The Georgetowner: November 11, 2020 Issue

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VOLUME 67 NUMBER 2

NOVEMBER 11 - DECEMBER 8, 2020

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2925 GLOVER DR NW Gloverbrooke: 1929 Revival Tudor in Wesley Heights that has been restored to reflect the most in-demand finishes and features. Professionally landscaped & private English garden with high-end Outdoor Illuminations lighting and very large slate terrace directly off French doors from the dining room. The garden has a custom double iron gate with a curved custom-designed brick, stone, and stucco wall that shields the garden from the street. The terrace can be accessed from the kitchen or the dining room. There is an adjoining second tier of the garden with a fountain and is surrounded by mature plantings. The house is on a corner lot that is over 11,000 square feet with hundreds of azaleas, boxwoods, and a charming natural freshwater spring. The interior was professionally decorated with custom Giannetti plaster crown moldings and over-door treatments. The step-down living room offers 11' tracery plaster ceilings and a limestone fireplace. Windows in the living room overlook the garden and the natural spring. Adjacent to the living room is an inviting library with built-ins and windows facing both the front & rear gardens. A custom-designed chef's kitchen offers granite countertops, high-end appliances, and access to the garden. There is a cozy breakfast nook with a view of the garden. The second level offers 4 beds and 2 baths. The owner’s suite is complete with a working wood-burning fireplace, skylight, & three walk-in closets. Each bedroom has private access to a bath. The third floor is fully finished and offers an office with two large skylights and windows, a sitting area in addition to a large storage space, and more walk-in closets. This space could also be used as a fifth bedroom or offices/classrooms for remote learning. A surprising walk-out lower-level family room offers 9' ceilings, custom lighting and a built-in wall of floor-ceiling custom bookcases. There is a dedicated laundry room that includes a kitchenette. The lower level is filled with additional closets and storage. There is a two-car detached garage. Gloverbrooke offers a city location with a manor house feel.

2817 DUMBARTON ST NW This house is a unique post-war federal with a very traditional feel. Crown moldings, random with walnut pegged floors and an exquisite fireplace mantle. A second-floor entrance leads you into an ample sized foyer and elegant living room with a wood-burning fireplace. French doors open to a private and professionally landscaped garden. There is a spacious formal dining room with a wall of Southern facing windows overlooking Dumbarton street. The kitchen was recently updated with marble countertops and appliances and has a storage pantry. The upper level has three bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The owner's suite is on the back of the residence and overlooks the garden, has a bathroom, and a walk-in closet. There is a powder room on the main level. The lower has an English In-law suite, two bathrooms, and a media room/library with custom built-ins. An attached garage offers off-street parking. A large unfinished attic is perfect for storage. This home offers elegance and convenience in the heart of the East Village. 1206 30th Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Brokerage +1 202.333.1212

THE DIAZ-ASPER GROUP Julia Diaz-Asper Senior Vice President 202.256.1887 jasper@ttrsir.com

Dylan White Associate 202.368.9340 dwhite@ttrsir.com

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IN THIS ISSUE IN THIS ISSUE

NEWS · 6

ABOUT THE COVER

Vice President Joe Biden during the traditional mock swearing-in of senators in January 2017 at the U.S. Capitol. Cover photo by Jeff Malet.

Town Topics

PUBLISHER Sonya Bernhardt

FEATURES EDITORS COPY EDITOR Ari Post Richard Selden FASHION & BEAUTY SENIOR DIRECTOR CORRESPONDENT Lauretta McCoy Peggy Sands GRAPHIC DESIGN Troy Riemer

EDITORIAL/OPINION · 8

PHOTOGRAPHERS Philip Bermingham Jeff Malet

Biden Time Travel Restrictions Tighten for D.C.

ADVERTISING & MARKETING Danielle MartinTaylor Kate Sprague Richard Selden

THE VILLAGE · 9

Saturday Homicide, Thursday Manhunt Shake Up Georgetown

COVER · 10 - 11 Holiday Gift Guide State of Retail in Georgetown

BUSINESS · 12

Georgetown Main Street

ARTS · 13

Beautiful Things at the Phillips Collection

IN COUNTRY · 14 Holiday Happenings on the Eastern Shore

FOOD & WINE · 16 Latest Dish

CLASSIFIEDS · 17 Service Directory

BOOK CLUB · 18

Kitty Kelley Book Club

Happy Thanksgiving and a special thanks to our stakeholders listed below!

HERO Edward Weidenfeld

EDITORIAL PARTNER Friends of Volta Park Grayson & Company Peter Higgins John & Kristen Lever Penny Farthing and Andrew Miller Richard Murphy

BYLINER Robyn and Leon Andris • Carp For Success, LLC • Gertraud Hechl • Coleman Jackson • Pamla Moore • Chris Putula • Ann Randolf • Lisa Rossi • Paige and Tim Shirk • Robert Alan Stowers • St. John’s Church, Georgetown

ADVOCATE Cathleen Clinton • Nelson Cunningham • Paul and Diana Dennett • Diane Eames • Howard & Ellen Eisenberg • Elizabeth Friedman • Georgetown Village • Peter Harkness • Peter Higgins • JAB Holding Company • Jerome Libin • Mapping Geogetown • Jerry McCoy • Skip Moosher • John Rentzepis • Stephanie Bothwell Urban and Landscape Design • Christopher Wolf

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robert Devaney

CONTRIBUTORS Mary Bird Susan Bodiker Allyson Burkhardt Evan Caplan Didi Cutler Donna Evers Michelle Galler Amos Gelb Wally Greeves Kitty Kelley Rebekah Kelley Jody Kurash Shelia Moses Kate Oczypok Linda Roth Alison Schafer Mary Ann Treger

1050 30th Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Phone: (202) 338-4833 Fax: (202) 338-4834 www.georgetowner.com The Georgetowner is published every other Wednesday. The opinions of our writers and columnists do not necessarily reflect the editorial and corporate opinions of The Georgetowner newspaper. The Georgetowner accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. The Georgetowner reserves the right to edit, rewrite or refuse material and is not responsible for errors or omissions. Copyright 2020.

