Throughout The Fitzgerald’s multiple dining venues, our chefs elevate breakfast, lunch, and dinner to highly anticipated daily dining experiences, allowing residents to connect with friends and family while enjoying thoughtfully planned seasonal menus. Following Forbes Travel Guide five-star standards, our associates deliver anticipatory service and create meaningful moments, one delicious meal at a time.
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The Fitzgerald of Palisades is currently under construction and is not licensed by the D.C. Department of Health. Upon completion of construction, The Fitzgerald of Palisades will apply to the D.C. Department of Health for a license to operate as an Assisted Living Residence. The anticipated opening for The Fitzgerald of Palisades is Late 2024.
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Art All Night
EDITORIAL & OPINION · 12 9/12 Civility Make Affordability a Priority Immigration Post 9/11
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BANK’S ICONIC GOLD DOME SHINES ANEW BY
ROBERT DEVANEY
PNC Bank at Georgetown’s famous intersection of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. Photo by Bill Starrels.
FILM REVEALS BATTLE TO DESEGREGATE GLEN ECHO PARK BY DINA GOLD
“Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round” will be screened at the EDCJCC from Sept. 15 to 19. Courtesy Amy Bookbinder.
ONE DIRECTOR, THREE VERY DIFFERENT PLAYS BY
RICHARD SELDEN
“The Importance of Being Earnest” in the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse. Photo by October Grace Media. Courtesy ASC.
PUBLICITY PRO RECOUNTS CAMPAIGN ADVENTURES VIA WHISTLE STOP BY PEGGY SANDS
Close-up of the book, “Whistle-Stop Politics: Campaign Trains and the Reporters Who Covered Them” by Edward Segal.
THE (GEORGETOWN) DOG DAYS OF SUMMER BY FORBES DUDLEY Indie and Cinco are Boykin Spaniels. Photo by Forbes Dudley.
BY ROBERT DEVANEY
specialists are regularly in your area offering in-person complimentary auction estimates of single items and entire collections.
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City Tavern Club Closes, Will Sell Historic Building
BY ROBERT DEVANEY
A significant piece of American and Georgetown history can be yours at the right price — give or take $6.5 million (the approximate asking price by the present owner).
The City Tavern building at 3206 M St. NW is on the real estate market. Its owner, the City Tavern Club, reopened the place during the administration of President John Kennedy and saved the building, which was constructed during the administration of President George Washington.
A private social club that offered dining and held receptions and other events, the City Tavern Club alerted its members only days before the closure that its last day of operation would be Aug. 31. The club has been struggling financially for several years.
The club told The Georgetowner: “After exhausting all options and extensive deliberation, with a heavy heart the Board of Governors of The City Tavern Association has unanimously voted to cease operations of the City Tavern
Club effective Saturday, August 31, 2024 at 11:59 pm ET. This was a difficult decision, reached only after years of cumulative consideration and the collective efforts of numerous previous governing boards as well as intensive activity over the past several months, all in pursuit of viable alternatives.”
The City Tavern Club added that it remains “a legal entity and has engaged Colliers International to list the property at 3206 M Street for sale.”
Dating from 1796, the City Tavern — which is on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places — is the last remaining Federal-era tavern in Washington, D.C., and one of the District’s oldest surviving buildings. Purchased and rescued from demolition in 1959 with private funding from a group of Washingtonians that included Marjorie James, Nancy Pyne, Paul Mellon, Mildred Bliss and Emerson Duncan, among many others, it was extensively renovated and opened as a private
social club in 1962.
On Aug. 27, the City Tavern Preservation Foundation issued the following statement on the matter.
“The City Tavern Preservation Foundation has accelerated its efforts to purchase the historic City Tavern property at 3206 M St. NW, following the recent announcement that the City Tavern Club is ceasing operations and placing the building on the public market. The Foundation’s mission is to preserve this historic site as a service to the nation.
“The City Tavern Preservation Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was formed in 2000 to receive tax-deductible donations for the preservation of the building and holds educational events open to the public. In light of the recent sale announcement, the Foundation is now intensifying its efforts, asking individuals, businesses and organizations to contribute to the objective of securing the necessary funds to purchase the property and transform it into a vibrant public space.”
The City Tavern building at 3206 M St. NW is a three-and-a-half-story brick Georgian building dating from 1796. Courtesy City Tavern Club.
ANC: Call Your Mother, Trayon White, Alcohol and Cannabis
BY PAULINA INGLIMA
ANC 2E, the Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission, met on Sept. 3 at Georgetown Visitation Prep. All commissioners were present, with Kishan Putta and Paul Maysak participating via Zoom.
CALL YOUR MOTHER
The Call Your Mother deli saga continues. Owner Andrew Dana, who has applied for a special exemption, described several actions — including daily trash pick-ups and the creation of a full-time position to ensure customers’ compliance with rules — that he has taken to appease neighbors who hold that the popular bagel shop at 3428 O St. NW creates a community disturbance.
On the opposing side, next-door neighbor Neil Emad spoke, claiming that the “streets are becoming an eatery” and that Call Your Mother has shown a lack of respect for the law by undergoing renovations without a proper permit, which D.C. officials ordered the shop to remove. Emad added that there is no firewall between the two buildings, posing a safety risk for his tenants. Dana responded that he arranged for a contractor to install the firewall, following up five times with Emad to no avail. Emad replied that the contractor had “misdirected” information, leading him to refuse the offer. Ultimately, the ANC supported the applicant’s request for an area variance to operate a corner store but disagreed regarding the request for a special exemption.
“If the special exemption is granted, ANC 2E urges BZA [Board of Zoning Adjustment] to impose conditions that address the concerns regarding adverse impacts to residential quality of life. ANC 2E welcomes ongoing dialogue,” Lohse stated.
The Board of Zoning Adjustment will decide soon on this matter.
COUNCIL MEMBER TRAYON WHITE
Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto’s constituent services director, Brian Romanowski, spoke about the “extremely serious” federal bribery charges facing Ward 8 Council member Trayon White, who was arrested by the FBI on Aug. 18 and formally indicted last week. According to Romanowski, White is being removed from his chairmanship of the Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs, while an ad hoc committee of all other Council members investigates his conduct. Romanowski said that Pinto is “particularly concerned that these allegations involve contracts for our violence intervention programs,” which fall under Pinto’s chairmanship of the Public Safety Committee, and that she “plans to hold public oversight hearings to evaluate the potential reach of these allegations and to restore
public trust in our violence intervention efforts and in the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.”
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE AND CANNABIS APPLICATIONS
The ANC heard from three retailers applying for Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration licenses.
Arcay Chocolates at 3211 O St. NW aims to obtain a Class “C” tavern license in order to offer liquor and chocolate pairings a few times a week in their experiential retail room. Co-owner Dario Berti said that he wants to not only entertain guests with the pairings but to educate them on the marriage between the two.
Georgetown Pantry, a business that plans to offer dry, prepackaged groceries and specialty items at 1515 Wisconsin Ave. NW, is applying for a Class B license to sell liquor and wine.
Finally, Gray Side Design and Consulting applied for a medical marijuana retailer license at 3210 Grace St. NW. Molly Ruland and Carlos Toledo, owners of One Love Massive Health & Wellness Dispensary, shared their desire to bring organic, soil-grown medical dispensary practices to Georgetown, emphasizing farm-to-table style growing and pledging not to be a “drain on this community.”
However, the building’s proximity to Georgetown Montessori School at Grace Church has been questioned, as legally a marijuana dispensary may not be within 400 feet of a school (further measurements will be conducted to determine the distance).
Commissioner Mimsy Lindner expressed concern about the number of applications for medical marijuana licenses for the Georgetown area, stating that there are already five pending approvals in her Single Member District alone.
All three licenses were protested as they negotiate an agreement, as is the standard process for the ANC.
The next ANC 2E meeting will be on Sept. 30.
Every Sunday 8AM to 4PM
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Art All Night Returns to Georgetown
BY HAILEY WHARRAM
Art lovers and night owls rejoice! In 2024, Art All Night is back and better than ever.
Presented by Mayor Muriel Bowser, Art All Night is an annual creative extravaganza that showcases the District’s diverse artistic talents. In the 13 years since Shaw Main Streets presented the first iteration, in 2011, Art All Night has flourished, expanding its reach across all of D.C.’s eight wards.
Programming for Art All Night 2024 will run from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. (the following morning) on Friday evening, Sept. 27, and Saturday evening, Sept. 28.
“We know that Washington, D.C., is the capital of creativity,” said Mayor Bowser. “Artists and makers across D.C. help us celebrate the history and culture of our community, and this weekend, we celebrate them.”
Coordinated by Georgetown Main Street and sponsored by S&R Evermay, Martin’s Tavern, Clubhouse and Grosvenor, Georgetown’s fourth annual Art All Night celebration will take place on Sept. 27 along Wisconsin Avenue between N and R Streets.
From 6 to 11 p.m., more than 200 performers and 20 businesses will fill the street with music, dancing, food, shopping and crafting.
“In just four years, Georgetown Art All Night has become one of the most iconic and memorable nights for the community,” said Georgetown Main Street Executive Director Rachel Shank. “The arts community of Georgetown is going to hit us with an event that is high energy along every block of Wisconsin Avenue. This is our most ambitious edition yet, with the most participating businesses and community organizations to date. It’s a night on the corridor that neighbors won’t want to miss.”
Over the evening, attendees can look forward to activities such as egg tempera painting, sneaker painting, country line dancing and cake decorating. Georgetown’s celebration will feature programming from familiar favorites and newcomers alike.
Businesses returning to Art All Night this year include Shop Made in DC, Gallery Article 15, L’Enfant Gallery and the Book Hill galleries.
Meanwhile, Gallery 16ten, Duke Ellington
BID to Celebrate 25th Anniversary
BY PAULINA INGLIMA
The Georgetown Business Improvement District will celebrate its 25th anniversary at the BID’s annual meeting on, fittingly, Wednesday, Sept. 25.
The BID’s board of directors election will take place through Friday, Sept. 13, at 5 p.m., with the results announced at the meeting. Only BID members are eligible to vote.
The Georgetown BID, a coalition of business and property owners that works to develop the area’s economic and social vitality, has spearheaded projects such as the Street Services Program, which monitors and collects litter; the Georgetown Sidewalk Widening streetscape initiative; Dancing on
the Waterfront summer dance classes; and the annual Georgetown French Market.
The BID promotes Georgetown events via its calendar and by partnering with member businesses. One of the most popular events is the annual Georgetown GLOW festival, in which public light-art installations make the nighttime streets of Georgetown sparkle with color.
Guests are invited to celebrate the BID’s quarter-century of accomplishment with cocktails and light fare at 1310 Kitchen and Bar, 1310 Wisconsin Ave. NW, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 25. BID partner and Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto will speak.
School of the Arts, the Fillmore School and a pop-up gallery entitled BLK ALCHMY HOUSE will make their Art All Night debut in 2024.
For more information on Georgetown Art All Night — including a list of all 20 stops along Wisconsin Avenue, visit georgetownmainstreet.com.
Dancing on Wisconsin Avenue during last year’s Georgetown Art All Night.
Courtesy Georgetown Main Street.
Courtesy Georgetown Business Improvement District.
