Latest News

Robert Devaney • January 6, 2014

Donghia — which specializes in decorative fabrics and furniture — is relocating its home furnishings design trade showroom from the Washington Design Center to Cady’s Alley in the 3,413-square-foot retail property, currently occupied by home furnishings retailer M2L. Donghia will “establish a new, permanent home in Cady’s Alley and will move into its showroom Jan. 1, with a grand opening slated for late spring,” according to property managers EastBanc, Inc., and Jamestown, which announced a 10-year lease by Donghia to occupy retail space in its Georgetown Renaissance property at 3334 Cady’s Alley, NW.

Founded by the late Italian-American designer Angelo Donghia, the luxury contemporary home furnishing collection sells exclusively to interior designers and architects through its showrooms. Its furniture is made in the U.S. and accessories are handmade in Italy in Murano, next to Venice.

“With a 40-year history at the forefront of the luxury home furnishings industry, Donghia is an excellent complement to the mix of design-oriented retailers that the Georgetown community is accustomed to, serving as a reminder that this retail corridor remains D.C.’s primary destination for luxury, design and fashion,” says Philippe Lanier, vice president of EastBanc.

“The Donghia lease agreement is part of a recent swell of Georgetown Renaissance leasing activity that includes stylish retailers such as Steven Alan, Calypso St. Barth, Bonobos, and Intermix,” EastBanc and Jamestown noted in a company press release. “The Donghia deal also solidifies the westward movement in Georgetown of sophisticated lifestyle offerings and will complement current Cady’s Alley design tenants Design Within Reach, Contemporaria, Janus et Cie, Boffi-Maxalto and Baker Furniture, which recently signed a lease renewal to remain in Cady’s Alley for another ten years – an investment that reaffirms Baker’s commitment to Georgetown and Cady’s Alley.”

Robert Devaney • December 30, 2013

It was the extra December meeting, meant for January, taking place Dec. 19 at Georgetown Visitation Prep on 35th Street. Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E had to meet again before the Jan. 2 meeting of the Old Georgetown Board in order to get its recommendations in before that meeting, as is the routine.

It turned out to be the most highly attended meeting of 2013.

Was it because Mayor Vincent Gray came to speak? Not especially.

There were many agenda items, as is usual, including the plans for the modernization of Duke Ellington School of the Arts, plans for Hyde-Addison Elementary School and additions and alterations for the former Georgetown Theater. All big designs that deserve a review by the Georgetown-Burleith ANC, before appearing in front of the OGB.

It was students and staffers from Ellington School who swelled the audience numbers and wanted to hear the ANC’s take on the designs for the arts school’s upgrades — something the ANC does with any major design before the community. A typical ANC meeting can have an audience of 80 to 100. This meeting with curious Ellington School supporters easily doubled that figure to approximately 200. It was definitely standing room only this night. It appeared that some thought that the ANC was questioning Ellington’s position on 35th Street in Georgetown, only three blocks north of Visitation. To allay any fears, one commissioner affirmed Ellington School as a “good neighbor.”

Commissioners took major exception to the rooftop addition at the school, worrying about large receptions that might occur. After all, noise can easily travel around the neighborhood. There were other historic and design issues, too. Even planned access from Reservoir Road and other parking spots are a concern — again, routine questions during any ANC meeting about a design.

Meanwhile, the Hyde School gymnasium-auditorium addition will eventually be completed as will the reconstruction of the former Georgetown Theater on Wisconsin Avenue, only steps away from the O Street public school. Finer design questions from OGB are, of course, expected.

During his speech, earlier in the meeting, the mayor said: “I am a huge fan of Ellington School.”

Seeking re-election as mayor, Gray said he would be happy to get personally involved with any stalled negotiations, if necessary, as he considered himself “a problem solver.”

Gray was also happy to report on Washington, D.C.’s strong position: “number-one economy . . . number-one high-tech hot spot . . . number-one for college graduates.” The mayor also said that D.C. is the number-two “hippest” city. So, which is number one? It is Houston . . . really.

Gray celebrated the near completion of the City Center and the plans for a new soccer stadium. There are now 61 cranes across the city, he said. He took delight in reporting that Microsoft would take up a spot on the rebuilt St. Elizabeth’s campus. The first place outside Washington State for Microsoft, Gray noted, is in Washington, D.C.

As for the government’s partial shutdown, it did not hit the District of Columbia government hard, said the mayor, having made all employees “essential” — and with D.C.’s $1.5 billion reserve at the ready.