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D.C. CELEBRATES JOE BIDEN WIN (PHOTOS) B Y R O B E RT D EVAN EY

Celebrating the apparent Biden-Harris victory on Nov. 7 at Black Lives Matters Plaza, 16th and H Streets NW. Photo by Bill Starrels.

MEMORIAL TO COVID-19 DEATHS: WHITE FLAGS OF INNOCENCE, NOT SURRENDER B Y P E G G Y SAN D S

Artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg changes the number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. on Halloween. Georgetowner photo.

REOPENING OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN D.C. DELAYED AGAIN B Y P E G G Y SAN D S

Most learning in the D.C. public schools will remain virtual. Photo by Auguste de Richelieu.

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810 VIEWS SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS CONTROVERSY EXPLODES B Y P E G G Y SAN D S

School Without Walls protest on Oct. 9. Photo by Peggy Sands.

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TOWN TOPICS

NEWS

Georgetown Village Plans Virtual Celebration, Dec. 3

BY PEGGY SA NDS Georgetown Village — a neighborhelping-neighbor organization focusing on Georgetown residents 55 years old and up — is doing things differently this year. “We’ve pivoted quickly to meet the needs of members during the pandemic,” said Executive Director Lynn Golub-Rofrano. That includes planning a virtual year-end celebration that will honor award-winning D.C. chef, restaurateur and food-emergency philanthropist José Andrés, who will be interviewed by noted journalist Bill Plante. The Dec. 3 event will also honor the Billy Martin family of Martin’s Tavern, longtime Georgetown Village supporters. “Holding our annual fall event to celebrate Georgetown Village’s growth and support as a virtual event this year will allow us to do things we couldn’t do before,” said Barbara Hill, a Georgetown Village board member who is organizing the event. “We’ll be able to present the Martin family — four generations of restaurateurs — on-site at their Martin’s Tavern, letting them tell their stories of Georgetown’s favorite and oldest

family-run tavern for over 70 years.” Hill, who grew up in D.C., fondly remembers going on dates as a teenager to Martin’s. Throughout the evening, there will be interviews with Georgetown Village founders, volunteers, supporters and guests, who will share their personal stories and experiences. Attendees will also be able to participate live in some interactive online activities, including a Georgetown-oriented trivia contest. Prizes will be delivered to contest winners at their homes. Since its launch in December of 2011, Georgetown Village has offered over 4,600 activities and services, ranging from help connecting a computer or replacing a light fixture to clearing leaves and snow from a front stoop, from providing a ride to the supermarket, the pharmacy or the doctor to meeting congenial fellow members over coffee, in book clubs and at monthly conversations with think-tank and cultural leaders. For almost a decade, the organization has held a festive spring fundraising event

At Martin Tavern’s 85th anniversary two years ago: Gina Martin, Lauren Martin, Billy Martin and William Martin. Photo by Patrick G. Ryan. on a rooftop terrace on the waterfront and a members’ holiday party honoring top supporters in the fall. After the pandemic shut down D.C., Georgetown Village added new services, including delivering masks and groceries and a weekly program called “Cocktails, Conversation & Covid.” “We also have multiple programs to develop online skills, especially Zoom training,” said volunteer and member Henrietta LaMotte. “We want everyone to be capable and comfortable connecting with loved ones and to participate in their favorite activities via mobile devices and computers. Now, the end-of-year celebration and fundraiser will

be combined and virtual as well.” The membership has expanded over the years. A small professional staff was hired to coordinate the growing number of activities and services and the volunteer network that carries out Georgetown Village’s mission: to allow seniors to age in their own community. “It’s important as Georgetown and D.C. evolve into agefriendly communities that we keep in mind that responses to help the area’s highly active and productive seniors meet the challenge of aging bodies will be good for everyone of all ages,” Golub-Rofrano told The Georgetowner. “Our goals are for everyone.”

HAVEN'T STARTED YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING? The Friends of Volta Park Has You Covered! Visit http://www.voltapark.org for Information On Purchasing an Engraved Brick and 2020 Holiday Ornaments. All Proceeds Go Directly to Support the Park.

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EDITORIAL

Send Your Feedback, Questions or Concerns, Tips and Suggestions to editorial@georgetowner.com or call 202-338-4833

Biden Time THANKS, AMERICA

Anyone who was paying attention on Saturday, Nov. 7, heard and saw much of America rejoicing outside, on the sidewalks and on the streets, after the media call that proclaimed Joe Biden president-elect. For many in Georgetown and elsewhere, the joy was pure and contagious. Did you see it? Did you hear it? Did you feel it? Cars honked. Hands waved. Fists bumped. Biden-Harris campaign signs were carried and aloft. American flags were streaming from arms and cars. There was music and dancing in the streets, especially in front of the White House at Black Lives Matter Plaza. There we were outside, enjoying a perfect Saturday filled with sunshine — and with most of us masked. The streateries were welcoming, the smiles wide. When was the last time that such joy had been exuded by so many? Along with this and solid, reasonable politics and behavior to come, let us declare that it’s BIDEN TIME. While not yet certified, the election results are looking like a perfect solution for our divided country. The conciliator, mediator, Nice Man of the Senate Joe Biden has become president-elect. Future first lady Jill Biden will be a strong force for community colleges, the savior of the middle class. Vice president-elect Kamala Harris is an energetic example of American diversity — the first woman, first Black, first person of South Asian descent to hold the position. What’s more, as a result of the election, Democratic and Republican extremists will lessen their sway in the House and Senate as their numbers narrow. Reactions filled the streets and the Twitterverse. A few follow here. “We kept the republic!” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote. “Congratulations to Joe Biden on his victory for the soul of our country. Congratulations to Kamala Harris for making history. It’s a time to heal and a time to grow together. E Pluribus Unum.” Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus of “Veep” added: “Madam Vice President is no longer a fictional character.” Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a statement that read, in part: “As the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., has a special interest in