News Bytes
BY PEGGY SANDS AND HAILEY WHARRAM
2 PUBLIC POOLS, BUT NOT OURS, STAY OPEN UNTIL SEPT. 22
On one of 2024’s hottest weekends, Aug. 24-25, many Georgetowners were disappointed to find the public swimming pools at Volta Park and Jelleff Recreation Center emptied of water and closed down, though their webpages said they were open.
“D.C.’s pools and spray parks typically close after Labor Day,” wrote the City Paper (also incorrect). In Georgetown, the pools closed a week earlier. On those sweltering days, Mayor Bowser had to reopen cooling centers. However, the mayor’s office announced at the Sept. 2 Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting that the Hearst Pool and the Oxon Run Pool (but not the ones in Georgetown) will remain open six days a week until Sept. 22.
MORE THAN TWICE AS MANY STUDENTS AT MACARTHUR H.S.
As planned, MacArthur High School, at 4530 MacArthur Boulevard NW, opened for its second year with double its first-year enrollment. Some 580 students are registered in grades 9 and 10, plus a few 11th graders, at a school that opened in 2023 with 250 students. (Those students were mainly grade 9 transfers from Hardy, Georgetown’s only public middle school.) MacArthur is expected to expand to 800 to 1,000 students by 2027-28.
When the District decided to invest $46 million to reconstitute the school as the first new public high school in decades, the campus was owned by Georgetown Day School. “We are pleased to see that additional new classrooms and faculty hires have been completed as scheduled for the new 202425 term,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Kishan Putta. Among the issues to be monitored this year: traffic in nearby residential areas, new public bus routes and the need for a large cafeteria.
FINALLY, ELLINGTON FIELD PUBLIC MEETING SET FOR SEPT. 12
A long-awaited public meeting to get updates and make suggestions about the renovation of the Duke Ellington School playing field at 1600 38th St. NW has been scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library, 3260 R St. NW. It is the seventh community meeting about the project in three years.
Parking, noise, lighting for the field and field houses and limitations on competitions top the list of concerns about the project, according to Commissioner Kishan Putta of ANC 2E. New technology has resolved some issues.
But for many neighbors, the most immediate questions are: When will the project begin, when will it end and how will the facilities be accessible to local users during construction?
GET WELL SOON, PRESIDENT DEGIOIA
On the evening of June 5, Thomas A. Reynolds III, who chairs the board of directors at Georgetown University, sent an email to the GU community. The message: President John J. DeGioia had suffered a stroke earlier that morning, but thanks to a surgical intervention at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, his condition had stabilized later that day.
The next day, Reynolds announced in a follow-up email that, in accordance with the university’s bylaws, Provost Robert M. Groves would assume the responsibilities of the president until DeGioia’s return.
On July 11, Groves sent an email updating the community, stating that DeGioia “is receiving daily rehabilitation therapy sessions that aid in his recovery and help him get stronger each day.” The message also contained words of gratitude on behalf of Georgetown’s 48th president and his family: “This outpouring of messages from the Georgetown community, and beyond, has been very uplifting.”
Just over three months later, though, DeGioia, 67, has yet to return to campus. His family reports that he is “continuing to make improvements each day.”
As DeGioia’s recovery proceeds, his family encourages the community to continue sending him well-wishes, by email to presidentsoffice@georgetown.edu or by regular mail. The mailing address follows.
DeGioia Family
c/o Georgetown University President’s Office 207 Healy Hall, 37th and O Streets NW Washington, DC 20057
Georgetown University President John DeGioia.
Photo by Phil Humnicky. Courtesy Georgetown University.
Crime Report:
BY PEGGY SANDS
MPD’S WAYNE DAVID DIES IN LINE OF DUTY; SUSPECT ARRESTED
The Metropolitan Police Department announced the Aug. 28 death of Investigator Wayne David after he was injured attempting to recover a firearm from a storm drain when it discharged. Other officers had immediately begun providing care. David, 51, was transported by MPD helicopter to an area hospital, where he later died.
A 25-year veteran of the department, David
joined MPD in December of 1998 and was assigned to the Third District after graduating from the police academy. He moved to the Gun Recovery Unit in November of 2007 and was assigned to the Violent Crime Suppression Division as an investigator in 2021.
On Sept. 5, MPD arrested the suspect who allegedly discarded the firearm that led to David’s death, 27-year-old Tyrell Lamonte Bailey.
WARD 8 COUNCIL MEMBER ARRESTED, INDICTED
District residents and politicians alike were shocked when Ward 8 Council member Trayon White was arrested by the FBI and charged on Aug. 18 with allegedly accepting over $156,000 in bribes in exchange for pressuring public officials to extend government contracts aimed at violence intervention. White, who appeared in court on Aug. 19, is running for reelection to the District Council for a third term.
“Because the investigation into the alleged bribery scheme involved contracts that could soon be awarded and other potential official acts that could be taken, our office took swift steps to address the alleged crimes we were investigating,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves. Graves’s office, the District Office of the
Inspector General, the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the IRS Criminal Investigation Washington, D.C. Field Office are jointly handling the ongoing investigation.
Reminder: Arrests do not constitute guilt in the criminal justice system. Subjects will have an opportunity to defend these charges in a court of law.
At Least 4 Georgetown Businesses Burglarized Sept. 9-10
BY PEGGY SANDS
At least four Georgetown businesses were hit with burglaries and vandalism, September 9 to 10, the Metropolitan Police Depart reported. Five persons were taken into custody on charges that included burglary and fleeing from law enforcement.
Businesses that were attacked include Morgan’s Pharmacy where a door was kicked in, and burglaries at CVS, Cask and Barrel and Pearson’s Wine & Spirits stores, all on Wisconsin Avenue. The Georgetown Business Improvement District crime monitoring staff were asked by MPD to collect reports of any other incidents in the local area.
Burglaries and damage to storefronts also were reported in three other neighborhoods
around the city, especially at CityCenterDC. According to the Washington Post, the incidents may have been in response to the release of a police body-cam video showing an MPD officer firing at least ten shots and killing a man in Southeast D.C. on Sept. 7. Police reported that protesters were gathering around 10:30 p.m. at the Seventh District police station in Southeast. Some were chanting “Don’t shoot!”
Police increased their presence overnight in the affected areas and would continue to step up the allocation of resources today, MPD said. “They will be on full activation tonight. They will have a strong presence in Georgetown.”
Investigator Wayne David, a 25-year MPD veteran, died on Aug. 28. Courtesy MPD.
How 9/11 Transformed Immigration in America
BY PEGGY SANDS
The Key to Civilization: Civility
Twenty-three years later, we remember the fear and horror of 9/11, but do we recall the days that followed? On Sept. 12, and for weeks afterward, we showed more kindness toward one another than before. We seemed more caring and united — or was it just a dream?
Amid today’s coarse social behavior — whether we are thinking of the Harris-Trump debate, school shootings or the unstable international situation — the need for civility stands out.
In this troubling Age of Rage, we find the following observations apt. “Civility is not a tactic or sentiment,” said President George W. Bush. “It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos.” In Van Jones’s words: “Civility isn’t just some optional value in a multicultural, multistate democratic republic. Civility is the key to civilization.”
Last year, citing the distress of friends, colleagues and acquaintances, David Brooks wondered: “Why have Americans become so mean?”
“I was recently talking with a restaurant owner who said that he has to eject a customer from his restaurant for rude or cruel behavior once a week — something that never used to happen,” Brooks continued. “A head nurse at a hospital told me that many on her staff are
leaving the profession because patients have become so abusive. At the far extreme of meanness, hate crimes rose in 2020 to their highest level in 12 years. Murder rates have been surging, at least until recently. Same with gun sales. Social trust is plummeting. In 2000, two-thirds of American households gave to charity; in 2018, fewer than half did.
“The words that define our age,” Brooks wrote, “reek of menace: conspiracy, polarization, mass shootings, trauma, safe spaces.”
American history is full of periods of division, but we have always survived and moved on. No one disputes that we live in challenging and, for many, anxious and depressing times. Civility, alas, is one of the first things that goes overboard.
Brooks concluded: “There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen — to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard and understood.”
Will that post-9/11 unity ever return? Perhaps we can turn over a new leaf today, on Patriot Day, thinking back not to the attacks of 2001, but to the genuine, if temporary, reemergence of our better, more civil, natures.
Make Affordability a Top Priority
Members of the soon-to-graduate Class of 2025 who wish to live in an apartment in the city may have a rough go of things. While their parents and grandparents may have been able to have the time of their lives in their 20s, Gen Zers (and Millennials for that matter) who are living in Washington, D.C., are residing in the fifth most expensive city in the country.
The median household income is just over $77,000, but the median home value is approximately $682,000. The average rent for a studio apartment is $1,874 per month. There is a considerable jump for one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with two-bedroom rentals going for $3,091 per month.
This means that if a grad just starting out wanted to split rent and have their own room with a roommate, they would need to spend an entire paycheck each month on rent alone.
Rents in Georgetown are even higher, coming in at an average $2,839 per month, according to Apartments.com. Apartments. com also calculates that, due to higher-
than-average rent, to live comfortably one would need to make almost $92,000 per year. However, per Bankrate.com, the average projected starting salary in the U.S. for the class of 2024 was $68,516.
That doesn’t even consider current grocery prices and inflation.
How can recent graduates not only save for the future but enjoy the present? Local and national politicians should focus on affordability, because if young people are being forced to live far from the heart of D.C., the city will no longer thrive.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, on a single night in 2023, 34,703 unaccompanied youth were counted as homeless, and 90.6 percent of those were between the ages of 18 and 24.
Improving salaries and wages, lowering rents and mortgage rates and curbing inflation are vitally important to the generations that will lead our country in the future. Let’s make affordability a top priority in the coming year.
When Americans think of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, they think of the thousands of innocents who died in the collapsing twin towers, of the brave airline passengers who diverted their suicide plane from a direct hit on the Capitol, of the way the attacks united the nation and our allies.
However, few people realize how significantly 9/11 transformed immigration in the United States.
Immigrants had been welcomed ever since Colonial times for their hard labor and as members of a loyal citizenry. The Constitution gives Congress the duty to deal with naturalization and immigration. But there were neither national immigration laws nor enforcement agencies prior to 1891.
The first national immigration law set up official ports of entry and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It prohibited laborers (but not scholars or doctors) from Asia, and anyone who was disabled, from entering legally. In 1924, the first comprehensive immigration law provided work visas almost exclusively to northern Europeans, Mexicans and Canadians, maintaining strict quotas on immigrants from all other countries. The Labor Department and its legislative committees had jurisdiction.
But in 1964, the Civil Rights Act made discrimination against or preference for any national origin illegal. The Immigration and Nationality Act passed the following year, allowing anyone in the world to apply for a permanent permit or a multitude of temporary visas. With civil rights and the Holocaust as
the drivers, the focus changed to social justice. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 offered legalization and prospective naturalization to undocumented persons who entered the U.S. prior to 1982. In 2000, the number of foreign students rose to over one million. The INS rarely pursued internal enforcement of immigrant and employer restrictions.
