing into this grand and stately garden takes you into another world: a charming latticed cupola/library full of garden books, a big swimming pool, levels and terraces, a playhouse, a small octagonal ornamental pool, a greenhouse, named varieties of boxwood, and a knockout vegetable garden planted like a parterre, designed by Adrian Higgins, garden writer for the Washington Post.”

The Langhorne house: “Artifacts of historical interest have been found in this spacious and handsome garden that was once part of Tudor Place. Clever aids are incorporated into the design to provide handicap access: a special lift for the pool and very soft walkways made of shredded tires. Gordon Riggle, landscape architect.”

The Milstein residence: “This handsome and imposing garden has a distinctly European feel to it emphasized by its formal statuary and fountains. But the formality is softened by the plantings: a riot of color and a variety of interesting flowers in unusual combinations – purples and lime greens for instance—are used to great effect.”

The Danielson home: “An utterly beguiling garden! A round pond with a round umbrella-shaped red Japanese maple and a circular patio are on the upper level from which the viewer looks down on a glorious mix of small shrubs and a continuation of the round theme. The result is marvelous!”
 
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Robert Devaney • May 9, 2016

They call this week and long weekend many things for the main event that is the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner (what with the president, politicos and journalists showing up) and all the attending parties before, during and after — “Harmless fun,” “Nerd prom,” “Yes, I was invited,” “the End Times,” “Look, it’s Joe Biden.”

Thursday, April 28

Dog Tag Storms the Hill Day Reception (with the Altria Group) — 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., 101 Constitution Ave. NW (Suite 400W).

Third Annual Women & Journalism Awards — 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Kalorama home of Gloria Dittus.

“Global Beat” Party: Devex, Foreign Affairs, UN Foundation — 6:30 p.m. to 8:30pm, 1750 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (UN Foundation headquarters).

“Bytes and Bylines” reception-buffet — 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Spanish Ambassador’s residence, 2350 Foxhall Road NW.

“Swipe the Vote” Party: Tinder and Independent Journal Review with Rock the Vote — 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., Hotel W Rooftop, 555 15th St. NW.

Friday, April 29

Time and People Magazine Reception — 6 p.m. to 8pm, St. Regis hotel, 923 16th St. NW.

“Celebration of Journalism” Reception with Screen Actors Guild-Variety-Washington Post — 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Washington Post, 1301 K Street NW.

Voto Latino-Our Voices (“Diversity in Media”) — 6:30 to 9:30pm, Hay Adams (rooftop terrace), 800 16th St. NW.

The Hill-Extra-Thomson Reuters reception — 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Embassy of Canada, 501 Pennsylvania Ave NW.

The Creative Coalition’s Night Before Dinner (hosted by Tim Daly, Emily Ratajkowski, Nina Dobrev, Rosario Dawson, Neve Campbell, Gabrielle Union, Tyler Posey, Wendi McLendon-Covey,  AnnaLynne McCord, Constance Zimmer, Lisa Edelstein, Richard Schiff and others TBA) — 8 p.m., the Supper Suite by STK, 1250 Connecticut Ave. NW.

Google, HBO and Smithsonian American Art Museum party — 8 p.m., Renwick Gallery, 1661 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.

White House Correspondents Jam II (bands with those in the media) — 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., the Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW.

The New Yorker reception — 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., W Hotel, 555 15th St. NW.

Funny or Die 4th Annual Party (location disclosed to those invited) — 11 p.m.

Saturday, April 30

Annual Garden Brunch — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Beall-Washington House, 2920 R St. NW.

The New Media Party Party — noon to 3 p.m., the Brixton, 901 U St. NW.

BuzzFeed’s WHCD Pregame — 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., D.C. office, 1630 Connecticut Ave. NW.

The Young Turks-the Huffington Post-TYT Network — 8 p.m. to 11p.m., 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW.

WHCAD pre-parties — 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW. Reuters; Atlantic Media-CBS News; others.

White House House Correspondents’ Association Dinner — 7:30 p.m, POTUS plus entertainer Larry Wilmore, Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW.

WHCAD post-parties — 10:30 p.m., the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW. Reuters; others. Nearby: Annual Bloomberg-Vanity Fair (at the French Ambassador’s residence on Kalorama Road).

“Diamond Joe Biden’s Badass Balls-to-the-Wall Fiesta,” hosted by the Onion — 9 p.m. to 1 am, the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.

MSNBC after-party — 10:30 p.m., U.S. Institute of Peace, 2301 Constitution Ave. NW.