who becomes our most famous neighbor, and we could not be prouder to have President-elect Biden and Vice Presidentelect Harris join our city. They will not only bring dignity back to the White House, but a real commitment to the shared values we uphold and fight for every day in our city — the values embodied by Black Lives Matter Plaza leading right up to their front door.” Former President Barack Obama chimed in on his vice president: “We’re fortunate that Joe’s got what it takes to be President and already carries himself that way. Because when he walks into the White House in January, he’ll face a series of extraordinary challenges no incoming President ever has — a raging pandemic, an unequal economy and justice system, a democracy at risk and a climate in peril. “I know he’ll do the job with the best interests of every American at heart, whether or not he had their vote,” Obama continued. “So I encourage every American to give him a chance and lend him your support. The election results show that country remains deeply and bitterly divided. It will be up to not just Joe and Kamala, but each of us, to do our part — to reach out beyond our comfort zone, to listen to others, to lower the temperature and find some common ground from which to move forward, all of us remembering that we are one nation under God.” Still, the star of Saturday was Joe Biden, who addressed the nation in a speech from Wilmington, Delaware, that sought to uplift us all. “I’m humbled by the trust and confidence you’ve placed in me,” Biden said. “I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class, and to make America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home. “For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I’ve lost a couple of times myself. But now let’s give each other a chance. It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again. To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They’re Americans. They’re Americans.

What are you thankful for in 2020? YOUR OPINION MATTERS. Post your response. Facebook.com/TheGeorgetowner 8 NOVEMBER 11, 2020

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“Folks, America has always been shaped by inflection points, by moments in time where we’ve made hard decisions about who we are and what we want to be: Lincoln in 1860 coming to save the union, FDR in 1932 promising a beleaguered country a New Deal, JFK in 1960 pledging a New Frontier and 12 years ago when Barack Obama made history and told us, Yes, We Can. “Well, folks, we stand at an inflection point. We have an opportunity to defeat despair, to build a nation of prosperity and purpose. We can do it. I know we can. “I’ve long talked about the battle for the soul of America. We must restore the soul of America. Our nation is shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses, and what presidents say in this battle matters. It’s

time for our better angels to prevail. “Folks, in the last days of the campaign, I began thinking about a hymn that means a lot to me and my family, particularly my deceased son, Beau. It captures the faith that sustains me and which I believe sustains America. I hope, and I hope, we can provide some comfort and solace to the 230,000 Americans who’ve lost a loved one due to this terrible virus this year. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. Hopefully this hymn gives you solace as well. “It goes like this: ‘And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, and make you just shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of His hand.’ Now together, on eagle’s wings, we embark on the work that God and history have called upon us to do.”

Travel Restrictions Tightened for D.C. BY PEGGY SAN D S New travel restrictions on District visitors took effect just as airline fares and D.C. hotel room rates were reported to be spiking for out-of-towners wanting to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. Effective Nov. 9, would-be travelers to D.C. are required to have a coronavirus test within 72 hours prior to travel, according to an order issued by Mayor Muriel Bowser on Nov. 5. Hosts have the right, if not the duty, to request proof of negative test results from anyone coming from states other than Maryland or Virginia. “If you’re here for more than three days, you must get tested again within three to five days of arrival,” the order reads. Restrictions also apply to District residents who travel to states other than Maryland and Virginia, almost all of which are considered to be high-risk by D.C. government. Per the order, District residents will be required to limit daily activities and self-monitor for 14 days upon their return unless they test negative within 72 hours after returning. “If you are in close contact of someone who has the coronavirus, don’t travel,” the

mayor urged. “We want people to be safe and smart if they do travel.” D.C. remains in Phase Two of its reopening process. The order to wear masks and maintain social distancing when outside one’s residence remains in effect. But no police enforcement is planned to back up any of the new or old restrictions. Adherence is dependent on self-monitoring and self-regulation. The new restrictions will not apply to visitors from Maryland and Virginia or those remaining in D.C. for less than 24 hours or traveling for essential work or for a family emergency or a funeral. The District has experienced an increase in probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past week, as has much of the U.S. The number of confirmed cases in D.C. has increased by 110 to 18,000. But there were no reported deaths over this period. The actual death rate in the District continues to decline, now to 3.3 percent. Maryland has a reported death rate of 3 percent; Virginia 1.9 percent. The U.S. death rate is 2.4 percent, just under the global death rate of 2.5.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17 CAG MONTHLY MEETING

The Citizens Association of Georgetown will hold its November virtual meeting at 6:30 p.m. Participants will get an insider’s look at the Supreme Court and the rich history between SCOTUS and Georgetown. For details, visit cagtown.org.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19 CFA MEETING

The Commission of Fine Arts will meet virtually at 10 a.m. For details, visit cfa.gov.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 ANC 2E MEETING

The Georgetown-Burleith-Hillandale advisory neighborhood commission will hold its December virtual meeting at 6:30 p.m. For details, visit anc2e.com.


THE VILLAGE

Capital Collections Auction Featuring Whimsical Furnishings

Save the Date! Friday, December 11th at 10am

Homicide investigation scene at the corner of K (Water) and 33rd Streets on Nov. 8. Photo by Charles Pinck.