The mayor also said the streetcars were back — after 50 years — but was also looking on how to keep D.C. “an affordable city.”

That’s an issue for another day and the 2014 mayoral campaign. The April 1 Democratic primary is less than 100 days away.
[gallery ids="101581,147898" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney • December 23, 2013

The Georgetown-Burleith-Hillandale Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2E) will meet tonight, 6:30 p.m., Dec. 19, in the Heritage Room at the main building of Georgetown Visitation Prep, 35th Street and Volta Place.

During the meeting, Mayor Vincent Gray will speak to the commissioners and the community.

Top items on the meeting’s agenda include: designs on Hyde-Addison School additions and the former Georgetown Theater; Duke Ellington School modernization plans; liquor license agreement by Gypsy Sally’s; Georgetown 2028 Plan, proposed by the Georgetown Business Improvement District.

The following is the Dec. 19 agenda, as provided by ANC2E:

Approval of the Agenda

• Approval of December 19, 2013, ANC 2E Public Meeting Agenda

Administrative

Approval of December 2, 2013, Meeting Minutes

Public Safety and Police Report

Financial Report

Transportation Report

DPW Report

Ellen Steury is the new ANC 2E Commissioner for SMD 07

Community Comment

Georgetown Community Partnership Rental Property Compliance Program

New Business

Georgetown 2028 Plan proposed by the Georgetown BID with community input – the plan description is available at www.georgetowndc.com/

3222 M Street, NW, Pinstripes, Application for valet parking

ABC

3401 K Street, NW, ABRA Lic. No. 090582, Gypsy Sally’s Acoustic Tavern, Amendment to Voluntary Agreement

Old Georgetown Board

CFA/HPRB SMD 01, 1680 35th Street, NW, Duke Ellington School of the Arts modernization project

MAJOR PROJECTS
SMD 03, 3219 O Street, NW, Government of the District of Columbia, Department of General Services, OG 14-020 (HPA 14-024) Hyde – Addison Elementary School, Addition, Concept

SMD 03, 1351 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-007 (HPA 14-011) (former Georgetown Theater) Commercial, Demolition, roof top addition, rear addition, alterations, Concept – revised design

PRIVATE PROJECTS:

1. SMD 06, 3001 M Street, NW, OG 14-059 (HPA 14- 101) Commercial, Sign for “Little Penguin,” Permit

2. SMD 02, 1632 33rd Street, NW, OG 14-066 (HPA 14-108) Residence, One-story rear addition, Concept

3. SMD 02, 1660 34th Street, NW, OG 14-062 (HPA 14-104) Residence, Rear additions – options, alterations to
front façade, Concept

4. SMD 03, 3141 O Street, NW, OG 14-071 (HPA 14-113) Residence, Alterations to rear elevation and to rear
yard, repair stone wall, Permit

5. SMD 03, 3217 P Street, NW, OG 14-065 (HPA 14-107) Commercial, Alterations, outdoor seating terrace,
Concept

6. SMD 03, 3240 P Street, NW, OG 14-053 (HPA 14-077) Commercial, 3-story rear addition plus basement,
Concept

7. SMD 03, 3107 Dumbarton Street, NW, OG 14-058 (HPA 14-100) Residence, 2-story rear addition to replace 2-story porch, Concept

8. SMD 05, 3222 M Street, NW, OG 14-072 (HPA 14- 114) Georgetown Park, Window decals for “DC DMV,” Permit

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

10 SMD 05, 3307-B M Street, NW, OG 14-061 (HPA 14-103) Commercial, Awnings, plaque and signs for “Calypso St. Barth,” Permit

No Review At This Time by ANC 2E:

The following additional projects, which are on the upcoming January 2, 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.