Then came the tragedy of 9/11. Suddenly the focus of immigration management became national security. Along with new congressional committees and a new Cabinet position, an entirely new agency took shape: the Department of Homeland Security. DHS combined 22 existing agencies, including Cybersecurity, the Secret Service, FEMA and the Coast Guard.
All aspects of immigration management and enforcement, including a greatly expanded Customs and Border Protection service, came under Homeland Security. The INS was dissolved. In its place were two new bureaus: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE was the first agency ever to be charged with enforcing immigration laws inside the country. One of the first new laws to pass Congress after the 9/11 attack created SEVIS, a digital information system — connected to thousands of host colleges, the FBI and ICE to track foreign students and exchange visitors.
Now, the enforcement of immigration laws is a major issue in the 2024 presidential election.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
CAG CELEBRATION OF GEORGETOWN
Friday, Sept. 20, 6:30-8:30 pm
Celebrate Georgetown and The Georgetowner’s 70th anniversary at the Citizens Association of Georgetown’s Annual Fundraiser, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Coolidge House at Quality Hill, 3425 Prospect St. NW. Immediately following the celebration, there will be an afterparty at B&B Italia, 3330 M St. NW. Visit celebrationofgeorgetown.com to purchase tickets or make a donation.
GEORGETOWN ART ALL NIGHT
Friday, Sept. 27
Art All Night returns to Georgetown from 6 to 11 p.m. at 20 featured locations along Wisconsin Avenue between N and R Streets. Visit georgetownmainstreet.com and dcartallnight.org for location details and the complete schedule.
ANC 2E MONTHLY MEETING
Monday, Sept. 30
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, representing Georgetown, Burleith and Hillandale, will convene at 6:30 p.m. at
permitted us to acquire six Godard family portraits.
In Georgetown, an Improbable Family Reunion
BY GERARD LEVAL
A recent find in a Georgetown antique shop has resulted in the reunion of an 18th-century family from a small town in the Burgundy region of France, located over 4,000 miles from Washington, D.C. Although the reunion was only in the form of an assemblage of portraits, it was the product of a pair of absolutely remarkable coincidences.
A number of years ago, I was prompted to write a book about a young French lawyer named Jacques Godard, who over the course of a very brief career, around the time of the French Revolution, represented many oppressed individuals. Among his clients were a young black man who sought his freedom when people of color were enslaved; a Protestant who sought to protect his property rights against the religious prejudices of the era; and the Jewish community as it sought to obtain full equal rights, at a time when Jews were considered pariahs.
The young lawyer died at the age of 29. But his career was punctuated by great achievements as he successfully promoted the interests of his eclectic clientele. In particular, he played a preeminent role in causing a grant of full equal civil rights to Jews — a first in any European nation.
Following extensive research, I wrote a lengthy manuscript about Godard. I sought to bring to life a young man who had so skillfully used the French legal system to advance many of the rights we take for granted today.
However, missing from my research was any image of Jacques Godard. In spite of searches at a multitude of museums, archives and private collections, I was unable to find any portrait of the young lawyer. My only impression of the physical appearance of the man to whom I devoted several years of my life was a description in an obituary honoring him.
I had given up ever knowing what Jacques Godard actually looked like when one evening, just weeks before my manuscript
Georgetown Visitation School, 1524 35th St. NW, and via Zoom. The agenda will be available seven days prior. Visit anc.dc.gov.
CONCERT AND BLOCK CAPTAIN EVENT AT VOLTA PARK
Sunday, Oct. 6
Residents can connect with the Citizens Association of Georgetown’s block captain network and enjoy live music, food trucks and children’s programming from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the baseball field, 1555 34th St NW.
was scheduled to be published, as I was scanning the website of an auction house in Semur-en-Auxois in eastern France, I came across four oval portraits of members of a local family. The pastel portraits had all been created in the late 18th century.
When I was able to look at the reverse side of one of them, I found a label that identified the portrait as being of a certain Marie-Colombe Godard. With a growing sense of excitement, I recognized the name as being that of the younger sister of Jacques Godard. One of the other portraits turned out to be of Jacques Godard himself, the only known portrait of the young man. All four portraits were in identical, attractive, late 18th-century frames. They were clearly painted by the same artist and labeled in a distinctive handwriting.
It was a particular pleasure purchasing the four portraits. They were then brought into our Hillandale home, where they have adorned our walls for a couple of years. To my great satisfaction, my editors agreed to have the one of Jacques Godard incorporated into my book.
My wife and I marveled over the coincidence that had permitted us to locate and acquire the portraits. But that was only the first coincidence.
A few weeks ago, my wife was walking down the 3200 block of O Street. She passed Côté Jardin Antiques, one of the area’s several antique stores, which specializes in French antiques. She decided to go in to look at the items for sale. As she entered, her attention was immediately drawn to two portraits in precisely the same format as our four Godard family portraits. The frames were identical to those of our portraits. On the back were labels, in the same handwriting as on the labels of our portraits, identifying the sitters as two brothers of Jacques Godard.
Without a moment’s hesitation, we purchased the two portraits and brought them home, incredulous at the coincidences that had
CARPE LIBRUM POP-UP BOOKSTORE
Sunday, Oct. 6
Thousands of books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl records priced under $6 will be offered from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Chase Bank parking lot on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and P Street in Georgetown. Proceeds benefit Turning the Page DC. Visit turningthepage.org.
All six portraits are now gathered together in our house. With the portrait of Jacques Godard — the young lawyer who had such a powerful impact on the lives of so many, hundreds of years ago and thousands of miles away — the portraits of his brothers, their sister and her husband form a very pleasant ensemble. We are host to an improbable French family reunion.
Georgetown is an extraordinary place, with a delightful mix of interesting people, beautiful buildings, cultural attractions and fascinating stores — stores which contain appealing, historic and unexpected objects. By a strange twist of circumstance, among those objects were the images of two members of a Burgundian family who had died more than 200 years ago. They have now found a home in the Georgetown area, where they will be cherished for years to come.
the most interesting neighborhoods anywhere in the world.
This most unusual set of coincidences serves to highlight our good fortune at living in one of
Gerard Leval, who lives with his wife Lisa in Hillandale, is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of a national law firm. He is the author of “Lobbying for Equality: Jacques Godard and the Struggle for Jewish Civil Rights during the French Revolution,” published by HUC Press.
Courtesy Gerard Leval.
INS & OUTS
BY ROBERT DEVANEY
IN: OCT. 30 IS B&N’S REOPENING DATE, REALLY
Gone from Georgetown since 2011, Barnes & Noble, the nation’s largest bookstore chain, will return to its original location at 3040 M St. NW, having signed a 33,754-square-foot lease for the same three floors last year, as previously reported. The serially postponed reopening date is now Oct. 30.
IN: FRAMEBRIDGE TO OPEN ON WISCONSIN AVE.
Custom framing company Framebridge will open a third Washington, D.C., location, as first reported by Urban Turf. The new store is set to open in mid-October at 1506 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The company’s other D.C. locations are at 1919 14th St. NW and at Union Market.
IN: YIN’S HIGH STREET HEADING TO WASHINGTON CIRCLE
James Beard-honored restaurateur Ellen Yin, founder of High Street Hospitality Group, will soon make her D.C. debut at one of
COMING: ARC’TERYX IN FORMER J. PAUL’S SPACE
the District’s newest hotels, the Washington Business Journal reported last week.
“Yin and her Philadelphia-based High Street Hospitality are aiming for a mid-September opening for a.kitchen+bar dc, located off the main lobby of the 151-room Hotel AKA Washington Circle,” reported the WBJ. “The hotel opened in May at One Washington Circle in Foggy Bottom. It’s the second collaboration between Yin and AKA Hotels & Hotel Residences, building on the original concept for a.kitchen, which debuted at the AKA Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia more than a decade ago.”
Arc’teryx, Canada’s “high performance outdoor equipment company,” is coming to the M Street site of a once famous, now empty saloon.
According to the Washington Business Journal, Arc’teryx signed a lease for 3218 M St. NW, formerly home to J. Paul’s, which closed at the end of 2018. “Representatives for the property’s owner, an affiliate of D.C. commercial real estate owner Richard Levy, recently applied to the District for permission to erect an Arc’teryx sign on the building’s M Street facade.”
The retailer was represented in the roughly 4,600-square-foot lease by Dochter & Alexander Retail Advisors co-founders Dave Dochter and Matt Alexander. “The location speaks for itself,” Dochter said. “You look at M and Wisconsin as being that 50-yard line. There are only a few options available where you can get the square footage that you want and the layout that you want at terms that work for everyone.”
COMING: ORNARE FURNITURE IN CADY’S ALLEY
High-end Brazilian furniture brand Ornare (“to adorn” in Portuguese) is opening at 3340 Cady’s Alley NW. Occupying a 2,100-squarefoot space, Ornare will join the other stores of Georgetown’s Design District — including B&B Italia, Boffi, Bo Concept and Thos. Moser — along with Kafe Leopold and Kyojin Sushi. The company was founded in São Paulo in 1986.
Arc’teryx is coming to M St. in the old J. Paul’s. Courtesy Arc’teryx.
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Auction Block
BY KATE OCZYPOK
September’s auction results are a spectacular blend of furniture, jewelry and artwork. Noteworthy items include a snuff bottle from Bonhams and a gold-and-diamond cigarette box from Weschler’s.
DOYLE
Victorian Faux Bamboo Dressing Table with Mirror
ESTIMATE: $1,200–$1,800
SOLD FOR: $6,080
Part of a Doyle at Home auction, this bamboo dressing table with mirror came from a private collection on New York’s Upper East Side, together with a matching side chair. The auction featured more than 30 lots of furniture and other objects from an apartment decorated by designer Jason Bell, formerly a partner in the Irvine & Fleming firm.
FREEMANS | HINDMAN
Yellow Gold and Bloodstone Necklace and Bracelet
ESTIMATE: $2,500–$3,500
SOLD FOR: $7,620
This jewelry set by Parisian luxury brand M. Gérard, from the collection of Laura Pels, is made of bloodstone and 18-karat yellow gold links. The necklace is 19 inches long and the bracelet is seven and a quarter inches long.
CHRISTIE’S
Untitled No. 1, from the Yosemite Suite
ESTIMATE: $60,000–$80,000
SOLD FOR: $100,800
This framed piece by British artist David Hockney (b. 1937) is an iPad drawing in colors on wove paper, created in 2010. In very good condition, it is signed and dated in pencil and numbered 22/25.
WESCHLER’S
14-Karat Yellow-Gold and Rose-Cut Diamond Cigarette Box
ESTIMATE: $2,500–$3,500
SOLD FOR: $5,500
THE POTOMACK COMPANY
The Apple Orchard Oil on Canvas
ESTIMATE: $400–$600
SOLD FOR: $700
This colorful oil on canvas, part of the Potomack Company’s July Art Cornucopia auction, is by the French artist Mathis Picard (1854-1938), who signed it in the lower left corner.
This unique cigarette box, with a silver pattern inset with diamonds on its lid, contains an inscription in Russian connected with the arrival of the Russian mission in Constantinople to announce the 1896 coronation of Nicholas II as Tsar.
