The Georgetowner: February 9, 2022 Issue

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2 0 2 2 RE AL E S TATE SPE CIAL CE LE BR AT I N G GE ORGE TOWN ’ S B L ACK H I S TORY HAUTE & COO L : I N TH E MOO D F OR LOVE “ SARGE NT, WH I S TLE R , AN D VE N E T IAN GL AS S”

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VACCINATIONS KEEP US SAFE AND KEEP US TOGETHER.

Currently, proof of vaccination is required to enjoy indoor activities at:

Conference & Meeting Spaces

Learn more about DC’s indoor COVID-19 vaccine requirements: VaxDC.dc.gov

Entertainment Venues & Nightclubs

Food & Drink Establishments

Gyms & Fitness Facilities

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IN THIS ISSUE

ABOUT THE COVER French bulldog waits patiently for homeowners’ return — a popular dog for a popular town. Photo by Golly Kim.

NEWS · 6 - 8, 10

PUBLISHER Sonya Bernhardt

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robert Devaney

SENIOR CORRESPONDENT Peggy Sands

MANAGING EDITOR Christopher Jones

FEATURE EDITOR Ari Post

Town Topics

FASHION & BEAUTY DIRECTOR Lauretta McCoy

DOWNTOWNER · 10

GRAPHIC DESIGN Troy Riemer

Downtown News

PHOTOGRAPHERS Philip Bermingham Jeff Malet

BUSINESS · 11 In’s and Out’s

DIRECTOR OF CONTENT & ADVERTISING Kate Oczypok

EDITORIAL & OPINION · 12 Knowing and Celebrating Georgetown’s Black History Ukraine vs. Russia

1050 30th Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Phone: (202) 338-4833 Fax: (202) 338-4834 www.georgetowner.com

VILLAGE · 13 GMS’s Melanie Hayes Excited by 2022 Opportunities

“The Newspaper Whose Influence Far Exceeds Its Size” — Pierre Cardin

REAL ESTATE · 14 - 21

The Georgetowner is published in print monthly with an online newsletter supplement posted twice per week — On Mondays we highlight news and on Thursdays goings on about town. 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 2022.

Georgetown Real Estate Market The Year in RE-view Rear Window After the Fire 2021 Georgetown Real Estate Sales The Art (and Science) of Staging

FOOD & WINE · 22 Latest Dish

Please send submissions of opinions for consideration to: editorial@georgetowner.com

HAUTE & COOL · 22 In the Mood for Love

CLASSIFIEDS · 24 Service Directory

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

SINCE 1954

VOLUME 68 NUMBER 5

GEORGETOWNER.COM

Home Sweet

FEBRUARY 9, 2022 - MARCH 8, 2022

For advertising inquiries email advertising@georgetowner.com or call (202) 338-4833

Georgetown

GALA GUIDE · 24 Spring Preview Gala Guide The Georgetowner is a Certified Business Enterprise

ARTS · 25 Sargent & Whistler Arts Watch

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BOOK CLUB · 26 Kitty Kelley Book Club

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Jacqueline Quillen was the subject of a Walter Nicholls column, “What’s Cooking, Neighbor?” In The Georgetowner in 2013. Georgetowner photo.

COVID IN D.C.: UNCERTAINTY, TIGHTER REGULATIONS, DEFIANCE, FEAR, SHRUGS B Y P E G G Y SAN D S A rare license suspension: at the Big Board pub at 421 H St. NE. Courtesy Google.

BOCONCEPT AND THE (IRRESISTIBLE) DANISH NOTION OF HYGGE B Y K AT E OC ZYPOK An example of hygge. Courtesy BoConcept.

RECENT HIT ONLINE 1,689 VIEWS FATAL SHOOTING AT 33RD & M ST. B Y R O B ERT D EVAN EY Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee III speaks with the press on M Street Jan. 31. Courtesy Fox5 News.

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TOWN TOPICS

NEWS BYTES CO MPI L ED BY KAT E O C Z Y P O K

D.C. firefighter looks on, as Ally Banks checks damage to her store. Photo courtesy Tove Robberts.

Aspiring chef Tarek Boothe, murdered in Georgetown Jan. 31. Family photo.

ALEXANDRIA MAN SHOT ON 3200 BLOCK OF M ST. NW FE B R UA RY 1, 2 0 2 2

OUT-OF-CONTROL DRIVER SMASHES INTO GEORGETOWN STORE

MILLIONS BUDGETED FOR LED LIGHTS

JA N UA RY 17, 2 0 2 2

FE B R UA RY 2 , 2 0 2 2

A speeding, out-of-control driver smashed into the Ally Banks storefront January 12, flipping over. The incident happened around 10 p.m. and closed the 1600 block of Wisconsin Ave. NW until 6:30 a.m. the following morning. The Ally Banks shop just opened in November 2021. The driver was arrested on an outstanding warrant from another jurisdiction.

The D.C. City Council approved a budget of $310 million to be spent on LED light bulbs to replace 75,000 streetlights throughout D.C. neighborhoods over the next two years. This effort is one of the first steps to adapting D.C. to a new climate reality, said Dagomar Degroot, a member of the executive committee of Georgetown University’s environmental studies program.

Tarek Boothe, 27, of Alexandria, VA, was fatally shot January 31 along M St. NW around 6:15 p.m. There was an altercation between two men and the assailant may be injured. MPD Police Chief Robert Contee called the shooting “targeted.”

GEORGETOWN HOUSE TOUR RETURNS THIS SPRING JA N UA RY 18 , 2 0 2 2 The Georgetown House Tour Chair Donna Leanos is excited to welcome back guests to the 89th annual tour April 23. The tour is believed to be the oldest, most prestigious house tour in the country. The event attracts over 1,600 guests each year. New this year: Julia Child’s house at 2706 Olive St. NW will be part of the tour. More on the event is at Georgetowner.com.

2022 Georgetowner House Tour Chair Donna Leanos and Julia Child’s home on the right.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR FEBRUARY 17

COMMISSION OF FINE ARTS Next meeting at 401 F St. NW, Suite 312.

Filing deadline Feb. 3.

FEBRUARY 9

CITIZENS ASSOCIATION OF GEORGETOWN Black History Month Virtual Program 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mardi Gras Ice Skating Party: March 1, 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

MARCH 3

OLD GEORGETOWN BOARD Next meeting, 9:00 a.m. at: 401 F St. NW, Suite 312. Filing deadline Feb. 10.

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FEBRUARY 11-15, 28 MARCH 1, 8

GEORGETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY February 11-15 all day. Virtual Art and Vision with Nick Cruz Velleman, Feb. 15, March 1, March 8 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Virtual Gentle Yoga, Feb. 28, March 7 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

FEBRUARY 13

DUMBARTON HOUSE: VIRTUAL GALENTINE’S DAY TEA 1-3:00 p.m. Grace Duckett: Woman, Mother, Enslaved Worker, Feb. 24, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

TOWN TOPICS

ANC 2E February Report

BY STE VE HOLTON

UPDATE ON WARD 2 RECREATIONAL PARKS In the ANC’s February virtual public meeting, Department of Public Recreation’s (DPR) Chief of External Affairs, Tommie Jones, provided an update on Ward 2 recreational park projects.

Duke Ellington Field has a $3.5 million budget to upgrade its running track, renovate two field houses, install fences and lighting, and improve access for the physically impaired. The designs will be finalized this summer with construction starting in the fall.

Jelleff Recreation Center is budgeted at over $28 million for construction for a new recreation center to serve the Ward 2 community. The design and permits should be finalized by fall 2023. Construction should begin the following winter and conclude by the spring of 2025. DPR is currently working with the community for input on the best design for the project.

Volta Park’s athletic field has a $700,000 budget for field renovation to include new sod and irrigation. Final designs are due this spring with construction starting next summer through the following fall.

The park projects are in the procurement phase, but Jones noted he’s applying pressure to expedite their completion. “I’ve seen what a fully modernized recreational facility can do for a community,” said Jones. So, it’s in the community’s best interest to get these projects done.

ANC Chair Rick Murphy and commissioner Kishan Putta strongly recommended community input teams (CITs) be established to shepherd DPR through the park projects.

ANC 2E QUICK HITS Mayor Bowser’s Office: Looking for free N95 masks? Coronavirus.dc.gov has added a new feature for mask inventory which will assist residents in getting two free masks per day, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office announced. Ward 2 residents are encouraged to visit the ward’s COVID Center, at 926 F Street NW. Small business owners are also encouraged to access the “Bridge Fund” link at Coronavirus.dc.gov. to receive detailed information on special bridge loans available through the $100 million fund set up to assist pandemic-affected businesses and workers.

ANC 2 Council Member Brooke Pinto: Pinto representative, Brian Romanowski, said Pinto is working on replacing traditional city streetlights with LED bulbs. The new lights will not only be energy-efficient, but dimmable (if needed) and monitored so residents won’t have to contact 311 when bulbs go out. The council member also working on streamlining business licensing to alleviate burdens on the commercial sector. Romanowski said Pinto’s 2022 priorities include public safety, helping the homeless receive services and affordable

housing, Covid-related business recovery, and improving transportation.

Improving USPS: In response to residents’ complaints of wrongly-addressed mail or parcels not received, the ANC motioned to strongly encourage D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton once again to address problems with service and deliveries in Georgetown by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

DC Clean Rivers Update: The federally mandated project aimed at reducing sewer overflows into the Potomac watershed must be completed by 2030, according to Project Coordinator Amanda Zander. Work will be focused on the intersections of 31st and K Streets NW, Wisconsin and K Streets NW, and Water and Potomac Streets NW. Along those areas, street closures, parking restrictions and pedestrian detours will occur. Two-way traffic will be interrupted, but flaggers will help direct traffic. The project’s 24/7 hotline can be reached at: (301)772-7358; and website at: dcpotomacrivertunnel@dcwater.com.

Brick Sidewalk Maintenance: The commission unanimously resolved to encourage Mayor Bowser to direct the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to repair historic Georgetown sidewalks with brick, not PFP (porous flexible pavement) as legally required per Georgetown’s historic district status. DDOT has already repaired four locations with PFP and the commission is reiterating its previous resolution that such “illegal” repairs be fixed immediately. ANC Chair Rick Murphy noted that the damaged sidewalks have become both unsafe and unsightly.

Cracking Down on Retail Signage: The commission passed a unanimous resolution asking the city to vigorously enforce existing guidelines on storefront signage. According to city ordinance, neon signs are illegal if not within 18 inches of a store’s front window. But the commissioners said illegal neon signs have appeared all over Georgetown. Merchants are also cluttering sidewalks with a-frame signs on already narrow sidewalks, posing problems for pedestrians and the mobility-impaired as well as aesthetic concerns. Illegal and unattractive lamp post signage was also cited.

Small Business Support: Creators of the Grace Street Collective, Jessica and Ezra Glass, joined the meeting to discuss their visions for recruiting new businesses to Georgetown in light of challenges to commercial retail and the ongoing pandemic. Their strategy is to meet and actively recruit business owners to create thriving retail “micro-communities.”

They asked the ANC to assist small businesses with permitting processes. “We would love to be in Georgetown,” business owners often declare, but too many red-tape burdens often delay the process compared to other areas in the District, they said.

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TOWN TOPICS

Just About Open: ‘Just Walk Out’ Whole Foods in Glover Park

BY PEG GY SA NDS After being closed for almost five years, the popular Whole Foods grocery store at 2323 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Glover Park is open — to specific customers at this time.

TheAmazon-owned full-service grocery store is one of the few in the country to introduce “Just Walk Out” technology. As advertised, it is a new “shopping experience” that this reporter found to be partly delightful, partly disconcerting.

All the 21,500-square-foot sales floors, shelves, counters and self-service bars, are spanking clean, well-lighted and freshly painted. That also includes the once grimy parking garage as well as the supervised grocery cart drop off by the elevator for pick up and loading, once you drive up in your car On Saturday, it seemed that there were dozens of eager personnel everywhere throughout the store, eager to help navigate the new digital shopping and “Just Walk Out” system. As of this writing, to be clear, the store is open only to those with Amazon Prime accounts. The first-time customer registers at one of the entrances by using the credit card attached to their Amazon account. When the account is recognized, the customer can then register both left and right palms digitally.

From then on, they can enter and exit the store (and eventually the garage) just by hovering a palm above one of the many exit/entrance monitors at the front and rear entrances.

Once in the store, the customer takes a cart and a bag or two and shops. The store aisles seem wider than before. Each item in the displays are perfectly stocked, each item perfectly aligned — as before, though maybe better.

Everything a customer takes from a shelf is digitalized. All the many popular self-serve items from salad and hot bar choices, soups, pizzas, cookies, macaroons and the like, have stacks of various sized self-service boxes and lids next to the offerings. Charges are per box, not individual item. The trick may be to see how many items one can get into a serving container (broken cookies anyone?). But half a box will be counted full.

The full selection of cheeses (even winter raclette cheeses), wines, breads, crackers and toppings (fig and jalapeno with oatcake crackers anyone?) that Whole Foods was known for, all seem to be back. Though not all the shelves and tables are fully stocked yet.

And there were signs “no nibbling please” and no samples were offered as before, at least to date.