1. SMD 02, 1672 34th Street, NW, OG 14-064 (HPA 14-106) Residence, Replace wall with wood fence at rear, Permit

2. SMD 02, 1649 35th Street, NW, OG 13-345 (HPA 13-616) Residence, Two-story rear addition, site work, swimming pool, Concept – revised design

3. SMD 02, 3320 R Street, NW, OG 14-057 (HPA 14- 097) Residence, Replacement windows and doors at rear, Permit

4. SMD 02, 3406 Reservoir Road, NW, OG 14-063 (HPA 14-105) Residence, Alterations to rear, fence, Permit – revised design

5. SMD 02, 1616 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-040 (HPA 14-064) Commercial, Awning, sign and window decals for “Vicky’s Nail Boutique,” Permit

6. SMD 03, 1422 33rd Street, NW, OG 14-056 (HPA 14- 096) Residence, Replacement windows at 2nd and 3rd floor, Permit

7. SMD 03, 1511 33rd Street, NW, OG 14-036 (HPA 14- 058) Residence, Replacement windows at rear – existing, Permit

8. SMD 03, 1405 34th Street, NW, OG 14-069 (HPA 14-111) Residence, Alterations, Concept

9. SMD 03, 3310 N Street, NW, OG 14-068 (HPA 14- 110) Residence, One-story rear addition, garden wall, parking pad off alley, Permit

10. SMD 03, 3330 P Street, NW, OG 14-001 (HPA 14-003) Residence, Solar panels, Permit

11. SMD 03, 3338 Volta Place, NW, OG 13-293 (HPA 13- 515) Residence, Extension of front wing, Concept

12. SMD 05, 3000 K Street, NW, OG 14-026 (HPA 14- 030) Mixed-use, Replace sails with fixed awnings at “Farmers, Fishers and Bakers,” Permit /concept

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

14. SMD 05, 3126 N Street, NW, OG 14-0 (HPA 14-) Residence, Wood siding, restore and replace, Permit

15.SMD 05, 3206 Grace Street, NW, OG 14-052 (HPA 14-076) Commercial, Alterations, replacement windows and doors, rooftop equipment, awning, sign and blade sign

16. SMD 05, 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-060 (HPA 14-102) Institutional (Grace Episcopal Church) Repair/replace – stone sills/lintels, masonry, Permit

17. SMD 06, 1421 29th Street, NW, OG 14-017 (HPA 14- 021) Residence, Replacement door, alterations to rear, deck, Concept

18. SMD 06, 3009-3011 M Street, NW, OG 14-067 (HPA 14-109) Mixed use, Rear addition, Permit

19. SMD 06, 2709-2713 N Street NW, OG 14-047 (HPA 14-071) Alexander Memorial Baptist Church, Additions, alterations, site work and curb-cut on public space, Concept

20. SMD 06, 3040 O Street, NW, OG 13-183 (HPA 13- 306) Residence, Enclose rear porch and alterations – existing, Permit – revised design

21. SMD 06, 2531 P Street, NW, OG 14-031 (HPA 14- 036) Commercial, Awnings – existing, Permit

22. SMD 06, 2531 P Street, NW, OG 14-033 (HPA 14- 046) Commercial, Signs for “TTR / Sotheby’s International Realty,” Permit

23. SMD 06, 3030 P Street, NW, OG 13-256 (HPA 13- 446) Residence, Partial demolition, 2-story rear addition, alterations , Concept – revised design

24. SMD 07, 1644 31st Street, NW, OG 14-009 (HPA 14- 013) Tudor Place, Alterations to west entrance, fence and sliding gate, Permit

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E 3265 S St., NW • Washington, D.C. 20007 (202) 724-7098 • anc2e@dc.gov • www.anc2e.com

Georgetowner •

Cady’s Alley Holiday Stroll

December 20th, 2013 at 04:00 PM | Event Website

Head to Cady’s Alley for the Cady’s Alley Holiday Stroll on Friday, December 20. Babette, Bonobos, Artist’s Proof Gallery, Tuckernuck and Steven Alan will be open late to help you find last minute gifts for friends, loved ones and yourself. Refreshments will be provided by local catering company, Georgetown Events. Enjoy an additional 15% off full-priced items during the event from 4 to 9 p.m.

Address

Babette (3307 Cady’s Alley, NW)

Bonobos (3320 Cady’s Alley, NW)

Artist’s Proof Gallery (3323 Cady’s Alley, NW)

Tuckernuck (3320 Cady’s Alley, NW)

Steven Alan (3319 Cady’s Alley, NW)

The Nutcracker – The Washington Ballet

December 20th, 2013 at 07:00 PM | $40 – $175 | info@washingtonballet.org | Tel: 202.362.3606 x605 | Event Website

A holiday must-see! Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker transports you back in time to historic Washington with George Washington as the heroic Nutcracker. Glorious music, swirling snowflakes, magnificent sets and costumes have made this Nutcracker a DC tradition with raves from critics and sold-out crowds.