Saturday Homicide, Thursday Manhunt Shake Up Georgetown BY R OBE RT DEVA NEY There was a fatal shooting early on Saturday, Nov. 7, near the intersection of 33rd and Water (K) Streets NW, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Police discovered Franklin Hernandez Arevalo, 19, of Alexandria, Virginia, who died at the scene around 3 a.m. MPD issued no additional details about the incident that took place at the Georgetown waterfront. Less than 48 hours earlier, on Nov. 5, the neighborhood was shaken by a manhunt near Wisconsin Avenue and M Street that went down to K Street. Two armed robbers were pursued by at least 15 police officers as a helicopter circled above. One suspect jumped on the roof of the Papermill condos and tried to flee on the Whitehurst Freeway. It was like a scene from the movie “No Way Out,” said one witness. Both suspects have been arrested. The dramatic scene on Nov. 5 included the use of a D.C. Fire & EMS hook and ladder truck to talk one of the suspects down from a roof. The nighttime scene along K Street from 29th Street past 34th Street has many residents upset about the ongoing criminal activity, which includes drag racing, drug dealing and muggings. One participant in the Nov. 2 Georgetown advisory neighborhood commission meeting called K Street an open-air “drug bazaar.” Noisy cars circle through Georgetown from P Street down to the waterfront. Police are trying to keep up, but say arrestees are released quickly due to the pandemic. Of the Nov. 5 incident, Cmdr. Duncan Bedlion of MPD’s Second District wrote: “Throughout trying circumstances, to include a suspect attempting to flee on rooftop and freeway, your 2D officers remained brave, calm and disciplined.

Thank you to the many citizens who called 911, support from our Special Operations Division and DC Fire and to the 2D officers who located this suspect.” Lisa Palmer, advisory neighborhood commissioner for SMD 2E 05, where the streets affected by the recent crimes are located, told The Georgetowner: “The activities south of M Street over the last week have been terrible, and we are particularly saddened by the loss of life in our neighborhood. We have been partnering with MPD over the last years to ensure that officers are spending significant time, particularly at night, along Water Street. However, we continue to need more than an MPD solution. We have been working with a number of agencies in the area to improve the conditions and a number of proposals have been floated — but we are all growing more impatient to implement these solutions. The area around Water Street cannot continue to be treated like no-man’s land, particularly at night, if we want people to feel safe and discourage criminal behavior.” Noting that part of the area at the western end of Water (K) Street is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Park Police, Palmer continued: “I have already been in touch with Council member Brooke Pinto’s office about this, and I look forward to partnering with her, her team, MPD, USPP and various city agencies (including DDOT and DCRA) to move these design solutions forward in an expedient manner. We also continue to need the support of OGB/ CFA. I believe that with the combination of enhanced design — much of which we have been requesting since at least 2018 — and focused enforcement, we will see changes. But we need to be addressing the neighborhood from both ends.”

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NOVEMBER 11, 2020

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GIFT GUIDE

Have Yourself a Cozy Holiday Season WITHOUT LEAVING GEORGETOWN

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eorgetown shops and restaurants have gone through a lot of turmoil this year, to put it mildly. Let’s show them some love — buy local and eat local. These small businesses are following coronavirus guidelines for the safety of their customers and workers. During this holiday season, let’s give thanks for those who serve Georgetown so well — and get your gifts and meals close to home. Also, we have checked off the closed properties along the commercial district to show what we need to do in the months ahead. With that, The Georgetowner starts its Georgetown Shops program to get the word and to support these great business owners. It’s time to celebrate a new chapter in our lives — with Joe Biden and the promise of a vaccine against COVID-19.

Holiday Gift Guide

T&U MONGOLIAN ATELIER

BY KATE OCZ Y P OK

It goes without saying: this year has been, well, different, to say the least. Many would even call it rough. With the upcoming holiday season, stores around the country are hoping people will still spend money during the most festive time of the year — which in 2020 may not feel as merry. In Georgetown, shopkeepers are doing their part to make sure they are there for us during these difficult times. Here are just a few of the stores and boutiques offering options to make sure we have a safe yet fun, cozy yet rewarding, holiday season.

LILI THE FIRST 1419 WISCONSIN AVE. NW lilithefirst.com

Ifat Pridan, owner of Wisconsin Avenue boutique LiLi The First, has a collection perfect for staying at home this season. Called “Holiday at Home,” the featured items are “easy but festive tops to make someone feel comfortable but still stylish,” she says. The tops include lots of holiday-friendly sparkle, shine and plaid, but they’re looser, comfier and great for hanging out at home. If you’re sick of your endless uniform of sweats and T-shirts, you’ll want to check out this collection. LiLi The First is open for walk-in customers, private appointments and curbside pickup, also offering free shipping. The “Holiday at Home” collection is available online, too.

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1663 WISCONSIN AVE. NW tucashmere.com

ELLA-RUE 3231 P ST. NW ella-rue.com

If you have a history lover on your gift list this year, Ella-Rue sells Eight & Bob Eau de Parfum. The gender-neutral fragrance has an interesting background — it was former President John F. Kennedy’s signature scent. According to Vanity Fair, JFK met Eight & Bob creator Albert Fouquet in 1937 and became impressed with his scent. The future president asked for a bottle and Fouquet included an infamous note with the gift. It read: “in this bottle, you will find the dash of French glamour that your American personality lacks.” Kennedy later requested eight more bottles, plus another for his brother Robert (hence “Eight & Bob”). Ella-Rue offers local delivery within Georgetown and shipping, so you never have to leave your home. In addition, co-owner Alexa Johnson notes that the store can gift-wrap and send the fragrance with a personalized holiday card.

THE PHOENIX 1514 WISCONSIN AVE. NW thephoenixdc.com

This family-owned Georgetown boutique, specializing in women’s clothing, Mexican folk art and unique gifts, has not forgotten about our holiday tables. While we’ve been advised not to celebrate in large

groups, your immediate family deserves a sophisticated, gorgeous holiday table. Samantha Hayes Gushner, owner and creative director of the Phoenix, recommends the beauty and craftsmanship in handbuilt pieces by ceramicist Elizabeth Benotti. “Benotti’s [ceramics] will bring the look of a well-curated home to your Thanksgiving table,” Gushner says. “Each finger, impression, brushstroke and etching is evident and carries the story of its production, evoking the stories and traditions you bring to your holiday.” Benotti’s items are available both in-store and on the Phoenix’s website.