When you’re finished shopping, registered palm customers walk to an exit gate and hold a palm over the monitor. The gate opens, and you’re done. Kind of fun! The fully open store will also have check-out pay stands (the oldfashioned way) as before.

Let me detail a couple of things that are unusual, however. One is returning an item.

In-store if a customer takes something they don’t want, store employees warn that you must put it back exactly in the display it came from. Then, the digital shelf will register a return and you won’t be charged. To return an item once you’ve left requires registering it online and physically returning it in most cases.

Also unusual or new for some is that a customer who totally digitally doesn’t know how much the total receipt is exactly until they receive it online hours later on their smart phone or other device. Do you remember what you bought and how much it was? Some people worry they will be overcharged or they will be charged for items they returned or picked up just to look at. Or … the cart monitor could miss an item or two, especially if you double bagged it? Then what do you do when it checks three of five? Now, you see why we’re still in a test phase.

The Glover Park Whole Foods was closed in March 2017, as previously reported in Geergetowner stories, first for rodent problems and then legal problems (as in who would pay for the breaking of the initial lease agreement).

The court determined that the rodent damage was an “act of God” and caused the breach and that the lessee was not responsible. During this time, Amazon bought the franchise and decided to renovate the space and install the new “Just Walk Out” technology.

An example of “Just Walk Out” technology.

Courtesy of Amazon.

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Halcyon House located at 3400 Prospect Street NW. Photo courtesy Halcyon House.

Halcyon Fellows’ Impact Reaches Millions Worldwide

BY M AD D IE R EN N YSON Inclusivity and impact are two powerful driving forces behind Halcyon – a local incubator that has made headlines for its ability to nurture early-stage startups, develop forward-thinking entrepreneurs, and launch numerous businesses with social change at the forefront.

The Halcyon headquarters are located in an historic Georgetown mansion at 3400 Prospect St NW. Do not be intimidated by the size of the building, the Halcyon organization consists of a tight-knit group of mentors, partners, investors, and entrepreneurs who’re always ready to take on the next compelling venture.

Halcyon focuses its attention on impact-driven businesses. They embolden founders, as early as the idea stage, to take the leap of faith and make their dream of starting a business a reality. Halcyon is truly passionate about the future of social entrepreneurship, and does not take any equity from the startups they support.

At Halcyon, entrepreneurs can focus solely on their mission and their plan to effectively launch their business.

Halcyon started in 2014 with its first fellowship program cohort of seven founders.

Each fellow had their own idea for a business that would serve the community in an impactful way. Some of these ideas included producing quality nutritious baby food and providing access to sanitary feminine products for women in developing countries. “Every business Halcyon works with – either through a fellowship or through our investment vehicles, truly acts as an ambassador not only for Halcyon but for the bigger idea that impact

is the future of business,” Nicole Weissman, director of communications at Halcyon, told The Georgetowner. In total, Halcyon fellows have created 2,000 jobs, raised almost $200 million to grow their businesses, and impacted three million lives around the world.

The Halcyon Flagship Residential Fellowship is an 18-month program divided into two phases: residency (5 months) and post-residency (13 months). In the residency phase, fellows live in the Halcyon House and participate in workshops and skill-based courses. They’re given stipends to meet initial startup costs, and they have access to consultants and legal support. Most important, the fellows are welcomed into the Halcyon network of support that includes the Halcyon Angels; a group of angel investors who lend financial support to businesses in order to help them scale and grow so their impact can extend as far as possible. In the post-residency phase, the fellows still have access to the Halcyon workspace, but are ready to go out on their own and see their ideas come to life.

Interested in becoming part of Halcyon’s next fellowship class? Applications open February 16 for the fall 2022 session. “What we’d want most people to know about Halcyon is that they can be a part of what we’re doing here,” says Weissman. At Halcyon, entrepreneurs can find a home of passionate, like-minded individuals supporting each other and their ideas as they take off. Halcyon has set impactful social change into motion, and its power is only growing stronger with each new venture.

HISTORIC COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL SPACE FOR SALE 1442 WISCONSIN AVE, WASHINGTON, DC 20007

ASKING $7,250,000

Rare opportunity to own 19th-century landmark property on one of the most prominent corners in historic Georgetown. Three-story Italianate style building with 10-foot ceilings on each above the ground level. A lower-level large basement is used for storage.

For many years the building included residential space with multiple two-bedroom units. Presently two floors are used as gallery space. The top floor has been converted into a spacious two-bedroom apartment flooded with natural light streaming from the walls of the windows.

Julia Diaz-Asper

Francesca Smoot

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Senior Vice President

Associate

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Building has been featured in several Hollywood movies due to its optimum setting and noted architecture, such as eight sets of double Palladian windows with sweeping views across the city.

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TOWN TOPICS

DOWNTOWNER

R.I.P.: Georgetown Lives on the eastern side of Georgetown. Their stories are recounted in “Black Georgetown Remembered,” now a 30-year-old classic of Black history in Washington’s oldest neighborhood. Family friend and neighbor Monica Roache told The Georgetowner: “She truly was the Mayor of our village. She lived a great life. There will be a memorial service in the spring.” Bowman conversed with the oral history project of the Citizens Association of Georgetown in 2010.

Joy Lane Blair Joy Lane Blair, who died on Jan. 5, was born on July 2, 1935 in Jackson, Tennessee. In 1958, she arrived in Washington, D.C., to work at the FBI and attend the George Washington University School of Law. She spent 13 years teaching at Frederick Sasscer High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. In the early 1970s, Blair moved to Georgetown and opened her business, Blair House Antiques. Over 40 years, Joy became a beloved pillar of the Georgetown community. With her signature beehive, blue eyes and everlasting southern accent, she touched the lives of hundreds of friends, customers, neighbors, fellow shopkeepers, ambassadors, politicians, garbage men, bus drivers and homeless people, all of whom she treated the same. While running her shop, she was able to be present and raise her most prized treasure, her son Bo. She loved being in Georgetown and remained in her home until her passing. A celebration of her life is delayed due to Covid. Please consider a donation in her name to the Georgetown Ministry Center (georgetownministrycenter.org).

John Jerome Davenport, a cheerful fixture for years at the corner of 31st & M Streets NW in his wheelchair, playing music, greeting passers-by, died Dec. 15. Born in the nation’s capital on Nov. 30, 1942, he is survived by his sister, Siretta Kelly; his cousins, Sylvia Taylor, Asha Taylor, Sheila Janifer and Barbara Janifer — as well as his caregiver of the last 13 years, Raoul Nya. Joseph (Youssef) Khashab, long-time Maitre D’ of the George Town Club, died last month. Club President Jim Marinucci wrote to members: “It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the passing of our Joseph (Youssef) Khashab. During Joseph’s 21 years with The Club, he was always the first person to greet anyone who walked through the door.

Consistently dressed in a tuxedo, Joseph was a true gentleman who was committed to making sure everyone had the best experience possible.”

One hundred years ago this January the District’s deadliest theater disaster occurred during a blizzard at The Knickerbocker Theatre. Photo courtesy Library of Congress

BY KATE OC ZYPOK

OFFENSIVE GRAFFITI AT UNION STATION

COMMANDER THE PUPPY GETS A FELINE FRIEND

A 34-year-old man was arrested in late January for defacing private and public property at Union Station and three other buildings in the city. The graffiti at Union Station included spray-painted swastikas on columns at the train station. The man, who was homeless, committed the crime on January 28, the day after Holocaust Remembrance Day.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden have given their four-month-old German Shepherd puppy Commander a new friend. After their oldest dog Champ died and other dog Major was re-homed due to difficulties in adjusting to White House life (and a few biting incidents), the White House’s residential quarters were just a bit too quiet. Commander now has a feline sister named Willow, who made a big impression on the First Lady. The gray shorthair tabby cat jumped on stage during the First Lady’s remarks at a speech at a Pennsylvania farm.

Their bond was immediate, and Dr. Biden ended up naming Willow after her hometown of Willow Grove, PA. Willow is the first feline in decades to be at the White House, the last being President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura’s black cat named India.

GW WELCOMES NEW INTERIM PRESIDENT Thomas LeBlanc’s four-year term as president of George Washington University ended earlier this year. The often-rocky term (he dealt with coronavirus, allegations of racism and disapproval of his leadership style) ushered the university into its third century.

LeBlanc’s tenure was the shortest of any president of the school in the last 50 years. The school’s new interim leader, Mark Wrighton, was installed January 1. Wrighton was former chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis.

KNICKERBOCKER THEATRE DISASTER MEMORIALIZED

Gregory Marston Luce

Catherine Bowman Catherine Bowman passed away Jan. 23.

The 97-year-old Washington native lived on the 2700 block of P Street NW and would tell stories of her Black neighborhood where she grew up, next to Rose Park. A few Black families remain in the Herring Hill section 10 FEBRUARY 9, 2022

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Gregory Marston Luce, after a period of hospitalization, died Jan. 26 at age of 72. His eponymous antique store at Book Hill was a delight to behold and held objects of elegant delight and simple beauty. Luce, a native of Mobile, Alabama, was born Sept. 30, 1949.

He said of his store at 1651 Wisconsin Ave. NW: “Marston Luce was opened with my late wife, Julie, in 1981 based on our enthusiasm for 18th and 19th American painted furniture, pottery, folk art, and all things pertaining to the garden.” Luce was the subject of a Georgetowner article in November 2021.

One hundred years ago, over two feet of snow had fallen in the city on January 28, 1922.

Those who lived within walking distance of the popular Adams Morgan Knickerbocker Theatre ventured out for some warmth. A silent film was showing that evening (with a live accompanying orchestra.) At around 9 p.m. a crack opened in the ceiling and chunks of plaster began to fall on the audience and the still-playing orchestra. Soon, the roof of theater caved in entirely, killing nearly 100 and injuring 133. The city memorialized the victims on the 100-year anniversary on Friday January 28 and Saturday January 29.

The commemoration was held in the Adams Morgan public plaza across the street from where the Knickerbocker once stood. Now, a SunTrust Bank is in its place.

BETMGM OPENS AT NATIONALS PARK The first retail sportsbook connected to an MLB stadium is open—and it just happens to be at Nationals Park. BetMGM will be a year-round venue and will include 40 bigscreen televisions with live odds boards and is accessible via N St. SE (next to the Center Field gate). Those interested can place wages with either cashiers at betting windows or electronic kiosks. A bar and dining area is featured as well.

NBC-4 ANCHOR ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH DUI Leon Harris, who anchors the NBC-4 weekday evening news, was arrested late last month in Montgomery County. Harris was charged with driving under the influence when his car driving along River Road struck another vehicle. Harris will not be on air during the investigation. Harris has not commented on the arrest.

BUSINESS

INS & OUTS

BY R OBE RT DEVA NEY

GEORGETOWN-BORN EVERFI SELLS FOR $750 MILLION

Blackbaud, the “world’s leading cloud software company powering social good,” announced Jan. 3 that it “has acquired global social impact technology leader EverFi in a cash and stock transaction for approximately $750 million, subject to certain customary adjustments.”

Founded 12 years ago in Georgetown on Potomac Street and headquartered in Washington, D.C., EverFi “has pioneered the field of Impact-as-a-Service. Through a combination of cloud-based software and its unique community engagement ecosystem, EverFi enables private, public and social sector organizations to respond to some of today’s most pressing challenges through education, activating community engagement at scale, delivered as a service. Through its technology and learning platform, EverFi has reached more than 45 million learners globally…,” Blackbaud said in a statement.

“Blackbaud and EverFi have similar cultures and a strong sense of purpose,” said Tom Davidson, CEO, EverFi, who will join Blackbaud with his executive team. “Together we offer an unparalleled commitment to customers, innovation and data-driven social impact,

IN: CALL YOUR MOTHER IN WEST END

Call Your Mother, the “Jew-ish deli,” opened its doors in the West End neighborhood Jan. 30 — taking over the café space within the Yours Truly DC Hotel at 1143 New Hampshire Ave. NW. It is CYM’s sixth location.

EverFi CEO Tom Davidson, Kenan Thompson and Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2019. Photo by Robert Devaney. making us the one distinctive leader in the social impact space. EverFi’s software powers some of the largest ESG and CSR initiatives in the world, and this alignment will drive impact for millions of learners every year.”

Two years ago, EverFi celebrated its new digs at 2300 N St. NW in the West End with friends, family and employees — along with Mayor Muriel Bowser, Kenan Thompson of “Saturday Night Live” and Georgetown and NBA star Jerome “Junk Yard Dog” Williams. Said EverFi co-founder and CEO Tom Davidson in 2019: “Ten years ago, EverFi was founded in a small D.C. row house with the idea that we could harness innovative, digital education to engage learners around some of the country’s most intractable issues, including financial illiteracy, student loan debt, sexual harassment

SOON: RETURN OF THE FOUNTAIN INN

and violence and workforce access.”

IN: BOZZELLI’S

Space-age Bozzelli’s opened last week at Washington Harbour, next to Bangkok Joe’s (3000 K St NW). Beside its array of pizzas, the menu includes Boom Boom Chicken and Meaty Boy — along with subs, grilled cheese, breakfast sandwiches and salads.