BONHAMS
A Ruby Glass ‘Mallow Flower’ Snuff Bottle
SOLD FOR: $4,352
Its glass a striking, ruby red color, this snuff bottle, dated between 1750 and 1820, has a waisted neck and a concave lip. The sides are horizontally lobed, with each face having overlapping petals that spiral outward. At the center is a taiji (yin-yang) symbol.
FALL ARTS PREVIEW
Performing Arts
André 3000 performs “New Blue Sun” in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall
ARTSWATCH
BY RICHARD SELDEN
DC DESIGN WEEK TO KICK OFF UNDERGROUND
This year’s DC Design Week, themed “Stories Within,” will kick off on Sept. 27 with a party at Dupont Underground. Events (in daily chronological order starting Sept. 28): a “PortfoliYolo Creative Review” at George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design; a financial workshop for creatives; “Designing the Climate Story” at NASA’s Earth Information Center; a hackathon at Artechouse; an author event with Cheryl D. Holmes-Miller (“Here: Where the Black Designers Are”) at Duke Ellington School of the Arts; a Capital Pride panel and happy hour at Crush; and a closing party on Oct. 4 at Hill Prince.
‘ARTFUL ATTIRE’ IS THEME OF 2024 CRAFT2WEAR
Craft2Wear, the annual weekend show of contemporary wearable art organized by the Smithsonian Women’s Committee to support the Smithsonian museums, libraries, centers and zoo, will hold “First Night–First Dibs” on Sept. 27 at the National Building Museum. Light refreshments and informal modeling will add to the evening. The 2024 theme is “Artful Attire,” with jewelry, accessories and clothing by 93 artists offered for sale. Also on view: ceramics, metal, folk painting, fiber and court dress by 10 South Korean artisans. Regular show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Washington, DC member since 2009, and the chorus’s technical director since 2017, he held positions with the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington and the national headquarters of the American Red Cross. Bennett grew up in Japan and Hawaii, the son of an ESL teacher/Japanese translator and a U.S. Marine.
PIANIST JENNY LIN NAMED DIRECTOR OF PHILLIPS MUSIC
The Phillips Collection has named pianist Jenny Lin the new director of Phillips Music, the venerable chamber concert series in the museum’s music room. Born in Taiwan and raised in Austria, Lin, a Steinway artist who performs and records widely, studied at Vienna’s Hochschule für Musik, Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory and the Fondazione Internazionale per il pianoforte in Como. She also earned a bachelor’s in German literature from Johns Hopkins. Phillips Music’s 84th season, running from Oct. 13 to May 4, was curated by Jeremy Ney, now head of music and performance at New York’s Frick Collection.
YEUELL RETIRES; BENNETT NOW LEADS THE ATLAS
Douglas Yeuell, who led the Atlas Performing Arts Center for the past 10 years, has retired. Yeuell’s Joy of Motion Dance Center was one of the restored theater’s first tenants in 2005. The Atlas’s new executive director, as of Sept. 3: Jarrod Bennett, who started as director of operations in 2022. A Gay Men’s Chorus of
GALLERY TO DEBUT IN JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG CENTER
On Oct. 23, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center — the Baltimore-based university’s D.C. hub in the former Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue NW — will launch its Irene and Richard Frary Gallery with “Art and Graphic Design of the European Avant-Gardes.” The gallery’s inaugural director: Caitlin Berry, who led the Miami-based Rubell Museum’s Southwest Washington outpost from its 2022 opening through last January. (A replacement at D.C.’s Rubell has not been named.) Earlier, Berry, a Wake Forest graduate, was associate director and director at Hemphill Fine Arts, then ran Marymount University’s Cody Gallery.
WAPO HIRES THEATER CRITIC, AXES GALLERY COLUMN
Naveen Kumar, associate director of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Critics Institute, is the Washington Post’s new theater critic. A graduate of Vassar and Columbia, Kumar is based in New York, as was his predecessor, Peter Marks. On Kumar’s first day, Aug. 19, “In the galleries” columnist Mark Jenkins announced via email that the Aug. 25 column (online the Friday prior) would end his 13-year run. A freelancer who also writes
The Kreeger Museum Turns 30
BY RICHARD SELDEN
In 1994, four years after David Kreeger’s death and two years after his widow Carmen moved out (she died in 2003 at the age of 94), the Kreeger Museum opened to the public in the serene former home of two of Washington’s leading philanthropists.
This year, the Kreeger Museum — a travertine beauty designed in 1963 by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster — is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
A special exhibition, “Here, in this little Bay: Celebrating 30 Years at the Kreeger,” is on view through Oct. 5. Curated by Kristen Hileman, the show is meant to illustrate artists’ changing approaches to the natural world — an appropriate choice for a museum set amid sculpture terraces and gardens on five acres.
“Here, in this little Bay” displays works by 14 contemporary painters, sculptors and
(cont.) about architecture, film and pop music, Jenkins’s byline may appear occasionally in the Post. Still on staff: art critic Sebastian Smee and art and architecture critic Philip Kennicott.
NEW PORTRAIT GALLERY CHOREOGRAPHER-IN-RESIDENCE
Choreographer Diana Movius, artistic director of 14-year-old Moveius Contemporary Ballet, began an 18-month residency at the National Portrait Gallery in July. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native, who holds a B.A. and an M.A. in environmental anthropology from Stanford, did fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon, then worked in D.C. on climate change policy. Movius also founded and runs Petworth’s Dance Loft on 14. On Oct. 19, Moveius dancers will preview “Atlantic Paradox,” inspired by the “Brilliant Exiles” exhibition. The NPG’s first choreographer-in-residence, from 2016 to 2023, was Dana Tai Soon Burgess.
photographers. Though all currently live in D.C., Maryland or Virginia, they represent eight countries in addition to the U.S.: Argentina, Burma, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Greece, Iran, Japan and Korea.
The exhibition’s title comes from a poem by British poet Coventry Patmore (1823-1896), who was writing about seaside cliffs. While it references nature, it might also be taken as a play on words. Architecturally speaking, the building is made up of “bays” — cubic units of 22 by 22 by 22 feet — open on various sides, with vaulted and domed roofs. Johnson called the design “Mediterranean modern” or “contemporary Moorish.”
A graduate of Rutgers and Harvard Law School, David Lloyd Kreeger was a lawyer at the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior before becoming special assistant to the Attorney General in 1941. Returning to private practice in 1946, he began advising and finding investors for Geico two years later, eventually becoming the company’s chairman and CEO. He met teacher Carmen Matanzo y Jaramillo in Puerto Rico while working for Interior. The couple married in 1938 and began to collect art in the 1950s. The museum’s permanent collection comprises 19th- and 20th-century paintings by European masters — Degas, Monet, van Gogh, Bonnard and Picasso, to name a few — as well as works by prominent Washington artists and choice examples of African and Asian art. Upcoming concerts include appearances by trumpeter Alex Norris in the Jazz at the Kreeger series on Saturday, Sept. 21, and by Trio Zimbalist, playing Beethoven, Shostakovich and Martinů on Thursday, Sept. 26. Other events: Photographic Explorations, a panel with artists Chan Chao, Kei Ito and Soledad Salamé, moderated by Hileman, on Saturday, Sept. 28; a First Studio: Art, Story and Workshop event for ages 3 to 5 on Saturday, Oct. 5; and a museum-wide open house on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Craft2Wear. Courtesy Smithsonian Craft Show.
Diana Movius.Courtesy instagram.com/DianaMoves
Pablo Picasso Head of a Woman, 1929, from the permanent collection.
PERFORMING
CLASSICAL
This Saturday, two weeks before the National Symphony Orchestra’s gala — featuring pianist Yunchan Lim playing Rachmaninoff (Sept. 28) — the NSO presents “Echoes of America” in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall with The Washington Chorus and bass-baritone Morris Robinson, conducted by the chorus’s artistic director, Eugene Rogers (Sept. 14).
Gianandrea Noseda rarely leaves the podium next month, leading programs of: Beethoven, Carlos Simon and Richard Strauss songs sung by Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Oct. 3 to 5); Strauss’s “Ein Heldenleben” and Beethoven’s “Emperor” concerto with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes (Oct. 10 to 13); Brahms and more Strauss, sung by Renée Fleming (Oct. 17 to 19); and Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Alexander Raskatov’s new oboe concerto with Alexei Ogrintchouk (Oct. 31 to Nov. 2).
Lighter fare: “Mo @ the NSO” written and hosted by Mo Willems (Sept. 21 and 22), pops with Sara Bareilles (Sept. 24 to 26) and the “Halloween Spooktacular” (Oct. 27).
Up the road at Strathmore, Yo-Yo Ma performs at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s gala (Sept. 20). A week later, Music Director Jonathon Heyward leads a program of Dvořák, Samuel Barber’s violin concerto with James Ehnes and composer-inresidence James Lee III’s “Visions of Cahokia” (Sept. 28). Music Director Laureate Marin Alsop returns to conduct Prokofiev, Chopin with pianist Hayato Sumino and another work by Lee (Oct. 19). For scary fun: Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas In Concert” (Oct. 25).
Also at Strathmore: Joseph Young presides over the National Philharmonic’s Rachmaninoff Festival, featuring pianists
ARTS
Sergei Babyan, Daniil Trifonov and Oleg Volkov (Sept. 14); and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, with pianist Brian Ganz, presents Tania León’s “Pasajes,” along with some Mozart, Bruckner (it’s his 200th anniversary) and William Grant Still (Oct. 6).
At the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Capital City Symphony, led by Victoria Gau, presents a concert of Beethoven, Stravinsky and Simon (Oct. 6) and two family concerts, plus an instrument petting zoo (Nov. 3).
Chamber music is steps from Georgetowners’ doors. St. John’s Church welcomes organist Aaron Goen (Sept. 15) and VOCES8 (Oct. 20); the 47th season of Dumbarton Concerts at Dumbarton UMC opens with the Thirteen
performing Bach motets (Oct. 19); and the 78-year-old Dumbarton Oaks series says g’day to Australian guitarist brothers Ziggy and Miles (Oct. 27 and 28).
Only slightly farther away, The Phillips Collection’s series, now 84, begins with Trio con Brio Copenhagen (Oct. 13) and pianist Kit Armstrong (Oct. 20).
First up in the Kennedy Center’s Fortas series in the Terrace Theater: the Isidore String Quartet (Oct. 30). Also in the Terrace, the Sphinx Virtuosi with percussionist BrittonRené Collins, presented by Washington Performing Arts (Oct. 19); and the Kennedy Center Chamber Players (Nov. 3).
The Smithsonian Chamber Series at
Washington Performing Arts presents the Sphinx Virtuosi in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater on Oct. 19.
the National Museum of American History presents the Axelrod String Quartet (Oct. 5 and 6). Chamber Dance Project’s resident string quartet plays at Alexandria’s Lyceum (Oct. 8). At the Library of Congress, Quatuor Diotima performs two “Schoenberg at 150” programs (Oct. 25 and 26). The Viano Quartet plays in The Barns at Wolf Trap (Oct. 27). Head for Arlington’s Gunston Arts Center to hear the National Chamber Ensemble perform “Hungarian Musical Masterpieces” (Nov. 9).
Led by Ángel Gil-Ordóñez, PostClassical Ensemble livens up the Terrace with “Legends of Brazil: A Musical Celebration for 200 Years of Friendship” (Nov. 19 and 20).