PILLAR & POST 1647 WISCONSIN AVE. NW pillarandpost.com

Antiques shop Pillar & Post curates a collection of art that includes paintings by modern British artists and antique prints and engravings. Daphna Peled, shop owner, tends to carry lots of one-of-a-kind items. However, there are plenty of options in stock from the British brands the store features. Holiday scents are particularly comforting this time of year, bringing us back to a more “normal” time. With more of us at home, being surrounded by festive scents can restore a sense of calm. Peled recommends her Stoneglow Nutmeg Ginger & Spice Cracker Gift Set for this very reason. It includes two mini candles and a mini diffuser, packed in a festive box. “Being home with family also means more time for cooking,” Peled says. “Pillar & Post has some lovely holiday cooking accessories such as oven mitts, tea towels and ceramics.” She specifically mentioned her Sophie Allport Partridge In A Pear Tree oven mitt, calling it a popular choice for the cook in your family. The shop was also featured in Better Homes & Gardens for carrying Daylesford Organic, a uniquely English brand with a farm in the British countryside. “Their Ledbury glassware range is festive enough for the holidays, but also casual enough to use any time of year,” Peled says, adding: “These jugs are perfect for keeping drinks handy.”

There’s nothing like cozy cashmere when it comes to feeling warm and relaxed all winter. T&U’s luxurious cashmere throw is a great choice for those intimate nights at home. Or, if you do have to venture out, give the shop’s organic cashmere gloves a try.

JUST PAPER & TEA 3232 P ST. NW

justpaperandtea.com

Owner Carolyn Wasylczuk quoted Edith Sitwell when asked to contribute to this story, saying: “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire; it is time for home.” Wasylczuk loves talking tea, calling it the perfect thing to tame a restless mind, calm an upset stomach, ward off colds and breathe life into a good letter. Having a hot cup of tea with a friend or family member is easy to do virtually with apps like Zoom or Skype. Just Paper & Tea has plenty of options to make the perfect cup of tea, like infusers, tea makers and teapots. Wasylczuk also recommends Vahdam teas for this upcoming holiday season, in flavors like Maharaja Breakfast, Turmeric Spiced and Himalayan Green.


VACANT CLOSED TEMPORARILY CLOSED Visit Georgetowner.com to see the interactive Google Map of State of retail in Georgetown We will be regularly updating the map.

STATE OF RETAIL IN GEORGETOWN: 74 BOARDED, CLOSED OR VACANT M STREET Aldo Shoes Alanya Salon America Eats Baker Furniture Brooks Brothers Calvin Klein Camper Coach Cusp DSW Georgetown Park Georgetown Scoops J. Pauls Le Pain Quotidien Kate Spade Kitten Lounge Latham Hotel LUSH Lucky Brand Maxime Moleskin

3237 M St. 3285 M St. 3159 M St. 3330 M St. 3077 M St. 3249 M St. 3219 M St. 3263 M St. 3030 M St. 3270 M St. 3222 M St. 2818 M St. 2906 M St. 3218 M St. 2815 M St. 3034 M St. 3109 3057 M St. 3000 M St. 3064 M St. 3271-73 M St. 2915 M St. 3029 M St.

Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Temporarily Closed Some Vacancies Closed Vacant Closed Closed Closed Temporarily Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed

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Funded by the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development, Georgetown Main Street focuses its activity on Wisconsin Avenue from Whitehaven Parkway to K Street and the adjacent area. “I’ve always been a huge supporter of Georgetown and the local business community,” said new board chair Daphna Peled, owner of Pillar & Post at 1647 Wisconsin Ave. NW. “Being on the other side of it as a business owner really led me to want to become more involved.” Georgetown Main Street has provided over $112,000 in grants to small businesses over the past three years. According to a testimonial from Dent Place Market, one such grant allowed the market to “cover some of the expenses, like repainting the interior and exterior. Our goal was to turn a rundown place into an inviting space for our neighbors to shop, and the grant was essential in helping us complete the project.” Businesses are also assisted by “providing them resources on how to market, how to change their façade, whatever they might be interested in,” said Beth Cooper, newly elected vice chair. “We have a lot of different resource events we put on for them ... to sustain in this economic climate, but also to beautify our Main Street.” Public art installations are the group’s primary method of beautifying the corridor. After the Black Lives Matter protests, Georgetown Main Street sponsored the “Paint the Plywood” installations. “When there were a lot of boards on our businesses, we implemented a public art program and contracted with local artists to paint those boards to make them look more presentable and interesting,” Cooper said. The group is currently sponsoring the autumnal “Tree and Twig” installations along Wisconsin Avenue. Since the pandemic began, Georgetown Main Street has had a table at the Rose Park Farmers Market to promote local startups and businesses, but the group has moved away from organizing larger events, concentrating on supporting businesses via social media. “We’re just trying to be responsive and nimble ... and to think outside the box,” said Peled.

In March, as the pandemic began, a newsletter was launched to spotlight a different small business or community organization in each issue, sharing both its challenges and creative responses. Peled credits Executive Director Rachel Shank with the success of this initiative and others. Calling Shank “fantastic,” Peled said, “She tries to get to reach out to every business. She’s grown our social media so much and is constantly coming up with new ideas.” On Nov. 28 — the day after Black Friday — Georgetown Main Street will be working with the Rose Park Farmers Market to do a “Take-Over for Small Business Saturday,” encouraging residents and visitors to shop small in Georgetown in support of local brick-and-mortar businesses. An ambitious set of priorities resulted from the group’s 2021 strategic planning meeting, held shortly after Peled and Cooper took over the leadership. These include seeking to drive commerce farther up Wisconsin Avenue toward Book Hill, working more closely with Glover Park Main Street, helping to counteract crime and assisting with problems stemming from homelessness. Believing the diversity of its board is also vital to connecting, the group recently put out a call to the community, inviting anyone — not just business people — to join the board, which will grow from 10 to 15 members. The board already includes representatives from Georgetown University and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. A new “Community-Connects” campaign aims to foster dialogue among residents, neighborhood associations, community groups, schools and businesses. “We all share the desire to have Georgetown be a thriving, wonderful place to live, to work, to shop and to eat,” said Peled, “so how can we best work to engage with the residents?” She emphasized that residents are encouraged to volunteer to serve on committees, to participate in “Shop Georgetown” days and to patronize spotlighted enterprises. “We’d love to really have residents remember what they love about Georgetown.”