SOON: SMOOTHIE KING ON M

Smoothie King — founded in Louisiana in 1973, headquartered in Texas and now owned by a South Korean company — is looking to fix up and set up shop at 3122 M St. NW in the space once occupied by Starbucks. The opening will likely be late spring. There are more than 1,000 Smoothie Kings worldwide.

A new tavern is set to open at 1659 Wisconsin Ave. NW in a month or two and has staked its reputation on fine spirits — as well as on the spirits of Washington history. The new business tells us: “Originally established in 1783 by clockmaker John Suter, The Fountain Inn (a.k.a. Suter’s Tavern) was one of the most important taverns in American history. While the precise location of the original tavern is unknown, we do know this: Washington slept (t)here; Jefferson drank (t)here; D.C. was built (t)here. Our vision for the 21st century Fountain Inn is to rekindle, restore but also rewrite its legacy, spirit and history in the form of a rare spirits tasting room that welcomes all through its doors.” We await our back-to-thefuture moment and a fine whiskey.

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN OR RENEW YOUR CAG MEMBERSHIP Join CAG today to stay informed, be connected, get involved and show your support for the neighborhood we love.

CAG is committed to Georgetown's Historic Preservation, Safety, Beautification, and Community Representation.

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Scan the QR Code or mail check to: 1058 30th St NW, Washington, DC 20007

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FEBRUARY 9, 2022

11

EDITORIAL

OPINION

Ukraine vs. Russia: The Forgotten Historical Dimension

Knowing and Celebrating Georgetown’s Black History Thirty years ago, The Georgetowner hosted a reception for a book that helped the town rediscover part of its past. “Black Georgetown Remembered” is now a classic of Black history in Washington’s oldest neighborhood.

It was published by Georgetown University Press in 1991 with the subtitle, “A History of Its Black Community From the Founding of ‘The Town of George’ in 1751 to the Present Day,” and has gone through several reprints. The book prompted many talks and additional interviews. It records the tales of Black families recalling their homes and blocks of Georgetown — consistently onethird Black until around the Second World War. Gentrification came first to Georgetown in all of D.C. It’s a surprising story of African American life, and those who remain tell this part of everyone’s history more vigorously today. Tonight, the Citizens Association of Georgetown is offering a program on “Black Georgetown Remembered.”

The graveyard at 27th & Mill Road, bordering Rock Creek Park, Oak Hill Cemetery and Dumbarton House, the Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society Cemetery is slowly but surely being changed to a proper memorial. In March 2015, a Georgetowner cover story called attention to the plight of this long-neglected place, one of the oldest African American burial grounds in Washington, D.C. With people like Neville Waters, Thornell Page and Lisa Fager, a nonprofit ensures the cemetery’s preservation and commemoration.

“One of the things I have enjoyed, even to this day, is the communal feeling in Georgetown.

We’re still close-knit, even though our numbers have dwindled,” Waters told us.

The Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project continues its installation of bronze free-standing plaques with posts at various locations around town. Last week, the Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission voiced its support of the project. More than 80 markers are slated for the historical tour.

The project’s mission statement casts a wide net: “To honor together the enslaved and free African Americans who worked in, lived in and built Georgetown; to celebrate together their resilience, strength and fortitude; to promote together accurate African American and American history preservation; to start a dialogue of reconciliation which eliminates any shame, guilt or humiliation; and to foster a commitment to lasting changes.” We applaud Andrena Crockett for her vision and deep commitment.

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BY C H R ISTOPH ER JON ES

The cover of the Feb. 20, 2019, Georgetowner: “Our Black History in Georgetown.”

One of the lightning rods of memory has been Georgetown University’s confrontation of its slavery legacy. “It seems to me that the story of Georgetown and slavery is a microcosm of the whole history of slavery,” said Professor Adam Rothman, a member of Georgetown University’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory & Reconciliation, in 2016, regarding the university’s connection with the Jesuits’ 1838 sale of 272 slaves.

Since then, the university has apologized for arranging the sale of enslaved people from D.C. and Maryland farms to help pay off debts. It renamed two main campus buildings: for Isaac Hawkins, the first slave listed on the sales document; and for Anne Marie Becraft, who founded a school nearby for black girls and later became one of America’s first Black nuns. G.U. has offered descendants of the 272 slaves, most of whom ended up in Louisiana, legacy status in admissions.

Fifth-generation Washingtonian, P Street resident and educator Monica Roaché — former advisory neighborhood commissioner and now a D.C. Democratic Party Secretary — reminded us a few years ago: “The African American community contributed to Georgetown. There were doctors, lawyers, educators and more.”

Georgetown University Professor Marcia Chatelain told us: Washington, D.C., is a place with Black history that has shown “great beauty and inequality. It is a sober reminder and a celebration, too, of achievement and strengths.” She added: By knowing and understanding history, Americans have a chance “to demonstrate what’s possible” — constructing “a well-rounded account.” Black History Month is a time “to be reflective.”

To be sure, we all can reflect on many Black Georgetown names: Yarrow Mamout, Alfred Pope, Hannah Cole Pope, Robert Holmes, John Ferguson, Moses Zacariah Booth and Elizabeth Oliver Booth, Georgetown University President Patrick Healy, tennis doubles champions Roumania and Margaret Peters, Doctors C. Herbert Marshall and Joseph Dodso. Of course, there’s more — and more learning to do.

Signs of imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine have dominated news headlines in recent days. The deployment of close to 130,000 Russian troops along Ukraine’s borders and into neighboring Belarus combined with increasingly alarming diplomatic announcements from U.S. and NATO representatives – including the call to evacuate U.S. embassy personnel from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv – have many wondering if a major European war is imminent.

Unfortunately, much of the news analysis of the crisis has focused on short-term causes of tension between Russia and Ukraine rather than deeper historical patterns. Especially puzzling is why analysts of the crisis don’t factor in one of the 20th century’s worst atrocities.

Under Stalin’s rule of the Soviet Union (1929-1953), Ukraine suffered the most traumatic chapter of its long history – the Holodomor – from 193233. In Ukrainian, “Holodomor” means “extermination by hunger.” Stalin’s policies of forced collectivization and the targeting of Ukrainian ethnic Kulaks – whom Stalin considered a counter-revolutionary class – required Ukrainians to ship essentially all farm produce to Moscow, resulting in manmade, mass famine estimated to have killed between 3.9 to 7.5 million Ukrainians and some 7 to 10 million people under Soviet domination.

Of course, estimates of the number of Ukrainians who died during the Holodomor vary widely – as one might predict given the disinformation associated with the superpower rivalry in the later Cold War era and up to today. Public sources such as Wikipedia provide Holodomor death totals ranging from a low count of 3.9 million Ukrainians (under the “Holodomar” listing) to as high as 7.5 million (under the listing of “Soviet Famine of 1932-33.”) In a Fact Sheet of January 20, 2022, the U.S. State Department recently embraced the figures of 7-10 million Holodomor deaths referencing research from the Europe vs Disinfo website (euvsdisinfo.eu.).

Though the Holodomar’s death statistics are always in contention in such public forums, Ukrainian officials hold Stalin and the Soviet Union responsible for launching a twentieth-century genocide against their people. In 2010, a Kyiv appellate court found Stalin and others “guilty of genocide against Ukrainians during the Holodomor famine,” according to a Radio Free Europe broadcast of January 14, 2010. Four years earlier, in 2006, the U.S. Congress had approved of The Holodomor Memorial to Victims of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 193233 in Washington D.C. Managed by the

National Park Service, the memorial opened to the public at 1 Massachusetts Ave. NW on November 7, 2015.

Following the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August, 1939, Hitler of Germany and Stalin of the Soviet Union invaded Ukraine on their way to carving up Poland. While many Ukrainians welcomed liberation from Stalin’s terrorizing rule and cooperated with Nazi authorities, an underground “partisan movement” formed and a Ukrainian Insurgent Army rose to fight off both Soviet and Nazi occupation.

By 1945, with Soviet and Allied victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, much of Stalin’s anti-fascist propaganda remained focused on Ukraine. Following Soviet losses of over 20 million people in the Second World War, Russian communist bitterness over Ukrainian collaboration with Nazi occupation – either real or amplified through disinformation – remained strong, as it does to this day.

Ukrainian officials hold Stalin and the Soviet Union responsible for launching a twentiethcentury genocide against their people.

Russia’s current president, Vladimir Putin, continues to characterize Ukraine’s history and independent cultural identity much as Stalin did. “You have to understand that Ukraine is not even a country. Part of its territory is in Eastern Europe and the greater part was given to us,” Putin told U.S. president George W. Bush at the NATO summit in Bucharest Romania in April 2008, according to former National Security Council staff expert on Russian and Eurasian affairs, Fiona Hill, as reported in The New York Times.

Today, as Russian forces surround Ukraine for a possible all-out invasion and seizure of its capital Kyiv, it bears keeping in mind Ukraine’s long national independence struggle and its enduring cultural identity and achievements. We should also remember what Ukrainians will never forget – Russia’s history of genocide against the Ukrainian peoples, its annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine, its relentless stream of disinformation, its continuing diplomatic and military hostility, and its brazen designs to reabsorb Ukraine and other eastern bloc “republics” back into the Russian motherland.

THE VILLAGE

GMS’s Melanie Hayes Excited by 2022 Opportunities

BY C HR IS TOP HER J O N E S As the new chair of Georgetown Main Street (GMS), Melanie Hayes – Vice President, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty – is enthusiastic about her GMS team and their group’s mission to help revitalize Georgetown.

In October 2021, Hayes took over GMS’s leadership from outgoing chair, Daphna Peled.

Founded in 2017 with the mission of assisting small businesses along the Wisconsin Avenue corridor from Whitehaven Parkway to K Street NW, GMS is funded by the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) as well as contributions from its own fundraising initiatives. GMS’s current budget is $150,000 per year, according to Hayes.

The Georgetowner spoke with Hayes about GMS’s projects, initiatives and outlook for 2022. As a real estate agent serving Georgetown, Hayes set up her own website, GeorgetownPropertyListings.com, to feature homes and blog about goings on in the neighborhood, posting about Georgetown’s best coffee shops and art galleries. She first became involved with GMS when her business worked with its technical assistance programs and joined GMS’s Board three years ago.

As chair of GMS, Hayes works with the

organization’s all-volunteer committees and executive director, Rachel Shank (the group’s only paid employee) to provide “grants, plan events to attract people to the Wisconsin Avenue corridor, and offer technical assistance programs” to business owners to focus on “improving [their] business operations.”

GMS has also been focusing on marketing and public relations to “elevate and raise the profile of some of the smaller businesses” that Hayes said “people might walk by and not necessarily be tuned into.”

Hayes is excited to help boost small businesses through coordinated online marketing campaigns combining high-quality photography, story-telling appeal and useful business information. GMS’s latest campaign – The Faces of Georgetown – has profiled seven small businesses along the 1800 block of Wisconsin Avenue on Instagram and GMS’s Facebook page and plans to keep “moving down” the corridor for future online profiles. GMS hired a lifestyle photographer to snap photos of each of the owners in front of their shops to help personalize the businesses.

“We wanted people to see the human correlation and say ‘Ah, so this is Dawn

of Georgetown Beauty Bar.’ So, we posted Dawn’s story … outside their storefront and then in the text we had a profile with their contact information and what their expertise is…. The businesses that are not super savvy with publicity, we try to give them a little attention.” GMS also provided paid sponsorship boosts to each post so they could be widely disseminated.

GMS’s Instagram following is growing quickly, providing a strong base for such campaigns. “There’s a lot of data that suggests we’ve been gaining traction,” Hayes said.

With more than 6,000 Instagram followers, GMS can quickly disseminate a highlight reel featuring the “really personable” owners of the seven promoted businesses in addition to promoting #TakeOutTuesday, Small Business Saturday, Rose Park events or Shop Georgetown initiatives.

One of Hayes’s favorite moments during the Faces of Georgetown campaign was getting to know Chichie Tascoe ​​of Chichie’s Grooming Spa at 1742 Wisconsin Ave. NW. “I actually hadn’t known there was a pet groomer there in Georgetown,” she said. “And we got a sort of action shot of them actually brushing-out one of the dogs…. It was great…

People will realize -- just as I did -- that they can bring their dogs there” to be groomed.

Hayes is pleased with GMS’s recent work helping businesses with publicity. On GMS’s Marketing and PR Committee, Duk-ki Yu, owner of men’s shoe boutique Major at 1515 Wisconsin Ave. NW helped strike a deal with VistaPrint graphic design services to help small Georgetown businesses create logos and advertising materials.

Hayes credits Executive Director Rachel Shank for the enormous success of this year’s Georgetown Cookie Tour where patrons went from shop to shop to gather cookies for cookie-plate holiday gifts. After local Instagram influencers such as ClockoutDC started posting about the event, ticket sales skyrocketed. “The Cookie Tour sold out within days… and we had 97 percent attendance out of those who bought tickets,” Hayes said.

This year’s Art All Night festival which GMS helped boost was a huge hit, drawing massive crowds to Georgetown. More than 800 people attended events at the African Union on Wisconsin Avenue that June evening,

The World Famous

48th Year

1819 35th St NW Washington DC between S & T Sts at Hardy Middle School (Across from the social Safeway)

manager@georgetownfleamarket.com

antiques, collectibles, furniture, jewelry, vintage furnishings & accessories

Georgetown Main Street Chair Melanie Hayes.