Early music lovers can catch Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” at St. Mark’s Capitol Hill (Sept. 21) and St. Paul’s Lutheran (Sept. 22); a program of French and English baroque works at Live! at 10th & G (Oct. 18) and St. Paul’s Episcopal (Oct. 19); and “Motet Mania” at the National Presbyterian Church (Oct. 27), brought to you by the Washington Bach Consort.
Folger Consort presents “Tale of Two Cities,” the cities being Florence and Venice (Sept. 13 to 15); and flutist Emi Ferguson and the baroque ensemble Ruckus perform at the Library of Congress (Oct. 30).
Piano recitals: Tony Siqi Yun in the Terrace Theater, part of Washington Performing
THE FILLMORE SCHOOL
Arts’ Hayes Piano Series (Oct. 27); and Sarah Cahill at Strathmore (Oct. 31).
At Washington National Cathedral, Steven Fox leads the Cathedral Choral Society in Brahms’ Requiem with mezzosoprano Katerina Burton and baritone Trevor Scheunemann (Oct. 20).
Intimate vocal concerts: Vocal Arts DC’s opener in the Terrace Theater, with baritone Lucas Meachem and pianist Irina Meachem performing Mahler’s “Kindertotenlieder” and Liszt’s “Petrarch Sonnets” (Sept. 12); the Russian Chamber Art Society’s opener at the Embassy of France (Oct. 9); and, back in the Terrace, soprano Nadine Sierra in the Renée Fleming Voices series (Nov. 10).
OPERA
Washington National Opera Artistic Director Francesca Zambello directs “Fidelio,” the one and only Beethoven opera, set in a prison near Seville in the 1600s, with Sinéad Campbell Wallace as Leonore, Jamez
Celebration of Wagner,” featuring soprano Christine Goerke, tenor Brandon Jovanovic, bass-baritone Derek Welton and bass Soloman Howard (Oct. 26).
Led by Antony Walker, Washington Concert Opera opens its 38th season with Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut,” starring soprano Corinne Winters, tenor Joshua Guerrero and baritone Levi Hernandez (Nov. 24).
THEATER
During Theatre Washington’s Theatre Week — actually two weeks — snag $20, $40 and $60 tickets to more than 30 shows. The Kickoff Fest is Sept. 28 at Arena Stage (Sept. 26 to Oct. 13).
A musical in which a Chinese theater producer and Hillary Clinton fall in love? That’s what a mugged playwright hallucinates in David Henry Hwang’s and Jeanine Tesori’s “Soft Power” at Signature Theatre, directed by Ethan Heard (through Sept. 15). Next up: Sondheim’s “A Funny Thing Happened on
Sara Bareilles performs with the NSO.
Clinton’s book, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger, at Glen Echo Park’s Adventure Theatre MTC. Mary Hall Surface directs (Oct. 4 to Nov. 3).
Musicals at the Kennedy Center: “Clue” (Sept. 17 to Oct. 6) and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (Oct. 11 to 20).
At the National Theatre: “Mean Girls” (Oct. 15 to 20) and “Six” (Nov. 12 to Dec. 1). Across the Potomac, the Arlington Players are about to open “Little Women: The Broadway
Musical,” directed by Elizabeth Suzanne (Sept. 13 to 15 and 20 to 22).
Disney’s “Frozen,” directed by Sesame Street’s Alan Muroaka, is coming to Olney Theatre Center with the first frost (Oct. 24 to Jan. 5). Prior to that, Richard Hellesen’s “Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground,” directed by Peter Ellenstein, asks “What makes a president great?” (Sept. 27 to Oct. 20).
In Series presents Marc Blitzstein’s Federal Theatre Project musical “The Cradle Will
John Leguizamo stars in his new play, “The Other Americans,” at Arena Stage.
Rock,” originally directed by Orson Welles, with stage direction by Shanara Gabrielle and musical direction by Emily Baltzer (Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at the DC Jewish Community Center; Oct. 18 to 20 at Baltimore Theatre Project).
Continuing back to the ’20s, Matthew Broderick stars in Joe DiPietro’s adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’s “Babbitt” in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall, directed by Christopher Ashley (Oct. 1 to 27). Now playing in STC’s Klein Theatre: “The Comedy of Errors,” directed by Artistic Director Simon Goodwin (through Oct. 6).
Four more of the Bard’s best: Synetic Theater’s wordless “Hamlet … the rest is silence,” directed by Paata Tsikurishvili (Sept. 28 to Oct. 13); “Romeo and Juliet” at the Folger, directed by Raymond O. Caldwell (Oct. 1 to Nov. 10); and, at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia, “Macbeth,” directed by José Zayas (through Nov. 23), and “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” directed by Dawn Monique Williams (Sept. 12 to Nov. 23).
Also in ASC’s Blackfriars Playhouse: Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” directed by Zayas (through Oct. 20), and Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” directed by Matt Radford Davies (Oct. 17 to Nov. 24).
Roz White plays Billie Holiday in Mosaic Theater Company’s production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.
More terror at The Keegan Theatre: Josh Sticklin directs Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s 1983 novel “The Woman in Black” (Oct. 12 to Nov. 17).
The Little Theatre of Alexandria goes full Victorian with “The Explorers Club,” a Nell Benjamin comedy, directed by Adam Konowe (through Sept. 21) and “Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical,” directed by Jennifer Hardin (Oct. 19 to Nov. 9).
The bilingual Zayas (see ASC) is also directing GALA Hispanic Theatre’s worldpremiere production in Spanish (with English surtitles) of “Las 22+ Bodas de Hugo – The 22+ Weddings of Hugo” by GALA Artistic Director Gustavo Ott (through Sept. 29). Then comes the world-premiere bilingual version of Karen Zacarías’s “Frida Libre,” inspired by Frida Kahlo’s childhood, with music by Deborah Wicks La Puma, directed by Elena Velasco (Oct. 12 to 26).
What could be more appropriate than “Mister Lincoln” at Ford’s Theatre? José Carrasquillo directs Herbert Mitgang’s one-man show, starring Scott Bakula, aka Sam Beckett on “Quantum Leap” and Capt. Jonathan Archer on “Star Trek: Enterprise” (Sept. 20 to Oct. 13).
Another one-woman show — storyteller Casey Jay Andrews’s “Oh My Heart, Oh My Home,” composed by George Jennings and Jack Brett — is at Studio Theatre, directed by Dom Allen and Steve McCourt (through Sept. 22). Soon to open: “Exception to the Rule” by Dave Harris, directed by Miranda Haymon, about Black high school students making the most of detention (Sept. 18 to Oct. 27).
“The Comeuppance” by Branden JacobsJenkins, directed by Morgan Green at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, looks in on a high school reunion in Prince George’s County, Maryland (through Oct. 6). Closing out 2024, the Second City returns to Woolly with “Dance Like There’s Black People Watching,” directed by Rob Wilson (Nov. 6 to Dec. 22).
A one-of-a-kind artist’s one-woman show for one night only: Anna Deavere Smith performs “This Ghost of Slavery” at Arena Stage, directed by Kamilah Forbes as part of this year’s Atlantic Festival (Sept. 20).
Also, one-night-only: Belarus Free Theatre co-founders Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada created “KS6: Small
At Theater J: Sun Mee Chomet’s onewoman show, “How to Be a Korean Woman,” directed by Zaraawar Mistry (through Sept. 22), then Joshua Harmon’s “Prayer for the French Republic,” about a Parisian Jewish family faced with antisemitism, directed by Artistic Director Hayley Finn (Oct. 30 to Nov. 24).
Ángel Gil-Ordóñez MUSIC DIRECTOR
LEGENDS OF BRAZIL
A Musical Celebration for 200 Years of Friendship
November 19 & 20, 2024 | 7:30pm TERRACE THEATER, THE KENNEDY CENTER
Experience over two centuries of classical music from Brazil, including a world premiere commission by André Mehmari, music by Villa-Lobos, Brazilian popular songs, and more. Led by curator Flávio Chamis with guest artists Mehmari, Elin Melgarejo, Lucas Ashby, and Tatjana Mead Chamis 2024 marks the 200 th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the US and Brazil.
“a model for how classical music — and the other sounds that swirl around it — can be engagingly presented.” — THE WASHINGTON POST
John Rubinstein portrays Ike in “Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground” at Olney Theatre Center.
Forward” based on conversations with 2008 Olympian Katsiaryna Snytsina, “the first and only popular sports figure in the history of Belarus to have openly come out as gay.” See it at Lisner Auditorium (Oct. 21).
Contemporary Irish arts organization Solas Nua presents a double bill of James Elliott’s “Summertime” from Dublin-based theater and sound collective Murmuration, directed by John King; and Galway-based Brú Theatre’s VR-enhanced “Ar Ais Arís,” directed by James Riordan (Nov. 1 to 17).
Bethesda’s Round House Theatre is about to open “Sojourners” by Mfoniso Udofia, about Nigerian immigrants in Texas in the 1970s, directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton (Sept. 11 to Oct. 6).
John Leguizamo stars in Arena Stage’s world-premiere production of his “The Other Americans,” directed by Ruben SantiagoHudson, about a Colombian American laundromat owner (Oct. 18 to Nov. 24). Now playing at Arena: “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” by Jocelyn Bioh, directed by Whitney White (through Oct. 13).
Mosaic Theater Company Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas is directing Lanie Robertson’s “Lady Day at Emerson’s
Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo” is at Capital One Arena through Sept. 15.
Bar and Grill,” with Roz White as Billie Holiday (through Oct. 6). “The Art of Care,” conceived and directed by Georgetown University’s Derek Goldman, follows at the Atlas, Mosaic’s home base (Oct. 31 to Nov. 24).
Also at the Atlas: Alliance for New MusicTheatre’s “The Man Ray Project: Caesar & The Mannequin” (Sept. 12 to 22) and Visionaries of the Creative Arts’ “Deaf BIPOC Solo Shows II” (Nov. 1 to 17).
In Guinevere Govea’s “Spells of the Sea,” in The Kennedy Center Family Theater, Finley Frankfurter seeks a cure for her fisherman father (Oct. 12 to 20). Then, brace yourself for “Doktor Kaboom: Under Pressure!” (Oct. 26 to Nov. 3). Meanwhile, “Shear Madness” is about to restore chaos to the Theater Lab (Sept. 24 to Infinity).
DANCE
The Kennedy Center celebrates National Dance Day with free classes, performances and community conversations (Sept. 21). Coming to the Opera House: the National Ballet of Ukraine (Oct. 8); to the Terrace Theater: the National Bunraku Theatre (Oct. 8 and 9); and to the Eisenhower Theater: Shin Chang Ho’s Laboratory Dance Project (Oct. 31 to Nov. 2).
The Washington Ballet ’s Studio Company returns Down Under — to Dupont Underground — with “Dance For All” (Oct. 3, 4 and 5). TWB’s main fall event is “when WE take flight,” a program at the Warner Theatre of George Balanchine’s “Stravinsky Violin Concerto,” Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s “18
Adventure Theatre MTC will stage a musical adaptation of “She Persisted” at Glen Echo Park
+ 1” and Artistic Director Edwaard Liang’s “Murmuration” (Oct. 24 to 27).
Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo” buzzes into Capital One Arena (Sept. 11 to 15); Moveius Contemporary Ballet previews “Atlantic Paradox” at the National Portrait Gallery, inspired by the “Brilliant Exiles” exhibition (Oct. 19); and Dissonance Dance Theatre revs up at the Atlas (Oct. 19).
In the Terrace, Opera Lafayette presents the North American debut of Algerian early music group Ensemble Amedyez and Kalanidhi Dance (Oct. 21).
Visiting George Mason University’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax: Ballet Hispánico (Oct. 5) and Mark Morris Dance Group (Oct. 19).
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Ballet Hispánico.
Edwaard Liang’s “Murmurations.”
POP, ROCK, WORLD, HIP HOP AND JAZZ
Coming to The Birchmere in Alexandria: Amy Grant (Sept. 19), Suzanne Vega (Sept. 25), Herbie Hancock (Sept. 27), Rickie Lee Jones (Oct. 9) and the Robert Cray Band (Oct. 29). Presented by the Birchmere at The Warner: Bruce Hornsby (Sept. 28), Little Feat (Oct. 18 and 19) and Billy Ocean (Oct. 29).
You’ll recognize these names on Strathmore’s fall lineup: Rosanne Cash (Sept. 22); Meshell Ndegeocello, with a James Baldwin-inspired program (Oct. 5); Neko Case (Oct. 9); and Judy Collins and Madeleine Peyroux (Nov. 1).
The Filene Center season goes out with a bang at Wolf Trap: James Taylor & His All-Star Band (Sept. 12, 14 and 15) and, in between, Kristin Chenoweth with Alan Cumming (Sept. 13). The action moves to The Barns with Norm Lewis (Oct. 18 and 19), Jim Messina (Oct. 22) and Graham Nash (Oct. 23, 25 and 26).
At Capital One Arena: NCT Dream (Sept. 24), Justin Timberlake (Oct. 13) and Cindy Lauper (Oct. 27). At The Anthem: Weezer (Sept. 14 and 15), Ringo Starr and His All
Coming up at
9
On Sept. 22, Strathmore welcomes Rosanne Cash.
Starr Band (Sept. 17), Kings of Leon (Sept. 20 and 22), Zedd (Sept. 21), DPR (Sept. 27), The Psychedelic Furs & The Jesus and Mary Chain (Oct. 6) and The B-52s (Oct. 31).
In the Kennedy Center Concert Hall: Jamaican American genre-crosser Masego (Nov. 3) and André 3000, performing “New
Fall highlights coming to the Music Center
ROSANNE CASH
Sun, Sept 22
MARIZA Thu, Oct 3
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO: NO MORE WATER/THE GOSPEL OF JAMES BALDWIN Sat, Oct 5
NEKO CASE WITH SPECIAL GUEST IMAAD WASIF
Wed, Oct 9
RICHARD THOMPSON
SHIP TO SHORE ELECTRIC FULL BAND TOUR WITH KACY & CLAYTON Sun, Oct 20
JUDY COLLINS AND MADELEINE PEYROUX Fri, Nov 1
THE WOOD BROTHERS WITH LINDSAY LOU Sat, Nov 16
Blue Sun” (Nov. 9).
Hear Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at Constitution Hall (Sept. 21) and Pakistani ghazal and sufi performer Zeeshan Ali (Sept. 29) and Turkish folk singer Selda Bağcan (Nov. 9) at Lisner Auditorium
Centennials: Scott Flavin conducts the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra at the Library of Congress to celebrate the master theme-composer’s 100th anniversary (Sept. 28); and legendary drummer Max Roach’s 100th calls for a performance of his “Freedom Now Suite” in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall (Oct. 12). Also at the LOC: Latin jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri, who’s only 87 (Oct. 18).
In addition to Brazilian jazz guitar, Chilean jazz and Cuban jazz piano series, Georgetown’s Blues Alley hosts: Nicole Henry (Oct. 3 and 4), the Joshua Redman Group with Gabrielle Cavassa (Nov. 9 and 10) and the Todd Marcus Quintet with Don Byron (Nov. 11).
A SWINGIN’ LITTLE CHRISTMAS! STARRING JANE LYNCH
FEATURING KATE FLANNERY & TIM DAVIS WITH THE TONY GUERRERO QUINTET Wed, Dec 4
INDIGO GIRLS Thu, Dec 12
From Top: Neko Case, Meshell Ndegeocello by Andre Wagner, Mariza, Richard Thompson
André 3000 performs “New Blue Sun” in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Nov.
The AFI Latin American Film Fest at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring boasts two Sundance Grand Jury Prize winners: “Sujo” written and directed by Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez of Mexico, and “In the Summers” by Colombian American director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio (Sept. 19 to Oct. 10).
How does Outdoor Movie Night on the Reach Lawn at the Kennedy Center sound?
Grab a blanket and the family for Disney’s “Coco” (Sept. 20).
Perfect for the day before Halloween: “Screen of My Blood” with a performance by Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz and Sergey Ryabtsev at the Lincoln Theatre (Oct. 30).
And for Halloween: Patricia Quinn, the original Magenta, in the flesh at the Lincoln’s screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (Oct. 31).
Music Moves Inside
21
JIM MESSINA OCT 22
GRAHAM NASH OCT 23–26
VIANO QUARTET
CHAMBER MUSIC AT THE BARNS OCT 27
T BONE BURNETT OCT 28 + 29
THIRD REPRISE NOV 1
THE DOO WOP PROJECT NOV 3
JESS WILLIAMSON NOV 7
MARIACHI HERENCIA DE MÉXICO NOV 8
VIRTUOSO WINDS BEETHOVEN, GLIÈRE, POULENC, REINECKE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
CHAMBER MUSIC AT THE BARNS NOV 10
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM TRIO NOV 13
BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA CHRISTMAS SHOW DEC 5
CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES DEC 6
JOHN HOLIDAY, COUNTERTENOR
CHAMBER MUSIC AT THE BARNS JAN 19
NASHVILLE EMERGING ARTISTS NIGHT JAN 31 + FEB 1
many more!
The Sept. 20 Outdoor Movie Night on the Reach Lawn at the Kennedy Center will feature Disney’s “Coco.”
Alessandra Lacorazza’s feature film “In the Summers” will be screened at the AFI Latin American Film Festival.
VISUAL
Pa ris 1874: The Impressionist Moment
National Gallery of Art
Through Jan. 19, 2025
Marking the 150th anniversary of the first of eight exhibitions by the Impressionists, “Paris 1874” comprises some 130 works, many from the Impressionists’ public debut, which opened on April 15, two weeks prior to the 1874 Paris Salon (the subject of a painting by Camille Cabaillot-Lassalle). The only U.S. presentation of “Paris 1874,” the exhibition — co-organized by the National Gallery of Art and the Musée d’Orsay, where it was on view earlier this year — features paintings by Cézanne, Manet, Morisot, Monet — including “Impression, Sunrise,” his 1872 depiction of Le Havre — Pissarro and Renoir, as well as by Eugène Boudin and other lesser-known contemporaries. Works by academic painters, such as Jean-Léon Gérôme, and sculptors, such as Marius-Jean-Antonin Mercié, give visitors a sense of the official style against which the Impressionists rebelled. The show also displays prints by Manet, Félix Bracquemond, Giuseppe de Nittis and Maxime Lalanne and a gilded copper medal, designed by Alphée Dubois, that was awarded to Louis Priou at the Salon.
ARTS
Osgemeos: Endless Story
Hirshhorn Museum
Sept. 29, 2024 – Aug. 3, 2025
“Endless Story” will fill the Hirshhorn’s sweeping third-floor galleries with large-scale paintings on wood and canvas, scores of drawings, monumental sculptures and roomsized installations incorporating light, music and motion. Inspired by embroidery, graffiti, hip hop and sci-fi, these works, approximately 1,000 in number, are the creations of identical Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo (b. 1974), known as Osgemeos (os gêmeos, from Gemini, means “the twins” in Portuguese). The exhibition will introduce
Tritrez, a mystical universe of large-headed, yellow-skinned figures that the artists invented as children. Central place will be given to “The Tritrez Altar” of 2020, a vast rainbowcolored structure housing sculptures of their trademark characters, and “The Moon Room,” constructed in 2022. Another highlight will be a colossal handmade zoetrope, devised in 2014, that animates the twins’ imaginary world in the spirit of precinema. Also on view: photographic and archival documentation of Osgemeos’ murals and graffiti in São Paulo.
Osgemeos. Courtesy Hirshhorn.
“Impression, Sunrise,” 1872. Claude Monet. Courtesy NGA
Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Sept. 20, 2024 – Jan. 12, 2025
Born in Guyana in 1973, Los Angeles-based artist
Suchitra Mattai was raised in Nova Scotia. She later earned a B.A. from Rutgers and master’s degrees in painting and drawing and in South Asian art from the University of Pennsylvania. By juxtaposing her richly colored two- and three-dimensional pieces — paintings, collages, sculptures and textile installations that incorporate beads and found objects — with historical art from Europe and South Asia, “Myth from Matter” initiates a visual conversation between East and West, old and new, history and mythology. Mattai’s work also interrogates binaries such as male and female, art and craft and labor and leisure, questioning whose presence persists throughout history and is monumentalized
VISUAL ARTS
in visual culture. The show interweaves personal narratives, collective mythologies and colonial history, offering a reimagined vision of the past that centers women and people of color, especially those of Caribbean and South Asian descent.
An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama National Museum of Asian Art Sept. 21, 2024 – Jan. 12, 2025
Considered Iran’s national epic, “The Shahnama,” known in English as the “The Book of Kings,” was completed by the Persian poet Firdawsi around 1010. This exhibition focuses on “The Great Mongol Shahnama,” a single copy made three centuries later, around 1330. Likely commissioned by Abu Sa‘id of the Ilkhanid dynasty, a branch of the Mongol Empire that ruled over Iran and West Asia, the manuscript is an example of how the Ilkhanids inserted themselves into Iran’s history. Its illustrations emphasize historical
kings of Iran’s past, including Alexander the Great — known in Persian as Iskandar — and the pre-Islamic Sasanian monarchs, such as Ardashir I, Bahram Gur (Bahram V) and Kasra Anushirvan (Khusraw I Anushirvan), role models to the Ilkhanid rulers. A once-ina-lifetime opportunity to see 25 folios from the now dismantled manuscript, “An Epic of Kings” is also the first exhibition to present paintings from “The Great Mongol Shahnama” alongside contemporaneous works from China, the Mediterranean and the Latin West.
“The Great Mongol Shahnama,” c. 1330. Courtesy NMAA.
VISUAL ARTS
William Gropper: Artist of the People
The Phillips Collection Oct. 17, 2024 – Jan. 5, 2025
The first exhibition dedicated to William Gropper (1897-1977) in Washington, D.C., “Artist of the People” will display more than 30 paintings, drawings and prints, including works from “The Capriccios” of 1953-56, a series of 50 lithographs inspired by Goya’s “Los Caprichos” and the artist’s subpoena by Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s “Red Scare” subcommittee. The son of immigrants from Romania and Ukraine, Gropper grew up in poverty on New York’s Lower East Side (one of his aunts died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which 146 garment workers, mostly immigrant women and girls, perished). After studying on scholarship at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, now Parsons School of Design, he became an artist on the staff of the New York Tribune in 1917, also contributing illustrations to radical publications. Later, his satirical work appeared in mainstream magazines. In the 1930s, Gropper painted murals for the Treasury Relief Art Project and the Works Progress Administration. He maintained his social realist style into his 70s.
Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing
American University Museum Through Dec. 8
The American University Museum is the first U.S. venue for the touring exhibition, “Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing,” featuring more than 100 original artworks by the searingly satiric British illustrator, born in 1936. Renowned for his collaborations with maverick “gonzo” journalist Hunter S. Thompson in the 1970s, the ever-provocative master of ink, acrylic and pastels, now 88, has inspired generations of artists. Highlights include Steadman’s work with filmmaker and author Ceri Levy on “The Gonzovation Trilogy,” depicting extinct and endangered birds and animals, and the “Psychogeography” series he created with journalist Will Self for the Independent newspaper. Also on view in AU’s Katzen Arts Center: “A Sight to Behold: The Corcoran Legacy Collection of Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century American Landscape Paintings”; “Faces of the Republican Party,” a selection of digital collages by Jeff Gates; and exhibitions of work by photographer Connie Imboden and painters Pegan Brooke, Mira Hecht, Joseph Holston and Mark Kelner.
“Justice” from “Capriccios,” 1953-59. William Gropper. Courtesy Phillips Collection.
“Di Dodo,” 2011. Ralph Steadman. Courtesy AU Museum.
Spirit & Strength: Modern Art from Haiti
National Gallery of Art
Sept. 29, 2024 – March 9, 2025
In the mid-1900s, powerful images inspired by Haiti’s daily life, religious traditions and history by artists such as Hector Hyppolite (1894-1948), Rigaud Benoît (1911-1986) and Philomé Obin (1892-1986) became known worldwide. “Spirit & Strength” will be the first chance to see a group of these works, from the collections of Kay and Roderick Heller of Franklin, Tennessee, and Beverly and John Fox Sullivan of Washington, Virginia, recently given to the National Gallery of Art. Most of the featured artists were associated with the Centre d’Art, a school, gallery and cultural institution founded in Port-au-Prince in 1944 by American artist DeWitt Peters (1865-1948). Organized by Kanitra Fletcher, associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art, the exhibition will also display works by artists working prior to the Centre d’Art’s establishment and artists who built upon its legacy, including several — notably Americans Lois Mailou Jones (19051998) and Eldzier Cortor (1916-2015) — who visited Haiti on Guggenheim and Rosenwald Fellowships.
VISUAL ARTS
Also of note …
Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Through Nov. 30, 2025
Presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, “Sightlines” — installed in a gallery overlooking D.C.’s historical Chinatown neighborhood — traces the imprint of Chinese, Korean and Javanese Americans on the District’s physical and cultural terrain.
Rubell Museum DC Sept. 27, 2024 – Fall 2025
Nearly 100 works from the collection of the Rubell Museums, by artists including Robert Colescott (19252009), David Hammons (b. 1943) and Kara Walker (b. 1969), will provide a sweeping look at contemporary American art.
“Houses by the Bay,” c. 1944-45. Hector Hyppolite. Courtesy NGA.
Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay
Opening September 20
National Mall
Don’t miss the first major retrospective of innovative Diné fiber artist DY Begay highlighting 48 of her most remarkable tapestries.
Hear from Begay and fellow fiber artists Velma Kee Craig (Diné) and Helena Hernmarck
Saturday, September 21, 1 p.m. |
ASSISTED LIVING | MEMORY CARE
Each and every detail of Inspīr Embassy Row has been thoughtfully designed to offer residents an unparalleled lifestyle. From immersive experiences and intellectual programming, to nutritious culinary offerings and an entire floor dedicated to wellness, Inspīr creates the perfect landscape for residents to thrive on every level. Not to mention, we’re located just blocks from the nation’s best theatres, restaurants, monuments, and museums.
Your Best Life Begins Here.
Schedule a meeting at our leasing gallery today.
www.InspirSeniorLiving.com
*InspĪr Embassy Row is currently under construction and is not licensed by the D.C. Department of Health. Upon completion of construction, InspĪr Embassy Row will apply to the D.C. Department of Health for a license to operate as an Assisted Living Residence. The anticipated opening for Inspir Embassy Row is January 2025.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Fashion Director and Stylist
Allyson Burkhardt
Director of Photography
Tony Powell
Model
Emily Jo -T-H-E Artist Agency
Model
Bo Montgomery.- T-H-E Artist Agency
Make-up & Hair
Anita Bahramy - T-H-E Artist Agency
Make-up & Hair
Alina Karaman
SUDDENLY SEPTEMBER
Slip Into the Glamour of Gala Season
Bob Mackie Vintage Beaded Gown –Styl.ish Fashion Archive
Giambattista Valli Strapless Burgundy Gown –Let’s Get Dressed!
Oscar de la Renta Ruby & Pearl Earrings –Let’s Get Dressed!
Oscar de la Renta Pearl Drop Earings –Let’s Get Dressed!
LEFT
Jason Wu Hammered Satin Gown –Saks Fifth Ave., Chevy Chase
Dyed Fox Fur –Miller’s Furs
Tourmaline Chandelier Earrings –Let’s Get Dressed!
Oscar de la Renta Crustal Embellished Ring –Let’s Get Dressed!
Stuart Weitzman Rose Gold Sandal –Let’s Get Dressed!
Artwork: Eroica Liberty Hybrid 22” by Chino Amobi RIGHT
L’Agence Champagne Slip Dress - Saks Fifth Ave
Dyed Fox Stole –Miller’s Furs
Kenneth Jay Lane Crystal & Pearl Earrings, Pave Crystal Ring –Let’s Get Dressed!
Christian Dior Glitter Pump –Styl.ish Fashion Archive
Monique Lhuillier Embroidered Lace Gown –
Styl.ish Fashion Archive
Vintage Pearl Jewelry –Let’s Get Dressed!
Oscar de la Renta Floral Chiffon Gown –
Saks Fifth Ave., Chevy Chase
Giuseppi Zanotti Black Patent Platform Sandal –Styl.ish Fashion Archive
Pink Tourmaline Ring –Let’s Get Dressed!
IS YOUR HOME SAFE AND SECURED?
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DC'S HARDWARE REBATE PROGRAMS
CameraConnect DC Program
Register your camera system to help MPD with crime investigations.
Private Security Camera Rebate Program
Get up to $200 for each camera or up to $500 reimbursed in total.
For more information or to receive the discount, contact blockcaptainchair@cagtown.org
Battery Operated Cameras
Ring Battery Doorbell Plus: $120 + $175 for installation and programming (fully reimbursable through DC rebate program).
Ring Battery Doorbell Pro: $230 + $175 for installation and programming ($200 reimbursable per device, up to $500 through DC rebate program).
Wired Camera
Ring Doorbell Pro: $530 including device, indoor chime, installation, and programming ($200 reimbursable per device, up to $500 through DC rebate program).
Automatic or Motion Sensor Lighting
15% discount on labor for porch light day/night sensor installation, flood or motion sensor outdoor light installation/replacement, or other electrical services.
Self-Installation
Blink Video Doorbell: $42 at most retailers (fully reimbursable through DC rebate program).
Porch Light Bulb Replacement (dusk to dawn or motion sensor bulbs - available at most hardware stores).
Fall Balls and Galas
SEPTEMBER 2024
THURSDAY, SEPT. 12
FRIENDS OF ROSE PARK GALA
6:30 p.m., 2613 Dumbarton St. NW
Enjoy an evening of food, wine, a silent auction, remarks and more.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 13
THE SMITHSONIAN: “OUR SHARED FUTURE”
7-7:30 p.m., Kogod Courtyard, 8th St. NW and G St. NW
Leading up to America’s 250th, the Smithsonian is launching its most ambitious capital campaign ever.
MONDAY, SEPT. 16
CAPITAL JEWISH MUSEUM INAUGURAL GALA
6 p.m., La Maison Française at the Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Road NW
The Capitol Jewish Museum’s inaugural gala will honor Sen. Ben Cardin and Mrs. Myrna Cardin.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 20
CITIZENS ASSOCIATION OF GEORGETOWN’S FALL FUNDRAISER
6 p.m., Coolidge House, 3425 Prospect St. NW
The Georgetowner will mark its 70th anniversary at this CAG fundraiser, a tribute to our neighborhood’s vitality.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 21
DIM ALL THE LIGHTS: THE 2024 WOLF TRAP BALL
7 p.m., Filene Center, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia
An evening of dinner and dancing on the Filene Center stage, transformed into a glamorous nightclub and disco.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25
PREVENT CANCER FOUNDATION’S 30TH ANNUAL GALA
Time and location to be announced
More than 1,000 guests will attend this year’s gala, celebrating the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s friendship with the U.K.
GEORGETOWN BID 25TH ANNIVERSARY
6-8 p.m., 1310 Kitchen & Bar, 1310 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Party like it’s 1999 and celebrate 25 years of the Georgetown Business Improvement District.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 28
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON OPENING GALA
4:30 p.m., Kennedy Center Concert Hall, 2700 F St. NW
The National Symphony Orchestra is kicking off its 94th performance season, its eighth under Music Director Gianandrea Noseda.
UNITED HELP UKRAINE 10TH ANNIVERSARY GALA
6:30-10:30 p.m., The Watergate Hotel, 2650 Virginia Ave. NW
Celebrate a decade of unwavering support for Ukraine and pay tribute to those who are transforming lives.
OCTOBER 2024
SATURDAY, OCT. 5
THE 37TH ANNUAL BARK BALL
5:30 p.m., Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW
Area residents and their canine companions will cheer on the people and animals of our community at the Bark Ball, benefiting the Humane Rescue Alliance.
TUESDAY, OCT. 8
THE SPIRIT OF GEORGETOWN 2024
6 p.m., Home of Jessica and Ezra Glass, Georgetown
At this year’s Spirit of Georgetown, Georgetown Ministry Center will honor longtime GMC volunteer Abbe Lowell.
SATURDAY, OCT. 12
THE ANNUAL VIRGINIA FALL RACES
12:30 p.m., Glenwood Park, Middleburg, Virginia
The fall races have been a must-attend event since 1955.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16
ROCK CREEK CONSERVANCY GALA
6 p.m., Rock Creek Park Nature Center, 5200 Glover Road NW
The gala celebrates progress in restoring Rock Creek’s forests, building community around the Carter Barron Amphitheater and nurturing current and future Rock Creek stewards.
THURSDAY, OCT. 17, THROUGH SUNDAY, OCT. 20
2024 MIDDLEBURG FILM FESTIVAL Middleburg, Virginia
Narrative and documentary films — festival favorites, world and regional premieres, foreign films and Oscar contenders — will be screened in intimate theater environments and followed by conversations with filmmakers, actors and other guests.
FRIDAY, OCT. 18
OAK HILL CEMETERY’S 175TH ANNIVERSARY GALA
6-10 p.m., Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St. NW
Celebrate the honored history and bright future of D.C.’s oldest rural-style cemetery.