Address

The Warner Theatre; 513 13th St NW

Blues Alley: Carol Riddick

December 20st, 2013 at 8:00PM and 10:00PM | $25 | info@tudorplace.org | Tel: (202) 337-4141 | Event Website

Philadelphia’s best kept secret is out of the bag! Carol Riddick has released her solo debut album, Moments Like This, for all the world to hear. The sultry singer/songwriter has graced stages from her hometown of Philadelphia to across the globe and will now be performing live at Blues Alley.

Address

Blues Alley; 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW

Chocolate House Workshop and Tea for Families

December 21st, 2013 at 10:30 AM | $20-$25 | info@tudorplace.org | Tel: (202) 965-0400 | Event Website

To begin, children and adults sample period teas and delicious desserts at a festive holiday tea. After the tea ceremony, costumed interpreters lead children in a chocolate workshop to create their own 3D holiday chocolate houses!

Address

1644 31st Street, NW

An Enchanted Christmas: A Heartwarming Holiday Concert

December 21st, 2013 at 04:00 PM | $15-$75 | choralarts@choralarts.org | Tel: 202-244-3669 | Event Website

Choral Arts holiday concert warms hearts with nostalgic memories of yesterdays’ Christmases and renews the hope of the season. This year’s Christmas concert is enhanced by the cherubic voices of the Children’s Chorus of Washington. Experience the glorious sound of adult and children voices with a chamber orchestra performing your favorite holiday classics and join in for the popular carol sing-along.

Address

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; 2700 F Street NW

Robert Devaney •

A bomb threat phoned into the House of Sweden caused the Swedish Embassy and other office at the waterfront building to be evacuated and caused street closures during the evening rush hours. As of 6 p.m., traffic in Georgetown and the West End was a mess.

“Someone left a message at the embassy switchboard Thursday afternoon claiming there was an explosive device in the building, at 2900 K St. NW,” according to WTOP. “Swedish Embassy officials say the building was cleared. However, bomb units are on the scene sweeping for explosives.”

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks tweeted around 5 p.m.: “Swedish press are reporting that the embassy in Washington has been evacuated over [an] Assange-related bomb threat.”

In the mid-afternoon, the Metropolitan Police Department sent an announcement through Twitter, concerning closed streets near the Georgetown Waterfront — specifically K Street and Rock Creek Parkway: “Police Activity Update: Street Closures will remain CLOSED until further notice.”

The MPD as well as the Secret Service Police were on the scene at 29th and K Streets, near the House of Sweden. Traffic was closed on Rock Creek Parkway, K Street between Rock Creek Parkway and 30th Street as well as westbound 26th Street at Virginia Avenue.

Gary Tischler • December 19, 2013

There is a reason that Turner Movie Classics exists and remains popular and exists. It connects us to Hollywood’s past, to movie stars when they shone brightly, for a time. In old movies, old movie stars come alive. You recognize the faces, the voices and who you were when you first saw and heard them.

We are reminded of that every time a long-ago star or performer passes away, and we see them again in our minds as they were then — in the movies.

We lost three actresses this past week, each one singular and unique to a time, and in their fashion. Joan Fontaine was for a time Hollywood royalty across three decades, an Oscar winner, and part of a sibling rivalry that was remarkably enduring with her sister Olivia DeHavilland. Eleanor Parker was a red-headed beauty often used by the studios she worked for in relation to how she looked, which was always beautiful, but rarely for her talent, which was considerable. Audrey Totter was never quite the big star, but for a time she rose to prominence in the age of Hollywood noir films, those 1940s cops and robbers sagas almost always in black and white in which Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade types pursued murders and molls, often portrayed by Lauren Bacall, Mary Astor, Rhonda Fleming or Audrey Totter.

JOAN FONTAINE

Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland were sisters, which seems to be the story that’s hung around Fontaine’s obituary—how the two English lasses came to Hollywood and thrived but seemed always to be in competition with one another.

Fontaine, who died at the age of 96 this past week, had a bit of a specialty when she finally broke through with a role in the 1930s version of “The Women,” which was to be a heroine who falls under the spell of magnetic, potentially dangerous men. At least that’s where her biggest success came—she won an Oscar playing one of Alfred Hitchcock’s first blonde beauties in “Suspicion,” in which she fears that her mysterious husband, played by Cary Grant with his usual suaveness and urbanity, with a touch of sharp menace. In “Rebecca,” a gothic, big old English house mystery-romance, she starred opposite Laurence Olivier (and was directed by Hitchcock again) and faced off with the sinister Judith Anderson. And, of course, there was the ultimate such role in “Jane Eyre,” in which she starred opposite Orson Welles.