Courtesy photo.

Hayes said. GMS sponsored 75 percent of the festival’s featured art.

With each successful fundraiser and promotional event, GMS can garner funds to be disbursed as direct grants to Wisconsin Avenue corridor small businesses. “I do think there are a lot of small businesses that have been positively impacted” by GMS’s grants, Hayes said. “It’s been a positive force for them to have those grants, so we’ve made progress on that. I think fundraising has been a huge focus because the more we’re able to fundraise, the more we’re able to give in grants.” The Chicken Pot Pie-athon from Jenn Crovato of 1310 Kitchen “raised $5,000,” Hayes said. Enough to “make a meaningful grant we can provide.”

Besides promoting small and local businesses, the heart of GMS’s work is to provide direct grants to help smaller enterprises succeed. Currently, GMS has $30,000 “ready to deploy” to assist such businesses, Hayes said. A major goal for GMS in 2022 is to fundraise to double that amount to at least $60,000 – the amount disbursed last year. In 2021, GMS gave out $3000 grants to 20 small businesses along Wisconsin Avenue. One such recipient was Los Cuates restaurant at 1564 Wisconsin Ave. NW, which used their funds to “improve the back patio so that it could accommodate customers outside” and purchase “furniture and materials,” Hayes said.

To fundraise, Hayes is also hoping to appeal to individual donors from Georgetown who see the mutual interest between Georgetown’s residential neighborhoods and a thriving commercial corridor. For Georgetown business owners, GMS’s grant application period this year starts in March, with awards granted

by April 15. Applications can be found at Georgetownmainstreet.com. Besides donating to GMS, Hayes said, “one of the best things a Georgetown resident can do is to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram.”

VISIT GEORGETOWNER.COM FOR THE FULL ARTICLE AND IMAGES GMG, INC.

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

13

COVER

Georgetown Real Estate Market Historic row houses in a Georgetown neighborhood

Q&A with Real Estate Brokers CO MPI L ED BY KAT E O C Z Y P O K The Georgetowner: In your view, what are the most significant trends in the Georgetown housing market for 2022?

Tom Anderson and Dana Landry, Washington Fine Properties: Given the shortage of homes for sale, houses that are priced correctly, presented properly and that are in good condition will sell quickly with multiple offers. The presentation of the property is key, as buyers are looking for properties that are renovated and in “movein” condition. Pricing is extremely important as if the home is overpriced, it will sit and eventually sell for less. Prices will continue to rise, but not at the same rate as we saw in 2021.

There is also a market for properties needing renovation with our developer pool.

Carla Labat, Managing Broker, Georgetown Long & Foster: There is an upward trend in pricing over $5M, with a paucity of inventory below $5M. Michael Rankin, Managing Partner, Tutt, Taylor, Rankin-Sotheby’s International Realty: Demand for all price ranges is very strong, and I expect that to be consistent for the next year.

David Howell, Co-Managing Broker for McEnearney’s D.C. and Maryland offices, CIO and Executive VIP of the company: Georgetown outperformed just about every neighborhood in D.C. in 2021, and we expect more of the same in 2022. There was a 26-percent increase in the number of homes sold compared to 2020. As a whole, D.C. sales were up 12 percent. Similarly, the increase in the average sales price was double that of the city: Georgetown’s average price rose almost 10 percent, while D.C. was up 4.6 percent.

Homes in Georgetown sold 20 percent faster 14 FEBRUARY 9, 2022

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than 2020; It was a very strong year. But the biggest story, as we’re now one month into the new year, is the lack of inventory. We’re already seeing the return of multiple offers.

Gtowner: For home buyers looking in Georgetown, what would be one major piece of advice you might give?

Labat, L&F: Prepare for higher prices and multiple offers, especially under $4M. Anderson and Landry, WFP: It is imperative to work with an agent who is connected into the market and has advance notice of houses that are “off-market” and/ or coming to the market soon. Being preapproved by a reputable lender and being willing to pre-inspect the home so you are comfortable removing all contingencies is a necessity in today’s market.

Howell, McEnearney’s: Patience and persistence. I guess that’s really two pieces of advice! With the lack of inventory, it can be a very frustrating time for buyers, and as is true throughout the region buyers have returned to the market sooner than sellers. Be prepared to act quickly, and if you don’t succeed on the first — or second or third — attempt, remember that there will be more listings coming on the market as we edge closer to spring. Hang in there.

Rankin, TTRSIR: Have an architect who understands period homes look at the house with you so you can best understand how to do any personalization or improvements.

Gtowner: For home sellers looking in Georgetown, what would be one major piece of advice you might give?

Anderson and Landry, WFP: Again, presentation of the property is key. Working

with an agent who has the knowledge and resources to prepare your home to look its best is key. Pricing the property strategically is also important in generating the most interest and in generating multiple offers.

Labat, L&F: Make sure your home is in spectacular shape to stand out with the expected increase of properties for sale in the upcoming spring market.

Rankin, TTRSIR: Have a qualified home inspection in advance of showing your house.

Do any repairs a new owner would want to do.

Howell, McEnearney’s: If selling is in your plans for this year, do it sooner rather than later. Buyers are hungry for choices, and this is an exceptional time to have your home on the market. But price and condition still matter.

Gtowner: Could you give us a sense of who’s buying homes in Georgetown right now?

Howell, McEnearney’s: It’s pretty stunning that, despite an average sales price over $1,500,000, more than 40 percent of purchases are all cash. Georgetown continues to attract Washington’s power players, and those buyers are skewing younger.

Rankin, TTRSIR: Everyone who appreciates a strong sense of community and loves historic homes.

Labat, L&F: Georgetown attracts buyers from major markets across the country coming for business and Capitol Hill, along with international buyers investing in the stability of the housing market in our nation’s capital.

Anderson and Landry, WFP: Georgetown has always been an extremely popular neighborhood for buyers of all sorts. Many

Georgetowners move within the Village to get more or less space or different features.

Additionally, the city lifestyle in Georgetown is appealing to empty nesters coming from our neighboring suburbs.

Gtowner: Do you have any other ideas or comments you’d like to share with our readers?

Anderson and Landry, WFP: We are in unprecedented times, and it has never been a better time for our clients to sell, especially given the current low capital gains tax. Some sellers are concerned about where they will move after selling, and we have learned through experience that there are always opportunities for buyers in any market.

Howell, McEnearney’s: The lower end condo market in the District continues to be fairly sluggish, and it is the only general category of properties in the region where there is a relative balance between supply and demand. Elsewhere, there is a critical shortage of inventory. Mortgage interest rates are still near historically low levels, but they are starting to rise. As we have seen in the past when rates begin rising, buyers who have been sitting on the fence are jumping into the market before rates get too high. That exacerbates the low inventory situation, and that is why it is an incredibly good time to sell.

Rankin, TTRSIR: Washington has a lot of terrific neighborhoods. Georgetown is rich in history, culture, parks and a very strong sense of community. My family and friends love calling it home.

Labat, L&F: Georgetown has everything one would want, from architecture, to culture, to restaurants, to retail, to people watching.

What more could you ask?

REAL ESTATE

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN GEORGTOWN

The Year in RE-view THE BASIC RULES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND DROVE THE MARKET TO NEW HEIGHTS

BY SUS A N BODIKE R Covid? What Covid? Unlike so many people and sectors, residential real estate in 2021 proved virtually immune to the virus and its discontents -- just as it did, surprisingly, in 2020. Low inventory combined with low mortgage rates continued to drive demand throughout the city.

According to a recent post in Urban Turf, the supply of homes for sale in D.C. is “dropping faster than anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic... with active listings down 38 percent compared to December 2020.” Good for sellers (and their agents). For buyers, not so much. Their road to home ownership was much harder and costlier.

Some other stats (per Bright MLS): • 80,582 – The number of homes that sold in the D.C. region in 2021, up 13.5% from 2020 • $530,000 – The median home price in the D.C. region in 2021, the highest price on record

• $50.8 billion – The total sales volume in the area, up 22% from 2020 • 39,505 – The number of homes that sold for above asking in the region last year • $48 million – The sales price for the most expensive home sold in the region last year • 49% – The percentage of homes that sold in 10 days or fewer in D.C. • 23% – The percentage of homes that sold for more than $1 million in D.C. What can we expect in the coming months?

The housing shortage is not going away anytime soon. Density-restricting zoning (especially in historic districts like ours) keeps housing stock low and for those “lucky” enough to afford a home, rising interest rates may cause them to think twice about this considered purchase. This is likely to push more buyers into the rental market with the inevitable pressure on pricing and availability.

Supply chain and labor issues affecting the construction and home goods industries will continue to bedevil builders and, ultimately, buyers.

In other words, it’s still a seller’s market.

And hold on to your wallets.

Your home base in Horse Country

Willwyn Farm

Acres: 37 | Price: $3,495,000

Loudoun Co. – Spectacular horse facility with 2 barns, indoor and outdoor arenas, paddocks and ride out. Rolling pastures are anchored by a meticulously restored 1700’s stone main house with a log guest house on 2 parcels. Fios internet. 20 Minutes to Middleburg.

Cricket Bedford | 540-229-3201

$1,735,000

+12%

198

+37%

47

+31%

MEDIAN SOLD PRICE

HOUSES SOLD

AVG. DAYS ON MARKET

49%

THE PERCENTAGE OF HOMES THAT SOLD IN 10 DAYS OR FEWER IN D.C.

CONDOS IN GEORGTOWN

$50.8 billion

$687,000

+12%

92

+15%

MEDIAN SOLD PRICE

HOUSES SOLD

48

THE TOTAL SALES VOLUME IN THE AREA, UP 22% FROM 2020

23%

-33%

AVG. DAYS ON MARKET

THE PERCENTAGE OF HOMES THAT SOLD FOR MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN D.C.

The name says it all

Worth The Wait

Acres: 50 | Price: $2,489,000

Marshall – Virginia’s horse and wine country with mountain, lake and pastoral views. Custombuilt home has 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. High ceilings; hardwood flooring; 4 fireplaces.

Fenced, mature pasture for horses. Easy access to I-66 and less than 1 hour to D.C.

Emily Ristau | 540-454-9083

THOMAS & TALBOT ESTATE PROPERTIES Opening The Door To Horse Country For Generations

2 South Madison Street | PO Box 500 | Middleburg, VA 20118 | Office: 540-687-6500 | thomasandtalbot.com Offers subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice. Information contained herein is deemed reliable, but is not so warranted nor is it otherwise guaranteed.

Georgetowner-HalfPg.indd 1

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2/7/22 2:03 PM FEBRUARY 9, 2022

15

REAL ESTATE Multiple seating areas make the garden a desirable space for entertaining large or more intimate family gatherings.

After the Fire: Redemption and Renewal on S St.

BY C H R ISTOPH ER JON ES

Rear Window A RESTORED FEDERAL TOWNHOUSE REVEALS A GLORIOUS GARDEN VIEW

BY SUS A N BODIKE R You always know when you’re in a home designed by Akseizer Residential. Refined finishes, a cool color palette, a soupçon of French sophistication and a little cheeky humor to balance everything out. All this is on display at Akseizer’s most recent renovation in Georgetown, a three-level Federal-style row house at 1512 34th St NW. Built in 1900 and recently restored in 2021, the 2000 square-foot home features three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, locally handcrafted millwork and cabinetry and a host of custom fixtures and furnishings throughout.

And then there is the garden--a flagstone and pea gravel-paved expanse lined with pine trees, hollies, boxwoods and hydrangeas. It is on the market for $2,995,000.

A high-gloss black main door with a threepaned transom light opens into a bright flexible space that’s now configured as living room/dining room. A cozy sitting area is nestled within the front bay window. Rift and quarter sawn flooring, set in a herringbone pattern, takes you forward through to the family room/lounge and then onto the kitchen, which leads into the rear garden.

Custom picture-frame paneling lines the walls and the pass-through between the dining area and family room is set off by hand-hewn reclaimed timber beams that lend an unexpected touch of rusticity to the otherwise polished aesthetic. A half bath boasts a substantial stone sink and, like all the bathrooms, Waterworks fixtures. In the lounge, a built-in wall-to-wall marble topped cabinet hides a TV lift that opens with the touch of a remote (one of the home’s many smart-tech and thoughtful elements).

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In the transitional kitchen, lit by a wall of windows, there is a large island, extensive cabinetry with brass hardware, and Calacatta marble countertops and backsplash. There is also a dark navy Ilve Majestic stove with sixburner range, Zephyr hood edged in brass, concealed French door Sub-Zero refrigerator/ freezer, Asko dishwasher (also integrated), Wolf microwave and Shaw handcrafted English fireclay farm sink. All fixtures by Rohl.

Up on the second level are two bedrooms and two full baths. In the primary, which overlooks the garden, there are two builtin, floating nightstands. The wide walk-in closet is fitted with a custom-built hanging and folded storage system and in the black/ white/grey bath there is a double vanity topped with Nero Maquinna marble and a large glass-doored shower with rainhead and wall-mounted shower heads. In the second bedroom, there is a spacious built-in armoire and marble-topped dresser and a sleek white marble bathroom with brass fixtures.