ARTS

Beautiful Things at the Phillips Collection BY AR I P OS T Any other year, this would have been a perfect fall arts season. 2020 has not been kind, but it gave Washington an undeniably gorgeous fall. It was the kind of weather made for walking through Georgetown on a Friday-night gallery walk. It would have been a season for strolling in and out of museums on Sunday afternoons, for lingering outside after an evening art lecture, chatting with new friends as dusk fades into night. But this year is different. Frankly, art has not been on my mind much over the past month. This is an art column with the backdrop of a pandemic and in the wake of an unbelievably violent presidential election. There have been more demanding issues to address. Still, despite tremendous obstacles, many museums in Washington have reopened. They are all practicing impressive safety measures: timed ticketed entry, temperature checks upon arrival, socially distanced gallery navigation and incredibly helpful and gracious museum guards. I have not

yet returned to a restaurant or cut my hair since the beginning of the pandemic, but museums I cannot keep away from. Now, as always, there is beauty on the walls of the Phillips Collection. Ascending to the second floor, you are met with Renoir, Courbet and Cezanne. I was drawn immediately into a small Cezanne, “Fields at Bellevue.” I inspected everything, from the bluish-yellow shadow of a distant cottage to the creamy, lopsided, unfinished edge of the canvas to the wormy, washed-out wood of the chunky acanthus-leaf frame. It was like seeing a painting for the first time. I watched my wife gaze spellbound into van Gogh’s “Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles.” She was fixated for an endless moment on a tapestry of foliage in the upper left corner of the canvas. When I asked her what she was looking at, she said, “The paint is just so thick. I forgot how thick paint is.” There was Stuart Davis and Piet Mondrian, playing their weird midcentury jazz-on-canvas riffs, both with razor-clean edges, hard lines and flat colors that still somehow insist on being lush and painterly,

aggressively handmade. There’s a bizarre little Georges Braque, “The Shower,” which is so un-Braque-like that I’m not sure it wasn’t mislabeled, but I loved the curiosity of it. There was McArthur Binion’s “DNA: Black Painting: 1,” a quilt-like painting that touches on the oppression of birth itself and the inescapability of racial heritage in America. There is Phillip Guston’s “Native’s Return,” with a brusque, disheveled, hatching quality that somehow compliments the Binion. It also reminded me of Rembrandt the way the focus of the painting lumps toward the center of the canvas as if by gravity, with the edges dissolving into wash. The painting could easily be titled “Rembrandt’s Nose.” There is also an impressive handful of exhibitions on view. “Hopper in Paris” is a selection of early works by Edward Hopper, from when he traveled to Paris shortly after finishing his training at the New York School of Art. Years ago, I read a critique that Hopper’s early Paris works were not very good — that he wanted to be an Impressionist but it didn’t square with his particularly American sensibility. I still think that’s true. But it’s interesting to see a series of early and decidedly nonmasterpieces by a future giant. “Riffs and Relations: African American Artists and the European Modernist Tradition” — one hell of a strong exhibition and a nice surprise — explores the connections between European modernism and African American artists of the 20th

and 21st centuries, featuring artists such as Romare Bearden, Bob Thompson, Elizabeth Catlett, Hale Woodruff, Beauford Delaney and Carrie Mae Weems in dialogue with Kandinsky, Matisse, Manet and Picasso. In the early part of the century, African American artists contributed to modernism’s new languages of form and color, and its complex engagement with the arts of Africa. But in later years, artists began challenging master narratives, using humor and satire to question the supposed superiority of European art. One critique here is the way the exhibition funnels European modernism from Manet to Picasso through a single apparatus, which is untenable simply in how drastically different these connections become after Western artists are introduced to native African art in the first decade of the 20th century. Still, it’s a wonderful show that deserves to be seen and discussed. Museums have done commendable work throughout the pandemic, making their collections available online through their websites and social media. But there is only so much you can see through a screen. Going to a museum right now and engaging with the depth and dimensionality of reallife art is a vital escape into beauty. The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW phllipscollection.org Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Timed-entry tickets released at noon on Monday.

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IN COUNTRY

The Parade of Classic Cars in St. Michaels. Courtesy Talbot County Office of Tourism.

Holiday Happenings on the Eastern Shore BY MARY ANN T RE GE R Craving to untether from your safe space and get a dose of holiday magic? Bored with virtual experiences? Don’t fret. Charming historic towns on Maryland’s Eastern Shore are offering creative ways to cheer even the most pandemic-weary. Nothing like a stroll through Chestertown to reduce stress and ease anxiety. This year, the downtown historic district — a National Historic Landmark — is turning on the charm on Dec. 4 and 5 with “Chestertown Cheer.” Free carriage rides will take passengers past

many of the stunning 18th- and 19th-century homes on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. and on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. Santa will “mask up” and arrive in Chestertown via fire truck on Saturday at 11 a.m. to visit with children (safely distanced) until 2 p.m. Also on Saturday, a farmer’s market will line High Street from 8 a.m. to noon. A seasonal art walk hosted by the Chestertown Arts and Entertainment District will follow from noon to 5 p.m., with exhibits and sales in galleries and other venues. History buffs can overnight at the