Sunday, May 1

CNN’s Political Hangover Brunch —10 a.m. to 2pm, Longview Gallery, 1234 9th St. NW.

Thomson-Reuters Brunch — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Hay Adams, 800 16th St. NW.

Albritton brunch — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Q Street residence in Georgetown.

Arianna Huffington’s “The Sleep Revolution” book brunch — 11 a.m., the Four Seasons Hotel, 2800 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.

Robert Devaney • May 4, 2016

It’s official: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has been appointed by CTF Georgetown Hotel LLC., new owners of Capella Washington, D.C., to take over the management of the hotel, which opened in 2013 on 31st Street NW, next to the C&O Canal.

“Effective April 21,” according to Rosewood, “the hotel, formerly owned by Castleton Hotel Partners I, LLC., has been renamed and is now known as Rosewood Washington, D.C.  Rosewood and Capella Hotels are working closely together to ensure a smooth transition for guests, associates and partners.”

New to town is the Rosewood’s managing director, Pascal Forotti.

Meanwhile, Castleton Hotel Partners I, LLC, also announced the $65-million sale of the 49-room Capella, an office building transformed into a hotel by Castleton. The Capella quickly garnered high praise from travel experts.

“I’m very humbled by all that we have been able to accomplish in our first hotel venture and our partnership with Capella Hotel Group, turning a former office building into one of the best luxury hotels in not just the nation’s capital but the entire country,” said Bruce Bradley, managing member of Castleton Hotel Partners I, LLC. “As a developer, we have made it our mission to identify unique business opportunities and to drive value for our partners. I would like to thank Capella Hotel Group for their assistance in helping us achieve these goals with their incredible service level and globally recognized brand.”
 
“Capella Washington, D.C, was our first Capella branded property in the United States and we could not be more pleased by the excellence in which we achieved our vision,” said Horst Schulze, president and CEO of Capella Hotel Group.

“Rosewood Washington, D.C., is an exciting addition to Rosewood’s collection of properties and strengthens our presence in North America,” said Sonia Cheng, chief executive officer of Rosewood Hotel Group. “The hotel draws on the capital’s rich culture and history to express Rosewood’s trademark philosophy of ‘A Sense of Place’ in innovative and memorable ways.”

Robert Devaney •

The 85th Georgetown House Tour celebrations began with a bang-up Patrons’ Party at Bill Dean’s house April 20. There was a record-breaking crowd — even the Secretary of Homeland Security showed up to check out the scene. (O.K., Jeh Johnson is a neighbor.)

The party — which raised more than $100,000, a record sum, for the social services of St. John’s Church on O Street in Georgetown — is gaining buzz as the place for thirsty Washingtonians to be on the last Wednesday night in April. It wound down too soon, and lingering party-goers simply opted to continue at the George Town Club around 9 p.m.

At Saturday’s house tour, tickets sales neared 1,500, and the afternoon tea was packed in the parish hall of St. John’s Church on O Street. (The morning rain stopped no one.)

The tour displayed 10 houses — three on the west and seven on the east side of town. Observers enjoyed the designs of living rooms, libraries, dining rooms and kitchens. Contemporary art, such as that of Colby Caldwell in the Lacheys’ house on O Street, was examined as readily as that of the Wilkisons’ image of “The Samian Sybil” after Guercino above the mantle in their N Street home.

While all of those who donated the use of their houses for the day are to be commended, we might just give the grand prize to Jane and Timothy Matz. A little more than three weeks ago, the tree in front of their house fell against their roof, hitting the chimney, which collapsed with bricks falling and smashing the car in the driveway. When people showed up at the Matz home on O Street Saturday, everything was fixed for the tour except for a few loose cable wires. Now that’s commitment.
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Robert Devaney •

More or less, it started Thursday at Gloria Dittus’s house with Women & Journalists Awards, the Tinder-Independent Journal Review party at the W, a Dog Tag reception. Friday parties included Voto Latino, Washington Post-Variety-SAG party, Google-HBO, Hill Newspaper-Reuters at the Canadian Embassy. Saturday: Garden Brunch on R Street, Buzzfeed, Reuters, Atlantic-CBS News, the Onion, Vanity Field-Bloomberg — and the main event, POTUS at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton. Sunday included brunches by Thomson-Reuters, CNN and the Allbrittons on Q Street. Which did we — or you — miss? [gallery ids="102227,130412,130456,130439,130433,130420,130425,130444,130449" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney • May 3, 2016

UPDATED at noon, April 26.