Surprise pops of yellow enliven the lower level, which features a family room with built-in bar with wine cooler, full white marble bathroom with bath/shower combo, bedroom and laundry room with a navy, stacked GE washer and dryer.

The over 9’ ceilings and well-placed windows -not to mention the sunny yellow accents -- keep the below-grade space bright.

Offered at $2,995,000, the federal townhouse at 1512 34 St NW is listed with Washington Fine Properties. For details, contact Robert Hryniewicki, Adam T. Rackliffe and Christopher R. Leary, at HRLPartners@ wfp.com, 202.243.1620. For a visual tour, visit https://spws.homevisit.com/mls/356948.

Just days after Christmas in 2020, along a beautiful block of Georgetown’s historic district, something unthinkable happened to one family’s home.

Behind a residential picket fence on the 3200 block of S St. NW, a 6-bedroom Dutch colonial residence with white clapboard and brick exterior — home to Georgetown architect Dale Overmyer, his wife Melissa and their three daughters — was set afire in broad daylight by an arsonist who had entered through a back door. After firefighters extinguished the conflagration, the Overmyers — not inside the house during the fire — witnessed the destruction: everything inside was destroyed. New windows were completely blown out, leaving only the external shell of the house from which to rebuild.

Since that terrible day, however, the Overmyers’ quest to redeem their home and recover their sense of family security and serenity through the home rebuilding process has served as an inspiration to neighbors, friends, family, work associates and everyone following their story.

Fortunately, for the Overmyers, a combination of architectural expertise — Dale Overmyer heads Overmyer Architects at 3213 P St. NW — and deep religious faith have helped them view the traumatic events of that day as an opportunity to re-fashion their home to provide a greater sense of connection to the beauties of the outdoors and to their community.

“We took the opportunity to build back better,” Dale Overmyer said. “We had already been thinking ahead about some other [home projects] so we just decided to do everything at the same time, you know, to repair and restore everything that was lost and make a few new improvements along the way to try to make the most of the opportunities that came out of the problem.”

Architecturally, the Overmyers decided to remain “true to the spirit of the Dutch colonial at least on the envelope [of the home].” For the interior, they chose a “refreshed feeling… introducing more light and connected spaces than before.” They’ll be “trying to open up spaces and create even more light flow,” Dale Overmyer said. The home has “a lovely garden, so bringing that light in from the south” will help the family connect in a healing way to the outdoors.

“We started by really just opening the house up more to the street. It had charming elements that were a little more hidden away… so we wanted to reveal the part of it that was already beautiful and just add to it architecturally and with the garden in a way that makes it a delightful presence on the street… It’s really about creating beauty and beauty is one of the most powerful things we’ve got,” Dale Overmyer said.

Searching for the best technical terms, Dale Overmyer said the home’s new interior would

Dale and Melissa Overmeyer in front of their S Street home, now under reconstruction.

Courtesy Melissa Overmeyer. be best described as a “refreshed cottage with simple but quality finishes.” Melissa Overmyer added, “It’s contemporary cozy.”

When asked if their new interior space design embraces the Danish concept of hygge, Dale Overmyer responded, “I think it does, but I think just using natural and even some reclaimed materials in the woodwork and bringing lots of light in to compliment those organic natural finishes,” will provide the intended effects.

In the fire, the Overmyers lost precious family heirlooms — reclaimed stone and wood features of the family’s old tavern from the late 18th century. Now, they hope to include centuries-old architectural salvage in their new designs “to maintain a sense of heritage.”

For Melissa Overmyer, deep religious faith and diligent scriptural practice has helped her on her journey to transcend bitterness and gain forgiveness — and to understand how “God will always cause something good to come out of something bad.”

With Ascension Press before the fire, she had published a book, “From Worry to Wonder: A Catholic’s Guide to Finding Peace Through Scripture.” The scriptural exercises she prescribes in the book have helped her see the world anew.

Using the home rebuilding process to connect with community has probably been the most redeeming aspect of the project so far for the Overmyers.

Dale Overmeyer’s work associates have stepped up to help when they’ve had the chance. The Overmeyers’ neighbors along S Street have been the best. “We have the world’s greatest next-door neighbors. They’re truly the most encouraging, loving, kind, helpful, lovely people. You couldn’t ask for better neighbors and we are just so thankful,” Melissa Overmeyer said.

GEORGETOWN 3045 West Lane Keys NW Washington, DC $4,750,000 Russell Firestone +1 202 271 1701

WATERGATE EAST 2500 Virginia Avenue NW 1408-S Washington, DC $4,295,000 Stan Kelly +1 202 997 1872

CHEVY CHASE 4503 Cumberland Avenue Chevy Chase, MD $2,675,000 Donna Leanos +1 443 841 0512

CAPITOL HILL 209 8th Street NE #2 Washington, DC

GEORGETOWN 3017 O Street NW Washington, DC $13,000,000 Michael Rankin +1 202 271 3344

WATERGATE WEST 2700 Virginia Avenue NW 501 Washington, DC $3,900,000 Stan Kelly +1 202 997 1872

POTOMAC 7200 Brookstone Court Potomac, MD $2,695,000 Jonathan Taylor +1 202 276 3344

OLD TOWN 117 Prince Street Alexandria, VA

$1,695,000 $2,575,000 Brent Jackson +1 202 263 9200 Robert Sanders +1 202 744 6463

NAVY YARD 1300 4th Street SE #715 Washington, DC $955,000 Maxwell Rabin +1 202 669 7406

FOGGY BOTTOM 2515 K Street NW #309 Washington, DC $317,500 Kelly Basheer Garrett +1 202 258 7362

Heather Corey +1 703 989 1183

WATERGATE WEST 2700 Virginia Avenue NW 305 Washington, DC $470,000 Stan Kelly +1 202 997 1872

GEORGETOWN 2500 Q Street NW #409 Washington, DC $385,000 Melanie Hayes +1 202 549 7373

BROKERAGES: GEORGETOWN 1206 30TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC | +1 202 333 1212 DOWNTOWN, DC • CHEVY CHASE, DC • BETHESDA, MD • ANNAPOLIS, MD • EASTON, MD • MCLEAN, VA • ALEXANDRIA, VA • ARLINGTON, VA • THE PLAINS, VA TTRSIR.COM ©2022 TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, licensed real estate broker. Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated.

Equal housing opportunity. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Price and availability subject to change.

GMG, INC.

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

17

REAL ESTATE

2021 REAL ESTATE SALES IN GEORGETOWN PROVIDED BY WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES See the full list at georgetowner.com. Listed from highest to lowest sold.

ADDRESS

BEDS

FULL BATH

LIST PRICE

CLOSE PRICE

6 4 4 4 7 6 6 4 5 5 7 4 6 6 6 3 3 3 5 7 3 6 7 4 6 4 2 4 7 5 6 4 4 4 3 4 5 3 2 4 4 2 4 4 5 4 4 2 4 4 4 4 4 3 5 3 4 4 4 3 3 5 3 3 3 3 3 3

9 5 4 5 7 6 4 5 5 6 5 5 4 5 4 3 2 3 3 4 3 5 5 3 4 4 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 2 3 4 2 3 4 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 4

$9,995,000 $9,975,000 $7,850,000 $7,495,000 $6,995,000 $6,750,000 $6,500,000 $6,195,000 $6,150,000 $5,990,000 $5,700,000 $5,950,000 $5,495,000 $4,800,000 $4,999,000 $4,995,000 $4,995,000 $4,695,000 $4,095,000 $4,495,000 $4,200,000 $4,100,000 $2,995,000 $4,250,000 $3,999,000 $3,600,000 $3,750,000 $3,595,000 $3,700,000 $3,500,000 $3,300,000 $2,990,000 $3,199,000 $3,150,000 $3,695,000 $3,250,000 $2,950,000 $3,295,000 $2,420,000 $2,850,000 $3,195,000 $2,799,999 $2,950,000 $3,250,000 $2,995,000 $2,750,000 $2,995,000 $2,895,000 $2,750,000 $2,790,000 $2,795,000 $3,200,000 $2,745,000 $2,599,000 $2,895,000 $2,745,000 $2,350,000 $2,495,000 $2,595,000 $2,495,000 $2,595,000 $2,549,000 $2,375,000 $2,370,000 $2,295,000 $2,295,000 $2,375,000 $2,495,000

$9,500,000 $9,500,000 $7,850,000 $7,000,000 $6,995,000 $6,650,000 $6,500,000 $6,195,000 $6,100,000 $5,995,000 $5,700,000 $5,400,000 $5,000,000 $4,800,000 $4,750,000 $4,550,000 $4,500,000 $4,400,000 $4,000,000 $3,950,000 $3,900,000 $3,900,000 $3,800,000 $3,788,000 $3,610,000 $3,600,000 $3,600,000 $3,500,000 $3,425,000 $3,375,000 $3,300,000 $3,265,000 $3,199,000 $3,150,000 $3,150,000 $3,125,000 $3,100,000 $3,100,000 $3,091,240 $3,025,000 $3,000,000 $3,000,000 $3,000,000 $3,000,000 $2,995,000 $2,850,000 $2,800,000 $2,750,000 $2,750,000 $2,710,000 $2,700,000 $2,650,000 $2,600,000 $2,599,000 $2,550,000 $2,515,000 $2,500,000 $2,500,000 $2,500,000 $2,495,000 $2,455,000 $2,430,000 $2,400,000 $2,370,000 $2,362,500 $2,360,000 $2,350,000 $2,350,000

1344 30th St NW 3150 South St NW #PH2A 3150 South St NW #PH2E 3147 P St NW 2915 NW O St NW 1315 31st St NW 3314 O St NW 2613 Dumbarton St NW 1692 31st St NW 1691 34th St NW 1601 31st St NW 3150 South St NW #3D 3043 P St NW 3604 Prospect St NW 1511 30th St NW 1683 34th St NW 3024 Dumbarton St NW 1055 Wisconsin Ave NW #3-W 1615 35th St NW 3401 N St NW 3013 P St NW 3033 West Lane Keys NW 3100 R St NW 3129 N St NW 3330 N St NW 3100 P St NW 1071 Thomas Jefferson St NW 2804 N St NW 1513 28th St NW 3030 Q St NW 3348 Prospect St NW 3326 N St NW 2814 R St NW 3102 P St NW 2900 K St NW #606 1717 34th St NW 2905 P St NW 1242 Potomac St NW 3245 K St NW #C2 2810 R St NW 1601 35th St NW 3329 Prospect St NW #1 3247 P St NW 3630 Prospect St NW 1615 31st St NW 2913 P St NW 3226 Volta Pl NW 3100 N St NW #9 1211 28th St NW 2725 N St NW 1639 35th St NW 3345 Q Street NW 3020 O St NW 3210 Volta Pl NW 2800 R St NW 3240 Reservoir Rd NW 3050 West Lane Keys NW 3010 Dumbarton St NW 3410 Volta Pl NW 1232 30th St NW 3420 N St NW 1228 30th St NW 3234 Reservoir Rd NW 1616 34th St NW 1620 30th St NW 3021 O St NW 3214 Reservoir Rd NW 1515 33rd St NW

18 FEBRUARY 9, 2022

GMG, INC.

3147 P St NW. ADDRESS 3251 St NW #PH 406 1344 Prospect 30th St NW 2817 NW 3150 Dumbarton South St NW St #PH2A 2523 St NW 3150 P South St NW #PH2E 2913 St NW 3147 Dumbarton P St NW 1605 StSt NW 2915 35th NW O NW 2708 1315 Dumbarton 31st St NW St NW 3721 3314 Reservoir O St NW Rd NW 1641 St NW St NW 2613 34th Dumbarton 3245 St NW #C1 1692 K 31st St NW 3053 St NW 1691 Q 34th St NW 1506 St NW NW 1601 30th 31st St 3025 3150 Dent SouthPlStNW NW #3D 1221 St NW 3043 28th P St NW 3406 St NW St NW 3604 N Prospect 3100 St NW #6A 1511 N 30th St NW 1557 1683 33rd 34th St NW 3255 St NW 3024 P Dumbarton St NW 1698 St NWAve NW #3-W 1055 31st Wisconsin 1237 1615 31st 35th St St NW NW 3424 3401 P N St St NW NW 3303 3013 Water P St NWSt NW #6O 1415 NW Keys NW 3033 31st WestStLane 1509 St NW 3100 33rd R St NW 1528 St NW 3129 29th N St NW 3017 3330 P N St St NW NW 3030 3100 K P St NW #108 3531 Ln NW St NW 1071 Winfield Thomas Jefferson 1423 St NW 2804 36th N St NW 3069 NW 1513 Canal 28th St St NW 1525 St NW 3030 34th Q St NW 3108 St NW 3348 Dumbarton Prospect St NW 3036 Pl NW 3326 Cambridge N St NW 3664 R Winfield 2814 St NW Ln NW 2804 O St NW 3038 Cambridge Pl NW 2800 P St NW 3213 Volta Pl NW 3648 Winfield Ln NW 3011 Dent Pl NW 2721 O St NW 3300 Q St NW 3422 O St NW 3342 Prospect St NW 3027 Cambridge Pl NW 3705 Winfield Ln NW 1652 29th St NW 3645 Winfield Ln NW 3263 O St NW 1218 28th St NW 2701 O St NW 1406 29th St NW 3548 Reservoir Rd NW 1644 32nd St NW 1627 34th St NW 1312 33rd St NW 3303 Water St NW #4D