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meticulously restored White Swan Tavern Inn, which dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days. No wonder Chestertown gets so many kudos. James Michener knew what he was doing when he decided to live in Oxford while writing “Chesapeake.” Founded in 1683, this laid-back haven is filled with storybook 18th-, 19th- and early 20th-century homes artistically decorated for the holidays. Stroll along the Tred Avon River, a Chesapeake Bay tributary that wraps around the town, offering water views in every direction. No one should visit Oxford without dropping by the Robert Morris Inn, America’s oldest full-service Inn. Many a conversation about independence from Britain probably took place around the same 310-year-old red brick fireplaces and original oak timbers. And yes, George Washington slept here. Downtown Easton kicks off the holiday season on Nov. 14 and 15 when 10 local nonprofits join restaurants and businesses for CommUNITY Day: Easton Arts & Culture Celebration. Drive or stroll down Hanson Street to enjoy “Art for the Outdoors,” an Avalon Foundation exhibition and sale of work by local artists. Watch an expert from Ice Lab carve a 300-pound pumpkin and view dozens more pumpkins displayed around town, along with creative results of the first ever Scarecrow Decorating Contest. For details, visit tourtalbot.org. Cambridge, one of America’s oldest colonial cities, is hosting Holiday Night Markets on Nov. 14 and Dec. 12 from 4 to 9

p.m., with over 30 vendors creating a festive open-air marketplace. Nature lovers: check out the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 12 miles south of Cambridge, boasting more than 25,000 acres of wetlands, fields and forests ideal for biking, walking or driving along trails to view wildlife in a splendid setting. More information is available at fws.gov/refuge/blackwater. You can also take a historic drive on the Tubman Byway, a fascinating 125-mile scenic trip that has preserved the places where Harriet Tubman lived and fled slavery. Tubman, the “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, led many slaves to freedom before the Civil War. The self-guided driving tour, available at harriettubmanbyway.org, includes 45 stops, many with markers and interpretive signs. Highlights include the Harriet Tubman Mural and Museum. Known as the town that fooled the British during the War of 1812 — when it blacked out all its lights and raised lanterns out of town, causing the British to overshoot it — St Michaels will be shining bright this year when it hosts its annual Holiday Parade of Classic Cars on Nov. 21 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Two Saturdays later, on Dec. 12 at 6 p.m., experience the harbor’s Lighted Boat Parade (weather permitting, of course). Afterwards, drive around town and view historic homes embellished with holiday lights. Fingers crossed, the British aren’t planning another invasion. To find out more, visit tourtalbot.org.

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FOOD & WINE

LATEST DISH

Moon Rabbit. Photo by Rey Lopez.

BY LIN DA ROT H Think Bar Before Restaurant. In Capitol Hill: Daru — from Suresh Sundas, formerly of Rasika, and Dante Datta, formerly of Elle — at 1451 Maryland Ave. NE will highlight South Asian ingredients in creative cocktails and classic curries. In Adams Morgan: Death Punch at 2321 18th St. NW is the new edition of D.C.’s Christmas pop-up bar (sake-spiked cocktails 2.0), formerly on 7th Street NW. In Logan Circle: Jane Jane at 1705 14th St. NW wraps up classic and retro cocktails and food into one snug bar, guided by the culinary and cocktail talents of Jean Paul Sabatier of Rappahannock Oyster Bar fame.

Shaun Sharkey and chef-partner Margaux Riccio are targeting the first quarter of 2021 for a second location, at 1250 I St. NW, of Pow Pow, which specializes in plant-based products. They also plan to open Bubbie’s Plant Burgers in Adams Morgan in the fourth quarter of 2021. With the Plant Food Lab incubator opening by the end of 2020 at 1829 M St. NW, stay tuned for more plantbased restaurant concepts. JR Robinson, an alumnus of Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, and his uncle Sudon Williams opened their second location of KitchenCray at 1301 H St. NE. The original,

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serving breakfast and brunch, is in Lanham, Maryland. The D.C. spot offers dinner and a full bar in addition to brunch. In Lanham, they activated the empty office parking lot next door into “Cars and Brunch” on select Saturdays to take advantage of the social distancing it offers. From the folks who brought you Muncheez, Georgia Brown’s and the late Neyla comes Taqueria de Beirut, a new ghost kitchen cooking up Mexican and Middle Eastern street food, operating out of Muncheez in Dupont Circle. The connection between Mexico and Lebanon? Lebanese and other Middle Eastern immigrants arrived in Mexico in the late 1800s, introducing vertical spits still used to make “tacos árabes.” Spanish Diner, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, replaces José Andrés’s Jaleo restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland, at 7271 Woodmont Ave. Andrés’s first Spanish Diner made its debut in the Mercado Little Spain food hall in New York’s huge Hudson Yards development. Jaleo still operates in Penn Quarter and in Crystal City, Virginia. Chef Update. Kevin Tien will oversee the kitchen at a new Vietnamese restaurant called Moon Rabbit at the InterContinental hotel at the Wharf in Southwest D.C. Tien

was most recently at Emilie’s on Capitol Hill ... Kyoo Eom helms the kitchen at the newly reopened 1789 Restaurant. He was previously at Dirty Habit in the Kimpton Hotel Monaco on F Street NW … Peter Smith heads culinary operations, introducing a gourmet market, at Ghostline virtual food hall in Glover Park … Drew Allen is the chef de cuisine at Ruthie’s AllDay at 3411 Fifth St. South in Arlington Heights, Virginia, opened by Matt Hill and Todd Salvadore, both formerly of Charlie Palmer Steak. So far, it’s dinner only, working its way to all-day. Luke Silverman and Jeff Kurtzman will open Bark Social, a 30,000-square-foot beer garden, pet store and off-leash park for dogs at 935 Prose St. at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland, by the end of the year. Guests must purchase a pass: daily, monthly or annual. They plan to serve Ceremony Coffee as well as a variety of local and national craft beers and wines. Linda Roth (@LindaRothPR) is the founder and CEO of Linda Roth Associates, a D.C.-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the food service and hospitality industries. Visit her on the web at lindarothpr.com.