Fontaine could do other things—she was very good in “Tender in the Night,” vied for the affections of Robert Taylor with Elizabeth Taylor in “Ivanhoe.” Mostly though, the rivalry with her sister is what’s grist for the Hollywood mill—they managed accidentally or on purpose to snub and embarrass each other on Oscar nights and barely spoke through the years. There was at this writing, no comment yet from Olivia de Havilland, who lives in France. She is 97.

ELEANOR PARKER

Eleanor Parker, who started to come to prominence in the 1940s, was a much better actress than anybody gave her credit for her. In terms of her beauty, she was made for Technicolor, and that’s what MGM in its infinite wisdom often used her for—as a kind of blazing-red adornment in such films as “Valley of the Kings,” “Scaramouche,” “Many Rivers to Cross,” “Escape from Fort Bravo,” “The Naked Jungle” and the like. It’s not that she gave bad performances—her high-spirited theater performer in the French Revolution in “Scaramouche” was a delight opposite Stewart Granger.

She starred in “Caged,” which got her noticed in what was to become a kind of sub-noir genre of women in prison movies and was outstanding as the wife of Kirk Douglas in “Detective Story,” a terrific cop drama of the early 1950s. She also played Frank Sinatra’s crippled wife in the tough-minded “The Man With the Golden Arm,” in which Sinatra played a drug addict.

But it seems her most enduring film is the role of the countess who lost out to Julie Andrews for the affections of Christopher Plummer in “The Sound of Music,” a fact that is today remembered very well, given the recent live television production of said “Sound”.

Eleanor Parker died December 9 in Palm Springs. She was married four times and had four children. She was 91.

AUDREY TOTTER

In the movies, Audrey Totter never quite gained the stature of, say, an Eleanor Parker or Joan Fontaine, but she had a long career in genre movies, most of them of the noir variety, and later, thrillers and mysteries and westerns, including television types. Hollywood always had roles for her, until it didn’t—or until westerns, thrillers and noir films simply faded away.

You can pretty much tell her career path from the titles and the roles beginning with a small part in “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” which made a big star out of Lana Turner. She was in the Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) mystery “Lady in the Lake, in “High Wall,” in “The Unsuspected,” in “Alias Nick Beal,” in “Tension” and in “The Set Up.” Later during the 1950s, she had roles in “The Carpetbaggers” and “Harlow.”

You remember her in those movies if you saw them: she was the tough-talking, good-looking blonde who didn’t take much guff from gunsels, gunslingers or cops.

Audrey Totter died eight days before her 97th birthday. Unlike many a Hollywood player, the Joliet, Ill. native, was married for 42 years to Leo Fred, an assistant dean of the UCLA School of Medicine.
[gallery ids="101578,147933,147930" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

Mayoral candidate and Ward 2 council member Jack Evans met with supporters at the George Town Club Dec. 13. During the week, the Evans campaign hit the million-dollar mark in fundraising but wants another half-million, Evans said.

Wooing potential donors in the Grill Room of the club, Evans said he was “not just any white guy,” citing the success of development along 14th Street and his hand in helping Whole Foods set up in the District among several business and job-creating projects. He touted his “ability to run the city after 22 years of experience.”

“I believe this is our time,” the optimistic Evans said and added he thought with himself as mayor and former mayor Anthony Williams on the Federal City Council, that “would be a game changer.”

Concerning the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination for Mayor of Washington, D.C., Evans said that the “more people in the race, the better.” The candidate who gets just one more vote than the others wins the primary. Addressing Republican supporters in the room, Evans said that they could re-register as Democrats to vote in the April 1 election and switch back to the GOP later. The campaign is also pushing to get college students registered to vote.

Talking about affordable housing, Evans said he wants to find a way to keep homeowners in their homes and not having to move because of rising assessments and property taxes.

Washington, D.C., is the “fastest growing city in the U.S.,” Evans said, with 1,000 newcomers moving in each month — as well as the city being the number-one destination for recent college graduates. He said he wants the city to be on par with London and Paris.

As for public safety, Evans cited lowered crime and said he would keep Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier, if he became mayor.