BEDS 3 6 4 4 4 3 7 3 6 5 6 4 2 5 4 5 4 7 3 4 3 6 3 6 2 6 4 3 4 3 6 3 4 5 3 7 1 3 3 6 3 7 3 4 2 6 3 4 4 2 3 4 3 7 3 5 3 6 4 3 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 6 3 3 4 3 5 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 2

FULL BATH 2 9 4 5 3 4 4 5 3 7 3 6 4 4 5 2 5 4 6 4 5 3 5 3 4 2 5 2 4 3 4 2 3 3 3 4 2 3 2 5 3 5 2 3 2 4 3 4 4 2 3 2 4 3 5 3 5 3 4 4 3 2 3 3 2 4 1 2 2 3 3 2 4 3 5 3 3 3 2 4 2 2 2 2

LIST PRICE $2,300,000 $9,995,000 $2,290,000 $9,975,000 $2,250,000 $7,850,000 $2,250,000 $7,495,000 $2,295,000 $6,995,000 $2,195,000 $6,750,000 $2,275,000 $6,500,000 $2,299,900 $6,195,000 $1,690,000 $6,150,000 $2,299,000 $5,990,000 $2,195,000 $5,700,000 $1,949,900 $5,950,000 $2,095,000 $5,495,000 $1,995,000 $4,800,000 $2,095,000 $4,999,000 $1,950,000 $4,995,000 $1,995,000 $4,995,000 $1,990,000 $4,695,000 $1,995,000 $4,095,000 $1,995,000 $4,495,000 $1,975,000 $4,200,000 $1,990,000 $4,100,000 $1,995,000 $2,995,000 $1,999,900 $4,250,000 $1,895,000 $3,999,000 $1,995,000 $3,600,000 $1,890,000 $3,750,000 $1,895,000 $3,595,000 $1,860,000 $3,700,000 $1,995,000 $3,500,000 $1,749,000 $3,300,000 $1,799,000 $2,990,000 $1,895,000 $3,199,000 $1,800,000 $1,750,000 $1,795,000 $1,795,000 $1,765,000 $1,595,000 $1,750,000 $1,750,000 $1,785,000 $1,750,000 $1,595,000 $1,795,000 $1,795,000 $1,750,000 $1,699,999 $1,695,000 $1,700,000 $1,695,000 $1,775,000 $1,750,000 $1,695,000 $1,695,000 $1,650,000

CLOSE PRICE $2,300,000 $9,500,000 $2,275,000 $9,500,000 $2,250,000 $7,850,000 $2,250,000 $7,000,000 $2,250,000 $6,995,000 $2,215,000 $6,650,000 $2,185,000 $6,500,000 $2,185,000 $6,195,000 $2,158,759 $6,100,000 $2,150,000 $5,995,000 $2,150,000 $5,700,000 $2,125,000 $5,400,000 $2,110,000 $5,000,000 $2,050,000 $4,800,000 $2,050,000 $4,750,000 $2,020,000 $4,550,000 $2,007,900 $4,500,000 $1,995,000 $4,400,000 $1,995,000 $4,000,000 $1,995,000 $3,950,000 $1,925,000 $3,900,000 $1,925,000 $3,900,000 $1,912,500 $3,800,000 $1,910,000 $3,788,000 $1,900,000 $3,610,000 $1,900,000 $3,600,000 $1,890,000 $3,600,000 $1,860,000 $3,500,000 $1,860,000 $3,425,000 $1,850,000 $3,375,000 $1,815,000 $3,300,000 $1,810,000 $3,265,000 $1,810,000 $3,199,000 $1,800,000 $1,800,000 $1,795,000 $1,795,000 $1,765,000 $1,753,319 $1,750,000 $1,750,000 $1,750,000 $1,750,000 $1,740,000 $1,730,000 $1,725,000 $1,700,000 $1,700,000 $1,695,000 $1,690,075 $1,675,000 $1,675,000 $1,670,000 $1,660,000 $1,650,000 $1,650,000

3027 Cambridge Pl NW 3705 Winfield Ln NW 1652 29th St NW 3645 Winfield Ln NW 3263 O St NW 1218 28th St NW 2701 O St NW ADDRESS 1406 29th St NW 3548 Rd NW 1344 Reservoir 30th St NW 1644 3150 32nd SouthSt StNW NW #PH2A 1627 3150 34th SouthStStNW NW #PH2E 1312 St NW 3147 33rd P St NW 3303 2915 Water NW O St NW #4D 2821 NW 1315 Olive 31st StStNW 1333 St NW 3314 30th O St NW 3325 RdStNW 2613 Reservoir Dumbarton NW 3641 Ln NW 1692 Winfield 31st St NW 1215 1691 28th 34th St NW 3611 Ln NW 1601 Winfield 31st St NW 3320 St NW 3150 Prospect South St NW #3D 3126 St NW NW 3043 N P St 2730 St NW 3604 Dumbarton Prospect St NW 3627 Ln NW 1511 Winfield 30th St NW 3608 Rd NW 1683 Reservoir 34th St NW 1603 St NW St NW 3024 34th Dumbarton 1624 St NWAve NW #3-W 1055 34th Wisconsin 1235 1615 Potomac 35th St NWSt NW 3651 3401 Winfield N St NW Ln NW 1216 St NW 3013 28th P St NW 2905 St NWKeys NW 3033 Olive West Lane 3015 3100 Orchard R St NW Ln NW 3713 3129 Winfield N St NW Ln NW 1239 NW 3330 31st N St St NW 1349 St NW 3100 28th P St NW 3033 Thomas Dent Pl NW 1071 Jefferson St NW 1413 N 33rd St NW 2804 St NW 2703 28th O St NW 1513 St NW 2801 Q Dumbarton St NW 3030 St NW 1329 Prospect 30th St NW 3348 St NW 1507 N 28th St NW 3326 St NW 1308-1310 27th St NW 2814 R St NW 3140 Q St NW 1670 34th St NW 1224 29th St NW 1546 33rd St NW 3235 P St NW 1045 31st St NW #506 2812 Dumbarton St NW 1409 33rd St NW 3148 Q St NW 2924 N St NW 3402 Dent Pl NW 3544 Winfield Ln NW 1664 Avon Pl NW 3286 N St NW 3724 S St NW 1519 34th St NW 2719 Poplar St NW 3202 Reservoir NW 1625 33rd St NW 1306 34th St NW 1602 32nd St NW 1602 32nd St NW 1211 33rd St NW 1656 32nd St NW 1555 33rd St NW 1665 32nd St NW 1321 28th St NW 3408 Dent Pl NW 3414 O St NW 1234 29th St NW 1729 34th St NW 2716 P St NW 3030 K St NW #201 3010 R St NW #3 3418 Reservoir Rd NW 3030 K St NW #210 1316 35th St NW 1077 30th St NW #606 1239 28th St NW 2706 Dumbarton St NW 1522 32nd St NW 1560 33rd St NW 1654 Avon Pl NW 1068 30th St NW 3301 NW Dent Pl NW 1238 29th St NW 2822 Olive St NW 1531 34th St NW 1228 28th St NW 3405 Dent Pl NW 2516 Q St NW #Q205 1663 32nd St NW 2726 P St NW

3 4 3 5 3 3 3 BEDS 3 4 6 3 4 3 4 3 4 2 7 2 6 3 6 3 4 4 5 4 5 5 7 5 4 3 6 2 6 4 6 5 3 3 3 4 5 4 7 3 3 6 3 7 4 3 6 1 4 3 2 2 4 3 7 3 5 4 6 3 4 3 4 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 3 4 2 3 3 3 3 4 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 3 1

2 4 3 5 3 3 3 FULL2BATH 4 9 2 5 2 4 2 5 2 7 2 6 3 4 3 5 3 5 3 6 4 5 3 5 3 4 2 5 4 4 3 2 2 3 3 3 4 3 3 5 2 5 4 3 2 4 1 4 3 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 3 5 3 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 3 3 2 3 4 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 3 2 1 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1

$1,595,000 $1,795,000 $1,795,000 $1,750,000 $1,699,999 $1,695,000 $1,700,000 LIST PRICE $1,695,000

$1,775,000 $9,995,000 $1,750,000 $9,975,000 $1,695,000 $7,850,000 $1,695,000 $7,495,000 $1,650,000 $6,995,000 $1,665,000 $6,750,000 $1,595,000 $6,500,000 $1,629,000 $6,195,000 $1,675,000 $6,150,000 $1,500,000 $5,990,000 $1,700,000 $5,700,000 $1,695,000 $5,950,000 $1,550,000 $5,495,000 $1,599,999 $4,800,000 $1,649,000 $4,999,000 $1,575,000 $4,995,000 $1,495,000 $4,995,000 $1,595,000 $4,695,000 $1,575,000 $4,095,000 $1,599,000 $4,495,000 $1,499,900 $4,200,000 $1,599,900 $4,100,000 $1,595,000 $2,995,000 $1,525,000 $4,250,000 $1,250,000 $3,999,000 $1,500,000 $3,600,000 $1,499,000 $3,750,000 $1,500,000 $3,595,000 $1,495,000 $3,700,000 $1,495,000 $3,500,000 $1,495,000 $3,300,000 $1,495,000 $2,990,000 $1,550,000 $3,199,000 $1,490,000 $1,475,000 $1,450,000 $1,295,000 $1,500,900 $1,499,000 $1,399,000 $1,395,000 $1,395,000 $1,395,000 $1,350,000 $1,325,000 $1,299,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,149,000 $1,250,000 $1,199,000 $1,249,900 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 $1,100,000 $1,245,000 $1,195,000 $1,195,000 $1,100,000 $1,260,000 $1,195,000 $1,139,000 $1,195,000 $1,100,000 $1,195,000 $1,198,000 $1,100,000 $1,199,000 $1,100,000 $920,000 $1,095,000 $1,155,000 $1,050,000 $990,000 $1,150,000 $1,100,000 $1,110,000 $1,050,000 $995,000 $995,000 $987,500 $995,000 $980,000 $999,900 $899,000

$1,740,000 $1,730,000 $1,725,000 $1,700,000 $1,700,000 $1,695,000 $1,690,075 CLOSE PRICE $1,675,000 $1,675,000 $9,500,000 $1,670,000 $9,500,000 $1,660,000 $7,850,000 $1,650,000 $7,000,000 $1,650,000 $6,995,000 $1,645,000 $6,650,000 $1,635,000 $6,500,000 $1,629,000 $6,195,000 $1,625,000 $6,100,000 $1,625,000 $5,995,000 $1,620,000 $5,700,000 $1,613,000 $5,400,000 $1,600,000 $5,000,000 $1,600,000 $4,800,000 $1,600,000 $4,750,000 $1,580,000 $4,550,000 $1,577,603 $4,500,000 $1,570,000 $4,400,000 $1,564,250 $4,000,000 $1,550,000 $3,950,000 $1,550,000 $3,900,000 $1,550,000 $3,900,000 $1,540,000 $3,800,000 $1,525,000 $3,788,000 $1,500,000 $3,610,000 $1,500,000 $3,600,000 $1,500,000 $3,600,000 $1,500,000 $3,500,000 $1,495,000 $3,425,000 $1,495,000 $3,375,000 $1,480,000 $3,300,000 $1,475,000 $3,265,000 $1,475,000 $3,199,000 $1,465,000 $1,440,000 $1,430,000 $1,425,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,399,000 $1,395,000 $1,370,000 $1,355,000 $1,350,000 $1,325,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,290,000 $1,260,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,249,900 $1,225,000 $1,220,000 $1,220,000 $1,210,000 $1,206,000 $1,205,000 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 $1,155,500 $1,150,000 $1,150,000 $1,150,000 $1,140,000 $1,127,000 $1,100,000 $1,100,000 $1,100,000 $1,095,000 $1,092,000 $1,075,000 $1,075,000 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 $1,030,000 $1,020,000 $1,004,131 $987,500 $985,000 $980,000 $979,900 $970,000

