Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Georgetown is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River. Georgetown started as a separate city in 1751 before the area became the District of Columbia. Georgetown stayed a separate city until 1871, when the United States Congress took away its charter. Another law in 1895 canceled Georgetown's laws and renamed the streets to match those in the city of Washington. Today, stores, bars and restaurants in Georgetown are on M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. Georgetown has the main campus of Georgetown University. The embassies of France, Mongolia, Sweden, Thailand, and Ukraine are in Georgetown.

Georgetown Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
PNC Bank at M Street & Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Map of Washington, D.C., with Georgetown highlighted in maroon.
Location:	Roughly bounded by Whitehaven Street, Rock Creek Park, the Potomac River, and the Georgetown University campus
Coordinates:	38°54′34″N 77°3′54″W
Area:	750 acres (300 ha)
NRHP Reference#:	67000025
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	May 28, 1967
Designated NHLD:	May 28, 1967

Map of Washington, D.C., with Georgetown highlighted in maroon.

Historic landmarks

Georgetown has many historic landmarks including:

• Canal Square Building, 1054 31st Street, NW, former home of the Tabulating Machine Company, a direct precursor of IBM
• The City Tavern Club, built in 1796, is the oldest commercial structure in Washington, D.C.
• The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, begun in 1829.
• Dumbarton Oaks, 3101 R Street, NW, former home of John C. Calhoun, U.S. vice president, where the United Nations charter was outlined in 1944.
• Evermay, built in 1801 and restored by F. Lammot Belin
• The Forrest-Marbury House, 3350 M Street, NW, where George Washington met with local landowners to acquire the District of Columbia. Currently the Embassy of Ukraine.
• Georgetown Lutheran Church was the first church in Georgetown, dates back to 1769. The current church structure, the fourth on the site, was built in 1914.
• Georgetown Presbyterian Church was established in 1780 by Reverend Stephen Bloomer Balch. Formerly on Bridge Street (M Street), the current church building was constructed in 1881 on P Street.
• Healy Hall on Georgetown's campus, built in Flemish Romanesque style from 1877 to 1879 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
• Mount Zion United Methodist Church and Mount Zion Cemetery
• The Oak Hill Cemetery, a gift of William Wilson Corcoran whose Gothic Revival chapel and gates were designed by James Renwick, is the resting place of Abraham Lincoln's son Willie and other figures.
• The Old Stone House, built in 1765, on M Street is the oldest original structure in Washington, D.C.
• Tudor Place and Dumbarton Court

Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Media

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  Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel, designed by James Renwick Jr. in 1850, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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  The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

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  Old Stone House, built 1765, is the oldest building structure still standing in Washington, D.C.

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  Georgetown, depicted in 1862, shows the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Aqueduct Bridge (on right) and an unfinished Capitol dome in the distant background.

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  Sailing vessels docked at the Georgetown waterfront, c. 1865

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  Children playing on sidewalk in Georgetown during the Great Depression, photographed by Carl Mydans in 1935

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  Washington Harbour complex located on the Potomac River with Georgetown University's Healy Hall visible in the background

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  Dahlgren Chapel at Georgetown University

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  Georgetown is Washington's main shopping district and a major tourist attraction.

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  Storefronts on Wisconsin Avenue decorated for Christmas.

References

• Ecker, Grace Dunlop (1933). A Portrait of Old Georgetown. Garrett & Massie, Inc.
• Gutheim, Frederick Albert, Antoinette J. Lee (2006). Worthy of the Nation: Washington, DC, from L'Enfant to the National Capital. Johns Hopkins University Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Lesko, Kathleen M.; Valerie Babb and Carroll R. Gibbs (1991). Black Georgetown Remembered : A History of Its Black Community From The Founding of "The Town of George". Georgetown University Press.
• Mitchell, Mary (1983). Glimpses of Georgetown: Past and Present. The Road Street Press.
• Weiss, Eric M., "Public Works - Oldest Bridge Reopens", Washington Post, Thursday, May 17, 2007, page B-5.

Other websites

• Citizens Association of Georgetown, community association
• GeorgetownDC.com, by the Georgetown Business Improvement District
• The Georgetown Current, community newspaper
• The Georgetowner, community magazine