Aside from what he called the “rosy picture” of D.C.’s economy, Evans said its public education was “one of the worst public school systems” in the country. He saw hope in forming some kind of partnership between public and private schools, noting that the area has some of the “finest private schools.”

Evans also said he had concerns about raising the minimum wage from $8.25 per hour to $11.25 per the recent City Council bill which he supported. The minimum wage is supposed to be a starting wage for the work force, he said.

Gary Tischler •

If Richard Harris and Richard Burton, actor Peter O’Toole’s boon companions in riotous self destruction, are anyplace where they can be gate-keepers or greeters, they might give an exasperated greeting to the new arrival. Something on the order of “Well, Peter, it’s about bloody time, for heaven’s sake.”

Together, O’Toole, who died at the age of 81 over the weekend, finally closing those wonderfully magnetic blue eyes, Burton and Harris were three of the most celebrated film and stage actors in the world. They were also three of the most celebrated pub crawlers and hell-raisers in the world and were not expected to live into a ripe old age.

Burton, after two tumultuous and, yes, celebrated marriages and divorces to Elizabeth Taylor, went first at the age of 58 in 1984. Harris died at the age of 71 in 2002. O’Toole, who was plagued by ailments often, made it to 81. All three of them—with bloodlines that were Welsh (Burton) and Irish (Harris and Burton)—were brilliant actors, who, once you saw them at the top of their game, you never forgot them.

Burton always felt that he had never quite lived up to his promise—which was huge, and included Shakespearean pinnacles like “Hamlet” and (with Taylor) “Taming of the Shrew.” He, too, somehow never managed to win an Oscar in spite of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” Harris gained instant, unforgettable fame in “This Sporting Life” a black-and-white British film from the 1960s in which he played a ferocious, raging Rugby player, then, coincidentally and late in life, took up the mantle of King Arthur in a touring company of “Camelot.” In an interview with the Georgetowner at that time, Harris was asked if all the tales of carousing among the three were true. After a considerable silence and pause, he said, “Ah, hell yes, but those days are long gone.”

O’Toole—by God, he will always be T.E. Lawrence, “Lawrence of Arabia,” in David Lean’s epic star-studded epic—was a relative unknown who took on the title role turned down by Marlon Brando (can you imagine?) and killed it: on top of a train in the Middle Eastern desert, leading an Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire as best personified in a creepy turn by Jose Ferrer as a Turkish officer. It was an international cast: the Egyptian Omar Sharif as a young Arab leader, (“Doctor Zhivago” came next), the English Alec Guinness as a sheik, and the Hispanic Anthony Quinn (pre-Zorba) as another Arab leader. O’Toole practically blotted out the sun, blue eyes blazing in the desert.

He had seven Oscar nominations but never won—he did get an honorary lifetime achievement award. Both he and Burton, working together brilliantly were nominated for their roles in “Becket,” O’Toole as Henry II and Burton as the resolute and rebellious Archibishop of Canterbury. The two men were old, carousing friends, until Thomas a Becket challenged the authority of the king. O’Toole played Henry again in “The Lion in Winter” opposite another legend, Katharine Hepburn, as Eleanor of Aquitaine.

O’Toole never stopped acting until recently, when he retired from acting last year. He played a pope in “The Borgias,” for one thing, and was absolutely unforgettable once he turned to character parts, including the Errol Flynn-based character of a movie star trying out the perils of live television in “My Favorite Year.” He, too, played “Hamlet” at the National Theatre, directed by Laurence Olivier. He acted on the stage unto the 1990s.

Other memorable roles—in television as well as film—included a serial-killing Nazi general in “The Night of the Generals,” an obsessive director in “The Stunt Man,” the title role in “Lord Jim,” King Priam of Troy in “Troy” (starring Brad Pitt), a future Roman emperor in “Masada” on television and an elegant thief in “How To Steal a Million”.

Somewhere at some cloud-side pub, the doors are open for another round for O’Toole, Harris and Burton, giants all, with tales to tell and parts to play.

Georgetowner •

Holiday Wreath Workshop

December 13th, 2013 at 01:00 PM | $38-$48 | info@tudorplace.org | Tel: (202) 965-0400 | Event Website

Create your own holiday wreath from a variety of plant materials direct from the Tudor Place garden! Cedar boughs, magnolia leaves, berry-laden holly, pinecones, and boxwood offer opportunities for distinctive wreaths. All wreaths are medium-sized and all materials are provided.