1239 28th St NW 2706 Dumbarton St NW 1522 32nd St NW 1560 33rd St NW 1654 Avon Pl NW 1068 30th St NW 3301 NW Dent Pl NW 1238 29th St NW 2822 Olive St NW ADDRESS 1531 34th St NW 1228 1344 28th 30th St NW 3405 3150 Dent SouthPlStNW NW #PH2A 2516 St NW #Q205 3150 Q South St NW #PH2E 1663 St NW 3147 32nd P St NW 2726 St O NW 2915 P NW St NW 3303 NW #2N 1315 Water 31st St St NW 3246 Ct NW 3314 Jones O St NW 2712 St NWSt NW 2613 Poplar Dumbarton 1537 St NW NW #D1 1692 30th 31st St 1665 1691 Wisconsin 34th St NWAve NW 2514 Pl NW 1601 East 31st St 3420 St NW 3150 Prospect South St NW #3D 2613 3043 P St NW 2702 St NW St NW 3604 N Prospect 2625 St NW 1511 O 30th St NW 1643 1683 35th 34th St NW 2516 St NW #E102 3024 Q Dumbarton St NW 1066 Jefferson NW 1055 Thomas Wisconsin Ave NWSt#3-W 1077 1615 30th 35th St NW #410 2710 3401 Poplar N St NWSt NW 3241 St NW NW #2 3013 N P St 3267 St NW #3Keys NW 3033 N West Lane 3210 3100 Grace R St NWSt NW #311 3225 3129 Grace N St NWSt NW #222 3225 3330 Grace N St NWSt NW #214 1038 3100 NW P St Paper NW Mill Ct NW #1038 1077 St NW #707 St NW 1071 30th Thomas Jefferson 3267 2804 N St NW #4 1026 1513 Paper 28th StMill NWCt NW #1026 3210 St NW #205 3030 Grace Q St NW 3220 St St NW #2 3348 Grace Prospect NW 1080 3326 Wisconsin N St NW Ave NW #3015 1012 R Paper Mill Ct NW #1012 2814 St NW 1697 32nd St NW #11 3225 Grace St NW #202 3020 Dent Pl NW #42W 3225 Grace St NW #103 3018 R St NW #3 1045 Paper Mill Ct NW #1045 1080 Wisconsin Ave NW #2005 1080 Wisconsin Ave NW #2001 1657 31st St NW #106 1042 Paper Mill Ct NW #1042

2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 BEDS 1 2 6 2 4 2 4 3 4 1 7 1 6 3 6 1 4 2 5 1 5 2 7 2 4 2 6 2 6 2 6 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 5 1 7 2 3 2 6 2 7 2 4 2 6 2 4 2 2 4 2 7 2 5 1 6 2 4 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 FULL1BATH 2 9 1 5 2 4 2 5 1 7 1 6 2 4 1 5 2 5 1 6 1 5 1 5 3 4 1 5 1 4 1 3 2 1 3 2 3 2 4 2 3 2 5 1 5 2 3 1 4 1 4 2 2 3 1 4 2 5 1 5 2 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1

$1,095,000 $1,155,000 $1,050,000 $990,000 $1,150,000 $1,100,000 $1,110,000 $1,050,000 $995,000 LIST PRICE $995,000

$1,095,000 $1,092,000 $1,075,000 $1,075,000 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 $1,030,000 $1,020,000 CLOSE PRICE $1,004,131

REAL ESTATE

$987,500 $9,995,000 $995,000 $9,975,000 $980,000 $7,850,000 $999,900 $7,495,000 $899,000 $6,995,000 $1,099,900 $6,750,000 $1,035,000 $6,500,000 $949,000 $6,195,000 $985,000 $6,150,000 $938,000 $5,990,000 $945,000 $5,700,000 $925,000 $5,950,000 $995,000 $5,495,000 $799,900 $4,800,000 $915,000 $4,999,000 $885,000 $4,995,000 $875,000 $4,995,000 $850,000 $4,695,000 $835,000 $4,095,000 $835,000 $4,495,000 $725,000 $4,200,000 $795,000 $4,100,000 $795,000 $2,995,000 $750,000 $4,250,000 $775,000 $3,999,000 $760,000 $3,600,000 $770,000 $3,750,000 $759,000 $3,595,000 $739,000 $3,700,000 $749,000 $3,500,000 $750,000 $3,300,000 $740,000 $2,990,000 $735,000 $3,199,000 $699,000 $709,999 $685,000 $725,000 $675,000 $699,900 $714,900 $710,000 $689,000 $690,000

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REAL ESTATE

Selling a Home?

Consider the Art (and Science) of Staging

BY C HR IS TOP HER J O N E S With a hot real estate market, many home sellers looking for a quick-and-easy sale, face the financial and time-consuming costs of showcasing their own homes for potential buyers to tour in-person or virtually. But opting to do your own “staging” – without the advice of an expert – may be a big mistake.

You might end up wasting valuable time in the process and losing money you could have gained on the sale.

To learn more about staging a home for sale, we spoke with Melinda Estridge, an expert in the art and science of home showcasing and real estate sales. With over 40 years of full-time real estate experience and having toured “hundreds and hundreds” of homes with potential buyers, Estridge now heads her own company – the Estridge Group at Long & Foster Realtors serving the D.C. Metro area.

“I know people consider staging just moving in furniture and setting things up,” Estridge said, “but really the staging we do is

a full process from doing pre-inspections on properties to [finding out] and correcting any glaring issues that would matter to a purchaser as well as wall colors, possibly switching out appliances, old fixtures – you know, we take an assessment of the whole property, typically with a designer or a professional stager, to get a sense of the house in total and what things would be money-making items that could be replaced, tweaked, remodeled, etc., from carpeting to flooring, all of that…. Some homes might need a complete job.”

But, how is this a tangible investment for the home seller? “People are looking to maximize their dollar and sell within a relatively short period of time. If you tell people you’re putting in a dollar and pulling out another three, I think it’s very impactful for them, especially if you’re willing to handle the entire project,” Estridge said. “There’s no question that things like painting, redoing hardwood floors, changing out old appliances

Kitchen (Before) - 9213 Cedarcrest Dr., Bethesda, MD. Photo courtesy Estridge Group. in the kitchen, anything that looks very dated, ceiling fixtures that are old and need to be replaced, lighting in general, and fresh carpeting always makes a difference. And, depending on people’s furniture or decor, if it’s vacant or all the furniture is mis-matching with collections over the years, putting in the right furniture is key. There’s just no question about the impact both from the staging of the photographs to people just coming through. I think they really just emotionally get a sense of the house and it’s really just a positive.”

Estridge and her team of stagers, designers and sales associates have kept years of data on what home selling customers have invested in staging versus their final sales returns.

Many home sellers become accustomed to their house’s appearance and decor and don’t realize what sorts of distractions can inhibit buyers as they tour a home. A professional stager or designer, however, can determine the “purposing” and unified presentation of each room. “What you’re trying to do with the colors and the furniture is to feature the house and not

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Kitchen (After) - 9213 Cedarcrest Dr., Bethesda, MD. Photo courtesy Estridge Group. have people concentrate on the personal items.

So, each room is set up where it looks good on camera, which would then invite people to go further and come through the house for a tour.

If the house looks like a fixer-upper or is very cluttered or you can’t get a sense of the house, people might pass it by, especially in markets that are a little bit less vibrant than the one we’re in right now,” Estridge said.

Investing in the staging process has to be done carefully, Estridge warns. Some home fixes just might not be worth it. These include

“brand new windows, unless the [existing windows] are absolutely decrepit or sealed shut…. They just don’t have the return right up front,” Estridge said. “We also don’t do very expensive appliances or materials or light fixtures because you want high impact but you know people are pretty good with [seeing] simple things as long as they look modern. Also, ripping out whole kitchens and bathrooms typically doesn’t pay as well as simply painting a cabinet, or putting on a new handle or doing a new countertop. In

bathrooms that are dated or colored and the tiles are old, just reglazing can have a high impact versus re-doing all of the tiling.”

While many have heard of the pop psychology of using the smell of freshly baked cookies to entice home buyers on tour, Estridge prioritizes using the smells of fresh and clean surfaces and creating scenes where buyers can imagine themselves living immediately in the space. “Everything is emotional when you’re buying a property,” Estridge said. “You know, the way light shines through the windows. I don’t necessarily think you need the cookie thing, but certainly fresh paint and fresh carpeting smells new and inviting…. We put a lot of window washing and scrubbing things down before we put the home on the market and I think that’s always appealing…. There’s just the emotional thing that you’re walking in and you can envision yourself within the house…. And when things are looking like a model [home], I think most everyone responds well.”

Other tricks of the trade Estridge shared include tending to anything in the home that suggests water leakage, rotting wood, dampness, mold, mildew or staining.

Customers who notice hardscaping issues outside, chimney or brick-appointing problems, untended landscaping, or potentially expensive up-front costs can be dissuaded from purchasing. In old and historic Georgetown homes, lighting can also be an issue because of the “railroad track” design of many homes

Melinda Estridge Headshot.

Photo courtesy Estridge Group. with their smaller original windows. So, it’s vital that every room and space be well lighted with modern fixtures.

“Having done hundreds and hundreds of appointments with stagers,” Estridge said, she has gained “a sense of what their thoughts are, what their perspectives are, and what they’re going to want to see…. They can look at a room and know just what they’re going to bring in from their warehouses…. So, I think it’s important to hire a professional stager because they really know what they’re doing.”

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FOOD & WINE

THE LATEST DISH

BY LINDA ROT H Frederik de Pue’s Belgium and French inspired restaurant, The Henri, at 1301 Pennsylvania Ave NW, will debut on February 15 with 60 seats, 6 PDR’s (seating parties of 3 to 80), a 50-seat bar, a Bonnet rotisserie, and rooftop space. It’s named for Frederik’s beloved grandfather. Frederik has maintained his catering business in the D.C. area for years, as well as his Annapolis restaurant, Flamant.

NYC’s high-end Chinese restaurant, Philippe by Philippe Chow, will open at the second phase of The Wharf at 635 Wharf St. SW in Q3 2022. Seventy-five seats of the 270seat restaurant is under a covered patio. The Wharf’s second phase grand opening is slated for early Q4 2022. Papadopoulos Properties represented Philippe by Philippe Chow as well as all necessary food groups: Kilwins Chocolates & Ice Cream, Lucky Buns, and Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls.

New York-based The Group NYC will open La Grande Boucherie in the FederalAmerican National Bank Building (where Hahn Shoes was), in the main hall at 699 14th Street NW. This D.C. outpost will be its fifth, with four others open in NYC.

They will also launch an upscale Japanese restaurant, Washoku Room, and an Italian indoor/outdoor Italian trattoria called Olio é Piu in the former bank space.

A stunning rooftop bar, Smoke & Mirrors, offering a panoramic view of D.C.’s iconic buildings and memorials opens February 17.

The rooftop offers indoor as well as outdoor space, a bar as well as restaurant, atop the new AC Hotel Washington DC Capitol Hill at 867 New Jersey Ave SE, at Navy Yard.

Just Opened: Nick Stefanelli’s salute to fine Greek cuisine, Philotimo, opened at Midtown Center at 1100 15th Street NW. There’s a prix fixe menu for the 62-seat restaurant plus a la carte menu at the 10-seat bar. Private dining space is available. Nick also plans to open a coffee and wine bar at Midtown Center in March.

Greg Algie and Nathan Beauchamp (formerly at Restaurant Eve) of Blagden Hospitality Group (Tiger Fork, Fainting Goat, Calico, Primrose) plan to open Bar Ivy at 3033 Wilson Blvd. in Clarendon in Q2 2022.

It features a 125-seat patio. Jonathan Till, formerly of Del Ray’s Evening Star Café, is the executive chef. They plan to open a second location in Bethesda at Wilson & The Elm, 7272 Wisconsin Ave. Massimo and Carolyn Papetti of I’m Eddie Cano in Chevy Chase will open a pizzeria at 2400 Wisconsin Ave NW in Glover Park where another pizzeria, Arcuri, used to be.

Smoke & Mirrors.

A Q2 2022 opening is targeted. They plan to expand I’m Eddie Cano into the small space next door with an SRO European-style bar called Italian Bar. From B Social Hospitality comes The Cove at 25 Potomac Ave SE in Navy Yard where Bardo Brewing used to be. They’ll serve classic and tropical cocktails and plan to make their own hard seltzers and craft beers.

The plan is to open in time for the start of The Nationals’ 2022 baseball season. The Cove will be double the size of its sister operation, The Lot, in Clarendon.

Quick Hits: The owners of Donburi at 2438 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan have re-opened it as Mokinbird Smoked Chicken…. New York City-based Death & Co legendary cocktail bar, will open in Q3 where Derek Brown’s Columbia Room served spirits, in Blagden Alley…. Meanwhile, Call Your Mother is opening where Blue Bottle

Coffee was at 1471 P Street NW….. Butter Me Up will serve an expanded breakfast 2.0 when it leaves its Halfsmoke nest and opens in Logan Circle at 1409 T Street NW…. Tammie Disayawathana of Sisters Thai plans to open in Tysons at 7730 Capital One Tower Rd., near Capital One Center’s new performing arts hall in Q4 2022. It will be her fifth location…. Amy Brandwein’s Piccolina all-day Italian café will expand into the space formerly occupied by The Great Republic at CityCenterDC, thereby doubling her space there…. Boston-based Tatte Bakery and Café will open where David Chang’s Momofuku was at CityCenterDC. Linda Roth is Founder & CEO of Linda Roth Associates (LRA), a D.C.-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the foodservice and hospitality industries.

Follow her at: @LindaRothPR @LRAPR #LindaRothPR or www.lindarothpr.com.

HAUTE & COOL

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In the Mood for Love

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BY A L L Y SON B UR K H A R DT

Valentine’s Day is here to celebrate love, sweet love. Traditionally, it is an occasion where couples and admirers express affection with gifts intended to unlock the heart. So, if you are ready for a little romance, skip the dinner out and give your sweetheart a night to remember.