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KITTY KELLEY BOOK CLUB

‘Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own’ R EVIEWE D BY KIT T Y K E LLE Y Gird yourselves, white America: Eddie S. Glaude Jr. is putting you on notice, and he brought the receipts. The James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton prefaces his eighth book — “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own” — with quotes from several platinum authors, who laud his brilliance and the genius of his subject. To begin again on the subject of racism, Glaude proposes passing H.R.40, a bill that would establish the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans. It’s a suggestion that comes at the end of what the author himself describes in his introduction as “a strange book. It isn’t biography ... it is not literary criticism ... it is not straightforward history.” Glaude starts gently, but then lowers the boom. His book is a damning indictment of Donald Trump and white America, particularly white male America — or at least that part of it which believes in its superiority simply because it’s white. Additionally, this book, provocative and lyrical in so many places, is Glaude’s personal journey through a tunnel of rage

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first explored by James Baldwin (19251987), whose writing — “close to seven thousand pages of work” — the professor has absorbed and studied and taught. In “Begin Again,” Glaude challenges “the lie” that America is fundamentally good, that all men are created equal and that the country is a beacon of light and a moral force in the world. Instead, says the author, America is a racist nation that continues to tell the lie that it is a democracy while refusing to face the enduring legacy of slavery and ongoing systemic discrimination against African Americans. With Baldwin as his guide, Glaude moves from the nonviolence practiced by Martin Luther King Jr. to the militancy of Huey P. Newton, Stokely Carmichael and the Black Panther Party, the latter a “justifiable, even inevitable, response to white America’s betrayal of the civil rights movement.” Along the way, he lashes Richard Nixon’s “silent majority,” Reagan Democrats and Trump voters for propagating “the lie.” Finally, Glaude concludes: “America is an identity that white people will protect at any cost.” By 2016, he had become so disgusted by the Democratic Party for refusing to remedy

Black suffering that he urged Black voters, many whose ancestors had paid with their lives for the right to vote, to abstain from voting for Hillary Clinton for president. His reasons seemed petty in the extreme: “Much more was required than the Clinton name, or the endorsement of her bid for the presidency by President Obama, or by some celebrity, or the brandishing of hot sauce in [her] handbag.” Choked by rage, he used his considerable influence to urge Black voters to leave the presidential ballot blank. Then the Republicans nominated Donald Trump. Still, Glaude refused to believe white America would elect “the carnival barker” to the highest office in the land. Trimming his sails a bit, he co-authored an anemic essay in Time magazine with Fredrick Harris, a political scientist at Columbia, saying that if you were a Democrat in a battleground state like Wisconsin or Pennsylvania, you should vote for Hillary. But if you lived in a decidedly red state or an overwhelmingly blue one, you could blank out or vote your conscience. Startlingly, the professor, who has studied Baldwin for 30 years, seems not to have learned from his mentor, especially on the value of presidential voting. In “Notes on the House of Bondage,” Baldwin ponders the 1980 presidential race between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan: “My vote will probably not get me a job or a home or help me through school or prevent another Vietnam or a third world war, but it may keep me here long enough for me to see, and use, the turning of the tide — for the tide has got to turn. And … if Carter is reelected, it will be by means of the black vote, and it will not be a vote for Carter. It will be a coldly calculated risk, a means of buying time.” Surely, President Hillary Clinton would have bought Glaude more time than President Trump. To his credit, Glaude admits his error. “I was wrong,” he writes, “and given my lifelong reading of Baldwin,

it was an egregious mistake.” Far less egregious, but still a mistake, was to publish this book without providing any photographs, especially since Glaude frequently refers to instances that demand illustration. For example, he writes about Sedat Pakay, a Turkish photographer who “offers a beautiful black-and-white portrait of Baldwin in the most intimate of settings.” No picture. In another instance, Glaude refers to the opening of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” a documentary of Baldwin’s time in the South during the civil rights movement, in which he sits “at a desk in his brother David’s apartment at 209 West Ninety-seventh Street, looking pensively at a book of photographs.” No picture. Neither are there pictures of Glaude’s own tour of the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. He ends his book, appropriately, with a visit to Baldwin’s gravesite at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Was it a simple marble stone, a granite slab, a large headstone marked with a quote? Or a family mausoleum to enfold Baldwin and his seven siblings? Sadly, there is again no picture. Glaude writes only that he knelt down, touched the earth and quietly said, “Thank you.” Georgetown resident Kitty Kelley has written several number-one New York Times best-sellers, including “The Family: The Real Story Behind the Bush Dynasty.” Her most recent books include “Capturing Camelot: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the Kennedys” and “Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington.” She serves on the board of Reading Is Fundamental, the nation’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit.


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GEORGETOWN $3,700,000 1513 28th Street NW, Washington, DC Jean Hanan 202-494-8157

GEORGETOWN $3,295,000 1601 35th Street NW, Washington, DC Eileen McGrath 202-253-2226 Jean Hanan 202-494-8157

GEORGETOWN $3,250,000 3226 Volta Place NW, Washington, DC Nancy Taylor Bubes 202-386-7813

EASTON $2,795,000 27582 Wakefield Lane, Maryland Doc Keane 202-441-2343 Marc Bertinelli 202-657-9000

WESLEY HEIGHTS $2,495,000 3001 Foxhall Road NW, Washington, DC Cynthia Howar 202-297-6000

THE GODFREY ESTATE $2,300,000 40568 Hidden Hills Lane, Virginia Debbie Meighan 571-439-4027

GEORGETOWN $1,995,000 3017 P Street NW, Washington, DC Eileen McGrath 202-253-2226

OLD TOWN $1,720,000 510 Hammonds Court, Alexandria, VA Cailin Monahan 804-874-1847 Nancy Taylor Bubes Group

WEST END $1,695,000 2425 L Street NW #240, Washington, DC Cailin Monahan 804-874-1847 Nancy Taylor Bubes Group

CENTRAL $1,274,999 916 G Street NW #1004, Washington, DC Lee Murphy 202-277-7543

GEORGETOWN $1,100,000 2613 P Street NW, Washington, DC Lee Murphy 202-277-7543

GEORGETOWN $689,000 1080 Wisconsin Avenue NW #2015, Washington, DC Lisa Stransky Brown 202-368-6060

BRINGING YOU THE FINEST AGENTS • PROPERTIES • EXPERIENCE

20 NOVEMBER 11, 2020

GMG, INC.


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