The Sunday morning discovery of a death at 1401 33rd St. NW stunned the quiet Georgetown neighborhood just as church was letting out. It is suspected but not yet confirmed that the deceased was Georgetown University student Edward Blatz., Jr.

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that there was a death report Sunday, April 24, at 1401 33rd St. NW. “This matter is currently being investigated as a death report,” MPD Second District Commander Melvin Gresham told The Georgetowner in an email. “There were no unusual circumstances involved at this point.”

On April 26, Aquita Brown, a public affairs specialist for the Metropolitan Police Department, confirmed to The Georgetowner that the death which occurred April 24 at 1401 33rd Street NW was that of Edward Blatz, Jr.

The white house at the northeast corner of 33rd and O Streets has been a group house for at least seven years, according to one neighbor. It is believed that the house is occupied by students from Georgetown University, four blocks to the west. Another neighbor said that a male student who was on the lacrosse team had overdosed and died. A person familiar with the case said that the student’s death may have been caused by a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.

Late Sunday afternoon, one of Georgetown University’s student newspapers, the Hoya reported: “Edward Blatz, Jr., a junior on the men’s lacrosse team, died early Sunday, according to a university-wide email sent by Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson this afternoon. Known to many as ‘Eddie,’ Blatz played defense on the lacrosse team. . . . The cause of death has not been announced as of press time.”

Jeanne Lord, associate vice president of student affairs at Georgetown University, was seen entering the 33rd Street house midday. A young couple was seen at a nearby corner visibly upset.

MPD closed off 33rd Street north of O Street for a time.
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Robert Devaney • April 27, 2016

It comes but once a year, one of Georgetown’s peak experiences, when homes open up on an April day.

Every year, some wonder how it will all come together. Who will agree to put their place on the tour? Who will host the popular Patrons’ Party — founded by the tour’s heart and soul, 100-year-old Frida Burling? From the co-chairs to the docents, work on this single Georgetown Saturday involves hundreds (not counting the visitors).

Reviewing this newspaper’s pages on the house tour over the years, one reads a living scrapbook of past and present, of people and place. Called “the glue that holds Georgetown together,” the tour provides a living record of the republic’s architecture: Federal, Georgian, Classic, Revival, Victorian and Modern.

Founded in 1931, and thought to be the nation’s oldest such event, the Georgetown House Tour & Tea is a love affair with this town. The 2016 tour, the 85th, will feature 10 private homes on Saturday, April 23.

In fact, this year — with co-chairs Jill and Scott Altman — it looks like the sky’s the limit. Scott is a former NASA astronaut and Jill is an astronaut’s wife.

“It’s an exciting year with Jill and Scott Altman leading our mission!” says Reverend Gini Gerbasi, rector at St. John’s Church on O Street. “The Georgetown House Tour provides vital funding for St. John’s ministries that support the needy in our community. We are grateful to the Altmans and every St. John’s member, friend and sponsor who contributes to this celebrated Georgetown tradition.”

“The thing I love most about Georgetown is being able to walk everywhere,” Jill says. “I am a gardener and look forward to spring because we have an explosion of bulbs everywhere. During the blizzard, we joined friends almost every evening for dinner. I also love that we are so close to all that D.C. has to offer. There is a real sense of community here. The house tour is special to me because it is a tremendous labor of love.”

Scott says his favorite thing “about Washington, and especially about Georgetown, is just walking around and breathing in all the history and stories that have taken place here. I love knowing that both Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln visited soldiers in hospitals here in Georgetown and that there is a continuity in this town that will continue after we are gone.”

Each year, the tour co-chairs work overtime to coordinate all the parts of the show, and each year their own life stories reveal a part of Georgetown — and add to its story.

Jill and Scott Altman met in San Diego at a friend’s engagement party. He was a Navy aviator and she, a college senior. “Are you one of those jet jocks?” Jill asked Scott, who was stationed at nearby Naval Air Station Miramar, known then as “Fightertown, USA.” She knew how haughty fighter pilots were. “You think you’re Prince Charming?” she parried, after he took her shoe, drank champagne out of it and kept the shoe — ensuring a date the next day at the Old Globe theater in Balboa Park.

Within months, the two — each with Midwestern roots — were engaged. They married in 1984. As a F-14 pilot in the Weapons School program, Scott acted as a stunt double and flew his plane in the 1986 film “Top Gun” starring Tom Cruise. For the movie, he buzzed the station’s control tower — an insane maneuver in real life. He also got to flip the bird, so to speak, to a MiG pilot flying alongside his jet. He was shown upside down. (Yes, some tricks of the camera were used, and the rumors are true: a “Top Gun 2” is planned.)