You can create an evening of allure with illuminating candles, fragrant florals and sweet treats. Draw a soothing bath for a sensual way to wind down together. Why not drop in a CBD rose petal bomb for some extra sizzle? Or you may prefer to heat things up by slipping into a silky red chemise and feathery stilettos. It’s a time for the two of you to indulge in powerful pairing of a ruby red wine and a delicate caviar. There are so many ways to ignite the passion. Don’t be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve and show your lover how they inspire you. Let’s get in the mood for love. XoXo Allyson Burkhardt is the founder of Let’s Get Dressed! Image & Style Services. Visit her on the web at letsgetdresseddc.com.

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Spring is just a mere 39 days away, and we’re looking forward to gala season. Here are just a few of the parties we are excited about this season. More coming in March!

FEBRUARY

D.C. SOCIETY SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION SWEETHEARTS & PATRIOTS GALA https://www.sweetheartsandpatriots.org/

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Spring Preview Gala Guide

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APRIL

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20 THE GEORGETOWN HOUSE TOUR 2022 PATRONS’ PARTY h t t p s : // w w w. e v e n t b r i t e . c o m /e / 2 0 2 2 ge orget ow n -hou se -t ou r- pat ron s - pa r t ytickets-56576771647

At the Mansion on O Street, 6-11 p.m.

Limited tickets available. Special guest speaker will be Gen. David Petraeus.

6-8 p.m., the Langhorne Residence,1680 31st St. NW. The Patrons’ Party is held at one of Georgetown’s preeminent homes. The proceeds from the party benefit the St. John’s ministries to homeless adults and children, unemployed, senior citizens and young children in area schools.

MARCH

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34TH ANNUAL LOMBARDI GALA https://lombardigala.georgetown.edu/

THE WASHINGTON BALLET GALA https://www.washingtonballet.org/events/gala2022/

THURSDAY, MARCH 24

6 p.m. Cocktail reception, 7-9 p.m. dinner, 9 p.m. after hours party, the Anthem at the Wharf.

The Lombardi Gala looks a bit different this year—a new venue, no black tie needed and a shorter program and limited seating to keep social distancing. Still with cocktails, dinner and fun afterparty.

FRIDAY, MAY 20

The Washington Ballet Gala’s 2022 evening is inspired by Saint-Tropez with cocktails and dinner on the District Pier and performances at the Anthem by the Washington Ballet.

ARTS

Sargent, Whistler & Venetian Glass at SAAM

BY ARI POS T John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler, two fiercely independent late 19th-century American expatriate painters who spent most of their lives in Europe and dabbled in Impressionism without ever capitulating to it, shared a few things in common. One, it turns out, was a deep affection for Venice.

It was a fixation shared by a broad community of American artists, who were drawn to the ethereal City of Water as it blossomed into a bastion of tourism, art making and collecting for a new age of industry and travel. At the same time, and in many ways concomitantly, the already legendary Venetian glass industry on the island of Murano was undergoing a profound revival, which further inspired artistic production. Prints and paintings of this magical city, in addition to its extravagant glass export ware, became both a prize and status symbol throughout the United States and Europe, transforming Venice into one of the most popular travel destinations of all time.

Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano is an engulfing and sumptuous exhibition that brings Venice to life—contrived as that may sound. The title of the show is a bit misleading, as this sprawling exhibition seems

Arts Watch

BY KAT E OCZ Y P OK

THEATER J GETS $100,000 GRANT FROM THE NEA Washington, D.C.’s Theater J announced they were approved to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the American Rescue Plan. With the support, Theater J will hire five additional actors for each of the next two seasons. This will allow for more ambitious plays and musicals. The American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March of last year and the NEA was given $135 million for the arts sector. They will award grants of nearly $60 million to 567 arts organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, D.C. and the Virgin Islands.

“This funding from the National Endowment for the Arts is vital to the recovery of the American theater,” said Theater J Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr.

NSO PRESENTS THREE CLASSICAL PROGRAMS THIS MONTH The National Symphony Orchestra continues its classical series this month with three subscription programs at the Kennedy Center. A noteworthy addition is conductor Gemma New (who made her NSO debut three

to encapsulate every single artistic thing that happened around Venice in that era. There are the familiar Turneresque Venice paintings by Sargent, Thomas Moran and others, prized by wealthy clients. There are etchings and prints, which were more commercially available.

Thomas Moran, A View of Venice, 1891, Smithsonian American Art Museum

years ago), returning to lead the month’s first set of concerts that will also feature violin soloist Jennifer Koh.

PART OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART TO CLOSE DUE TO RENOVATIONS The National Gallery of Art announced that the East Building will be closed from Monday February 28 until June for renovations.

The closure will hopefully accelerate the restoration of the atrium skylight, which first opened in 1978. There will also be new bathrooms installed on the mezzanine, ground and concourse levels, a more handicapped accessible entrance and an elevator lobby within the auditorium on the concourse level.

The renovations are part of a three-year and counting plan to update the gallery. The West Building will remain open.

There is of course the Murano glasswork (we’ll get to it in a moment). There are portraits and grand interior scenes commissioned by private clients, which offer intimate glimpses into the life of the city’s aristocracy.

There is also the mosaic boom generated by the revived glass industry (there are ridiculous mosaic portraits of Lincoln and Roosevelt in the show), the Italian lace revival on the Venetian island of Burano (which also happened at the same time), commercial depictions of Venice

by American illustrators like Maxfield Parish (head-shakingly good), and even Whistler’s Venice Set, which are among the greatest etchings of the 19th century.

Just as most tourists don’t like to feel like tourists, a handful of paintings moved me for their simplicity and easy familiarity. Julius LeBlanc Stewart’s “Venetian Market Scene” and Francis Hopkinson Smith’s “On the Way to the Public Garden” remind me of that rare moment of connection you can experience with a new city in the most unexceptional location—just rounding a corner and feeling like you are momentarily a part of it all.

However, it is the Murano glass that steals the show. No doubt that the paintings and prints on display—the more traditional “fine art”—are more stylish and graceful than the glassware, which kind of look like they were designed by a team of five-year-olds tasked with developing decorative concepts for a super fancy mansion (dragons and dolphins

and flowers and lots of swirly colors, and also gold!) In a private home, I would probably be drawn to a Sargent painting over a decorative glass swan goblet. But a brilliant subversion takes place in this exhibition, where the glassware, theatrically lit through vitrines in the center of the galleries, catches your eye and does not let go. The rather familiar paintings and drawings are enhanced by the constant glint of kaleidoscopic glasswork, and before you know it you’ve been drawn away from the tasteful canal scene and back into the unpredictable orbit of Murano.

What this exhibition might do best—and it does a lot of things very well—is to open a window into just how much was going on in Venice (and by extension, the rest of the western developed world) at the end of the 19th century. It was an overflow of creative and artistic production at the dawn of industrial production. Furthermore, while many of us have since resumed traveling since the beginning of the pandemic, this author has not. And this exhibition stirred in me the delicious, familiar (and, as of late, strongly suppressed) rumblings of restless wanderlust, which is surely just what these artists intended.

Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano will run through May 8, 2022 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. For information go to Americanart.si.edu.

their run. Instead of July this year, the show will now be at the Kennedy Center August 2 through October 9. Tickets go on sale March 8 for members and March 22 for the general public.

States that celebrates 18 Mexican women artists who contributed to the construction of the national arts scene in the 20th and 21st centuries. “Women in All Their Diversity” celebrates how crucial this dozen and a-half women were to the cultural transformations of Mexico. The exhibit is curated by Marco Polo Juarez Cruz and presented by the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the OAS, Art Museum of the Americas and Organization of American States.

THE ART MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAS CELEBRATES WOMEN’S ARTISTRY Don’t miss an exhibit at the Art Museum of the Americas/Organization of American

KENNEDY CENTER’S NEXT RUN OF HAMILTON POSTPONED The Kennedy Center was eager to host a highly anticipated second run of the wildly popular and Pulitzer Prize-winning LinManuel Miranda musical Hamilton. Due to rescheduling and pausing of performances by the touring company in other cities, the Kennedy Center has been forced to delay

The East Building main entrance showcasing artist Kay Rosen’s temporary installation, “SORRY.” GMG, INC.

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

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KITTY KELLEY BOOK CLUB

‘Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor’s Fight for Fairness’ A FORMER OFFICER OF THE COURT REVEALS THAT JUSTICE IS HARDLY BLIND. REVIEW ED BY KIT T Y K E LLE Y With the publication of “Just Pursuit,” Laura Coates takes her place in a pantheon with Frank Serpico, who blew the whistle on police corruption in the 1970s. A former detective with the New York Police Department, Serpico’s public testimony led to the Knapp Commission and massive police reforms. But, as Coates writes in her second book, the corruption continues, poisoning every part of the justice system.

Serpico’s exposé led to a bestselling book and a film starring Al Pacino, as well as a TV series and a documentary. Five decades later, Coates’s “Just Pursuit” carries that same commercial potential as it exposes lazy lawyers, preening prosecutors, cynical cops, and judges who preside over their courtrooms like tin-horn dictators, leaving in their wake an outsized number of poor, Black people forced to stand before them.

Citing one particularly egregious example,

26 FEBRUARY 9, 2022

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Coates writes about a white female judge who used her time on the bench to shop a website for boots rather than listen to the young Black adolescent before her testifying about the sexual abuse she suffered for years at the hands of her mother’s live-in boyfriend.

“Skipping down the center aisle, [the youngster approached] the witness stand in an above-the-knee skirt, breasts bouncing unrestrained,” writes Coates. “She giggled as she raised her right hand… She tugged at her skirt… the skirt buckled along her hips, slightly twisting her zipper… she slouched and tugged again at her skirt on one side…. She rubbed her glossed lips together.”

Immediately, Coates knows the case is lost. “The judge’s focused glare on the child’s appearance said everything,” she writes.

Still, Coates hopes she’s wrong, staying in the courtroom to find out. Sadly, the judge meets Coates’ expectations and lacerates the

victim: “No one who has been raped, even a young teenager, would have skipped down the aisle of the courtroom dressed like that… her clothes were ill-fitting and she was not even wearing the appropriate undergarments, not even tights.”

Coates hung her head in sorrow, “unable to watch this child try to understand what about herself had warranted such contempt.”

Not every one of the 15 chapters in this book is equally weighted but each carries the heavy load of racism that Coates saw during her seven years as an attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Writing with verve and style, she relates her experience as a poll watcher in “a small town somewhere in Mississippi” during Obama’s second presidential campaign.

“The Deep South made me nervous,” Coates admits, as she walked into the same territory where the KKK once bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church, killing four young Black girls attending Sunday school; where civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated; and where 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman. A Black female poll watcher in Mississippi, even in the 21st century, must feel like a Bengal tiger walking into a gun store.

It’s unnerving to read about the precautions Coates felt she had to take to be safe on that trip.

Pulling into a sit-down restaurant, she scans the menu “to find whatever food would easily show if someone tampered with it. Nothing with gravy or sauce or anything else that covers someone’s spit under a bun. Something fried, served so hot it would kill the bacteria, was always the best option.” At the hotel, she elects to take the elevator a few floors. “I didn’t want to risk getting trapped in the stairs.”

In some chapters, “Just Pursuit” reads like a personal diary, such as when mother-tobe Coates experiences her first pregnancy.

Walking into a courtroom to try a case, she stops to take a call from her OB-GYN, who tells her that tests show the fetus has an elevated alpha fetoprotein level, indicating spina bifida.

Coates tries to steady herself. “Don’t worry,” says the physician. “You’re still within the range to terminate your pregnancy. You want to call me after your trial? We can talk more then.”

Raw and vulnerable, Coates lashes out. “Do you have any idea how heartless that just was?

Why would you tell me that news in that way?”

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” the physician apologizes. “I just knew you didn’t have much time and you always seem so matter-of-fact.”

Up to this point in the book, the doctor is correct: Coates has presented herself as she now appears on CNN — head-of-the-class smart and tensile tough, with a bit of sufferno-fools impatience. At that time, though, you could almost hear her echo Sojourner Truth’s lament: “Ain’t I a woman?”

Coates does not reveal how she resolved that first pregnancy, but in later chapters, she discusses giving birth to her son and being pregnant again with a daughter. Nursing mothers who work (and their husbands) will relate to her various mentions of “pumping” and “keeping at least five full bottles [of milk]

during my workday” and “drinking water incessantly to keep up with my milk supply.”

Having children seems to have changed the hard-charging prosecutor. “When I first became a prosecutor, I had thought each case could represent a dot on the arc that Dr. King hoped would bend toward justice,” she writes.

“Now, I wondered if I was bending the arc of justice or breaking it, and I was afraid the justice system might just break me.”

Nor does she look back on her years of public service with pride: “[T]he collective memories of trauma are so overwhelming that I fear I might lose myself if I don’t fill my time. The violence didn’t happen to me. But it… eviscerated me… and I still grapple with the scars of secondary trauma.”

Coates once believed that justice was binary, achievable and universally understood.

No longer. Her experience has shown her a grotesque, twisted system corrupted by racism that needs to be reformed. She offers no solutions, but she supports her premise in horrific detail: “[T]he pursuit of justice creates injustice.”

This review originally appeared in the Washington Independent Review of Books.

Georgetown resident Kitty Kelley has written several number-one New York Times bestsellers, 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, Georgetown resident Kitty Kelley has written several number-one New York Times best-sellers, including “The Family: The Real Story Behind the Bush Dynasty.” kittykelleywriter.com

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