Address

1644 31st Street, NW

The National Aeronautic Association’s 2013 Wright Memorial Trophy Dinner

December 13th, 2013 at 06:00 PM | $225 | Event Website

The 2013 NAA Wright Memorial Trophy will be presented to Marion Blakey, former NTSB Chair and FAA Administrator and the current president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association. She is the second woman to receive this distinguished aviation award.

NAA established this award in 1948 to honor the memory of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The trophy is awarded annually to a living American for “…significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States.”

Address

Washington Hilton; 1919 Connecticut Ave NW

Beads, Buttons and Fibers, Jewelry by Mary Kenesson

December 14th, 2013 at 03:00 PM | free | art@liveanartfullife.com | Tel: 540-253-9797 | Event Website

Join us for our holiday open house and meet local fiber artist Mary Kenesson. Mary travels the world and brings home vintage buttons, beads and fibers which she fashions into wonderful one-of-a-kind jewelry. She will bring great earrings, unique bracelets and necklaces with incredible hand worked detail. Her work is very unique and will make wonderful gifts. She will be conducting a demonstration on how to make Vintage Button Earrings.

Address

Live An Artful Life Gallery; 6474 Main Street; The Plains, VA 20198

Tilghman Island Holiday Celebration Features Lighting of 42-Ft. Crab Pot Tree

December 14th, 2013 at 05:00 PM | info@pwec.org. | Event Website

Santa’s elves are hard at work on Tilghman Island in Talbot County, Maryland, building a giant Christmas tree made entirely with crab pots. The wiry 42-foot tree will anchor the community’s holiday celebration that is scheduled to take place on December 14. A ubiquitous symbol of the waterman’s life, crab pots are plentiful this time of year with crabbing season at an end and oyster season well under way.

Address

Tilghman Island; Tilghman, MD, 21671

Gingerbread House Workshop

December 14th, 2013 at 12:00 PM | $10-$20 donation | leah@risDC.com | Tel: (202) 730-2500 | Event Website

A weekend workshop to learn the tricks to building and decorating the perfect gingerbread house. Guests will sample the latest holiday treats from new Pastry Chef Beverly Bates while making the perfect gingerbread masterpiece. Adults are invited to enjoy hot apple ginger cider made with Laird’s Applejack rum and house-made ginger beer. All proceeds from donations will benefit DC Central Kitchen.

Address

RIS; 2275 L Street NW

Sing We All Nowell! Music for Christmas

December 15th, 2013 at 04:00 PM | $20 in advance or $25 at the door, with a $5 discount for students and seniors. | info@thomascirclesingers.org | Tel: 202-232-3353 | Event Website

A favorite among our friends and supporters, the TCS Christmas concert features a choral procession with bells, a brass quintet, and an audience singalong of favorite carols. TCS joins the Bel Canto Chorus of the Children’s Chorus of Washington, the Commonwealth Brass, organ, harp, and percussion to perform a family-friendly, uplifting program of holiday music. This concert is guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit.

Address

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church; 4900 Connecticut Avenue, NW

An Enchanted Christmas: A Heartwarming Holiday Concert

December 16th, 2013 at 07:00 PM | $15-$75 | choralarts@choralarts.org | Tel: 202-244-3669 | Event Website

Choral Arts holiday concert warms hearts with nostalgic memories of yesterdays’ Christmases and renews the hope of the season. This year’s Christmas concert is enhanced by the cherubic voices of the Children’s Chorus of Washington. Experience the glorious sound of adult and children voices with a chamber orchestra performing your favorite holiday classics and join in for the popular carol sing-along.

Choral Arts-202.244.3669; choralarts.org

Kennedy Center-202.467.4600; kennedy-center.org

Address

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; 2700 F Street NW

Robert Devaney •

Georgetown University held its annual open house for neighbors Dec. 9 at Riggs Library, decorated for Christmastime.
University president John DeGioia welcomed the happy crowd along with council member Jack Evans, who spoke of how well Washington, D.C., was doing. DeGioia talked about Georgetown’s neighborhood partnership, the university’s new downtown campus near Mount Vernon Square as well as the recent event for D.C. school principals at Georgetown and the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr., celebration at the Kennedy Center in January. He also noted that the party-goers were in the Healy Building, which was designed by Smithmeyer & Pelz, the same architects who did the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, and said he saw the two landmark buildings as bookends of education for D.C. The hostess for the party was the university’s Lauralyn Lee, associate vice president for community engagement and strategic initiatives.