Next up for the Altmans was Monterey and Naval Postgraduate School, with Scott as an F-14D test pilot. Later on, there was an assignment in this area at Naval Air Station Patuxent River — as well as months in the Indian Ocean. At the time, Jill worked for Pacific Southwest Airlines and could readily fly to ports where the supercarrier USS Carl Vinson docked.

After medal-earning missions over Iraq’s no-fly zone in the 1990s, the Navy captain got the call from NASA. He had been rejected two years earlier. At six-foot-four, he was able to become a naval aviator (he was too tall for the Air Force). At the end of his second consideration, he told the NASA interviewers in Houston that his grandmother already thought he was an astronaut. He became one in 1995.

Scott had seen the Apollo 11 lunar landing on live television as a ten-year-old in Pekin, Illinois, next to Peoria. His love of flight was egged on by the “Sky King” TV series. Today, there is an elementary school named after him in Pekin. He was also honored by his alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, with a bust of his likeness. And about 10 years ago, he met his hero, astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.

For her part, Jill — originally from Tucson, Arizona — was happy to hold down the home front, raising three boys and playing her part as an astronaut’s wife during 15 years in Houston, home to the Johnson Space Center.

“NASA took good care of us,” Jill says. She recalls walking past the space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center launch pad in Florida. “It was amazing to be that close. You could almost touch the shuttle. Astronaut wives were usually relieved when MECO [main engine cut off] was announced, but Columbia showed us that danger continued throughout the mission.” (Shuttle Columbia burned up in the atmosphere during its descent in February of 2003.)

Her husband — known as Scooter and considered NASA’s tallest astronaut — went on four shuttle missions as pilot or commander, logging more than 40 days in space. His last time up was as commander of Atlantis, STS-125, in May of 2009. It was the last service mission for the Hubble Space Telescope, itself a singular achievement.

During his first time in space, Scott glimpsed his hometown in Illinois. “It was an incredible feeling to look down and see the place where I grew up, where so many of my friends and family still live,” he says. “It was an emotional rush for me that put the whole spaceflight in a human perspective.

“I also felt that way as we flew over the Holy Land. It is amazing to look down on that part of our planet and think of how much impact that land and the people who lived there long ago are still having on us today.

“On my last mission, after having so many struggles with the repairs to Hubble, but finally being able to release the telescope with all our repairs completed, it felt good to set Hubble free to continue its voyage of discovery of our incredible universe.”

In 2010, with the U.S. manned space program on hiatus, Scott retired as an astronaut and the Altmans moved to Georgetown.

Scott works for Arctic Slope Regional Corp. as a vice president in its Engineering and Aerospace Solutions section in Beltsville, Maryland. The firm provides federal services, including those that assist the Orion program, NASA’s next manned project, and works with engineers at the Goddard Space Center. Among her charities, Jill is on the board of directors of the Georgetown Senior Center and the Salvation Army Grate Patrol.

The two are members of St. John’s Church. Scott gave a stirring homily on God, science and faith — with an image from the Hubble Telescope shown above the altar — during a service at St. John’s last year. His faith in God got him through very tough basic training, he says, adding, “It’s hard to imagine an atheist in the cockpit of the space shuttle.”

The Altmans have three grown sons: Daniel, Alexander and Michael. Mom and Dad live on 36th Street with their little white coton named Roxie. Neighbors include Georgetown College Dean Chester Gillis, real estate agent Michelle Galler, Robin and Jeff Jones — who is an advisory neighborhood commissioner and an airline pilot — and two 90-year-old nuns. Jack the Bulldog, the sports mascot for Georgetown University, lives across the street. Scott likes that Mike Lackey, whose O Street house is on the tour, also flew F-14s.

While we wonder if Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer will indeed fly again in the movies, we know that Scott Altman would like to return to space. “I’ve had a fun ride,” he says. “I stood on the shoulders of giants. I like to imagine that someone I’ve talked to will become the first person to walk on Mars.”

As participants in the Georgetown House Tour experience on a small scale, the houses, the people, the stories collectively reveal this extraordinary neighborhood in the nation’s capital. One might even say that Scott has taken the ultimate house tour: he has orbited our home planet — with Jill keeping it all together on the good earth. [gallery ids="102408,122237,122230,122246,122241" nav="thumbs"]