SATURDAY, OCT. 19
BREAK THE CYCLE: SOME’S ANNUAL GALA
6 p.m., Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Break the Cycle celebrates the successes of So Others Might Eat, the triumphs of its clients and the recipients of its highest honors.
MONDAY, OCT. 21, THROUGH SUNDAY, OCT. 27
THE WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL HORSE SHOW
Prince George’s Equestrian Center, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
The famed show will be held over seven days and nights in the Show Place Arena at Prince George’s Equestrian Center.
FRIDAY, OCT. 25
2024 FAIR CHANCE BUTTERFLY BASH
7 p.m., National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW
The Butterfly Bash supports Fair Chance’s vision of a world where every child succeeds.
SATURDAY, OCT. 26
THE 49TH ANNUAL NATIONAL ITALIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATION GALA
5:30 p.m., Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St. NW
NIAF’s 49th Anniversary Washington, D.C. Gala will celebrate the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
NOVEMBER 2024
SATURDAY, NOV. 2
BLUE HOPE BASH
6:30 p.m., National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW
The Blue Hope Bash benefits patients and caregivers served by the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
SATURDAY, NOV. 2
BREAKTHROUGH T1D MID-ATLANTIC HOPE GALA
6 p.m., MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland
The Breakthrough T1D Hope Gala brings together more than 700 philanthropic community leaders to raise critical funds for type 1 diabetes research.
THURSDAY, NOV. 7
MARCH OF DIMES HEROINES OF WASHINGTON
6 p.m., The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner Heroines of Washington recognizes and honors women in the D.C. metro area for their dedication to community service.
SATURDAY, NOV. 23
TRANSFORMERDC 20TH ANNUAL BENEFIT AUCTION GALA
American University’s Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW
With Diplomatic Chair Ambassador Petra Schneebauer, Embassy of Austria and Honorary Chairs Mera and Don Rubell of The Rubell Museum.
SUNDAY, NOV. 24
WOODLEY HOUSE’S 28TH ANNUAL MOVIE BENEFIT
5:30 p.m., VIP reception at J. Hollinger’s Waterman’s Chophouse, 7 p.m., program and film screening at AFI
The Movie Benefit is the biggest annual event supporting critical housing and services for individuals living with mental illness.
Here is your comprehensive gala guide for Fall 2024.
BY COMPILED BY KATE OCZYPOK
The 2023 Wolf Trap Ball. Photo by Tony Powell. Courtesy Wolf Trap.
Cocktail of the Month
BY JODY KURASH
Whether it’s misspelling the word “potato” in an elementary school spelling bee or claiming to be able to see Russia from her backyard, Republican vice-presidential candidates seem to say the darndest things.
This election cycle is no exception. A 2021 Fox News interview of Republican veep nominee JD Vance criticizing prominent Democrats, including Kamala Harris, as “childless cat ladies” has gone viral.
Instead of lifting up his party, Vance’s insult has turned into a major handicap — and a rallying cry for women across the U.S. In one meow, Vance has managed to alienate a large swath of voters and get himself labeled a misogynist.
Then the claws came out. Women of all ages — single, childless, catless or not — have embraced the cat lady stereotype. First came an outpouring of online posts by celebrities, fervent memes and zealous editorials. Next came the
The Crazy Cat Lady
merchandise, including hats, T-shirts, bumper stickers, flags and mugs. Some manufacturers are donating a portion of the proceeds to abortion-rights organizations. You can support the historic campaign by buying memorabilia from the official Harris-Walz online store.
The next logical incarnation of this trope is a cocktail. Naming cocktails after cultural crazes is nothing new, especially in a wonky city like Washington. Whether it’s an election, a scandal or the recent Olympic Games, there seems to be a cocktail for almost everything. And since these cat ladies, according to Vance, are busy “running the country,” I bet they must be pretty thirsty.
Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill seized the opportunity with its Childless Cat Lady cocktail. A neighborhood restaurant and bar serving up ‘farm American’ cuisine, Beuchert’s describes the tipple on its
Instagram account as “equal parts floral, fun and frisky.” (Just like a powerful voting cat lady!)
Their drink is forged from gin, Crème de violette, St-Germain, Salers aperitif and lemon, then topped with foam and citrus shavings.
Most famous as an ingredient in the classic Aviation cocktail, Crème de violette is a maceration of violets steeped in brandy with added sugars. The other flowery essence in this drink comes from St-Germain liqueur. This elderflower potable, launched in 2007, set the mixology world on fire with its honeysuckle smack and Art Deco bottle.
But what if you prefer to whistle at home with your fur babies close by? Well, there’s a YouTube video for that.
A woman named Catherine, who vlogs under the pseudonym “Crazy Cat Lady” has created the purrfect elixir for you.
Her cocktail is a tropical riff on the Cosmopolitan, which became the signature drink for strong independent women at the turn of the century, thanks to Carrie Bradshaw and her posse on “Sex and the City.”
Catherine’s tipple is simple to make, with easily accessible ingredients. Our feline mixtress appears on the video with a tiara, pink hair and white cat glasses with whiskers attached. Her twangy accent sounds like a character from Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Starting with an ice-filled shaker, she carefully measures two jiggers of spiced rum. Measure carefully so that things don’t get “too crazy,” she purrs with a sarcastic laugh. She follows that up with two jiggers of coconut rum, a splash of lemon-lime soda and two splashes of cranberry juice. All of this is shaken and poured into a martini glass. It’s garnished with a cherry on top.
The coconut rum, she proclaims, “makes you want to hear some music from the islands.” Possibly a nod to Harris’s Jamaican roots.
Perhaps this cat lady Cosmo should make a televised comeback. In the last episode of the SATC sequel, “And Just Like That…,” Carrie once again finds herself boyfriendless, childless and adopting a kitten she named “Shoe.”
• 3 OZ. SPICED RUM
• 3 OZ. COCONUT RUM
• 1 SPLASH LEMON-LIME SODA
• 2 SPLASHES CRANBERRY JUICE INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
Vigorously shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a martini class. Garnish with a cherry on top.
THE CRAZY CAT LADY COCKTAIL
THE LATEST DISH
BY LINDA ROTH
Modan, a modern Japanese restaurant featuring a private omakase counter experience, is slated to open early in the fourth quarter in Tysons at the Heming residential complex at 1788 Chain Bridge Road. Executive chef Micheole “Chico” Dator has an impressive pedigree: executive sushi chef at Nobu D.C., he also worked at Nobu Malibu, Nobu Lanai and Nobu Kuala Lumpur. Philadelphia-based Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group will orchestrate the opening of a.kitchen+bar dc, a wine-centric restaurant with French-inspired cuisine, at the new Hotel AKA Washington Circle in Foggy Bottom. The restaurant offers seating for 165, including a 17-seat bar and an outdoor patio. Back-ofhouse talent provided by High Street: Eli Collins is executive chef and George Madosky is chef de cuisine.
Clyde’s Restaurant Group’s Cordelia Fishbar is slated to open at 550 Morse St. NE in Union Market in the middle of the fourth quarter. Rene Caceres, formerly of Via Sophia, will be executive chef and Sonya Znati, former director of operations for Bar Spero and Reverie, will be GM. Featuring an oyster bar and charcoal cooking, the restaurant will seat 257, including outdoor seating for 72. This is CRG’s 13th concept.
Slipstream café relocates to the newly
Restored Gibson Island Farmhouse Boasts Elegance and Charm
OFFERED AT $3,990,000
renovated Studio Theatre at 1501 14th St. NW, not far from its original location. Operating hours remain the same. Sharing the space with Giggle Water and Herndon’s Juicy Brewing Co., the new location will also transition into an evening cocktail bar.
From the folks who brought you Federalist Pig and Ted’s Bulletin comes Honeymoon Chicken, a fried-chicken-centric restaurant slated to open in the second or third quarter of 2025 at Carlyle Crossing, an apartment community at 2495 Mandeville Lane in Alexandria. The first Honeymoon Chicken is in Petworth at 4201 Georgia Ave. NW. The latest version of Ted’s Bulletin is targeting the first quarter of 2025 to open at Carlyle Crossing, its ninth location.
Meherwan Irani and Chai Pani Restaurant Group of Ashville, North Carolina (which includes Chai Pani and the Spicewalla brand), plan to open a fast-casual Indian restaurant, Botiwalla, in Donohoe’s Upton Place project at 4000 Wisconsin Place NW in Tenleytown.
Linda Roth is the founder and CEO of Linda Roth Associates, a D.C.-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the food service and hospitality industries. Follow her at: @LindaRothPR, #LindaRothPR or lindarothpr.com.
A stunning restored historic 1800s farmhouse on more than an acre on private, secure Gibson Island. This special property includes six bedrooms, five full baths, two half baths, a guest house adjoining the spectacular outdoor porch, magnificent gardens delighting any gardener, a heated swimming pool, inviting eat-in farm kitchen, wonderful sunporch overlooking the backyard, elegant living room with wide plank heart of pine floors, den with exposed stone walls and flagstone floor, and a three bay garage that will accommodate recreational gear and your musthave golf cart for transportation!
Gibson Island is an absolutely beautiful private island in the Chesapeake Bay within an hour driving distance of Washington D.C. offering an extraordinary setting with no Bay Bridge crossing. With 200 plus homes, a 24 hour staffed gate house and its own police force, there is a private country club (membership by
invitation) with fine year-round dining, an award winning Charles Blair Macdonald golf course, tennis, pickle ball, croquet and yachting (power and sail). Cruises are available through the Gibson Island Yacht Squadron. The Club offers summer camp for children and a skeet range. The Island has a full service yacht yard, and is only 20 minutes from the BWI Airport and Amtrak Station. Other amenities include a Service Department offering yard maintenance, landscaping and other services, and a 43-acre spring fed lake for non-motorized recreational enjoyment. Come join the fun! Private tours available by appointment through Sarah Kanne, Gibson Island Real Estate, Inc.
Sarah Kanne
Associate Broker
Gibson Island Real Estate, Inc.
C: 301-351-1319
sarahkanne@gibsonisland.com www.gibsonisland.com
Modan’s Executive chef Micheole “Chico” Dator, who was previously executive sushi chef at Nobu DC.
IN COUNTRY GETAWAYS
Looking for a fall getaway this season? Check out these events in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania that promise autumnal relaxation.
YOGA POWER RETREAT AT NEMACOLIN
September 19-22
Head to Nemacolin Resort in Farmington, PA (just three hours from Georgetown) for a weekend of yoga to uplift the spirit and create memorable, peaceful experiences.
ANNAPOLIS WINE & DINE
September 21, 12-5 p.m.
The Inaugural Wine and Dine Festival in downtown Annapolis will feature different varietals from Banfi Wines, the premier partner for the event.
MOUNT VERNON FALL WINE FESTIVAL & SUNSET TOUR
October 4-6, 6-9 p.m.
Bring a blanket and relax on the East Lawn overlooking the Potomac River while sampling wines from Virginia wineries.
2024 MIDDLEBURG FILM FESTIVAL
October 17-20
The Middleburg Film Festival offers four days of fantastic films in a spectacular setting.
FALL INTO ST. MICHAELS
October 18-20
Enjoy family-friendly events in St. Michaels, Maryland, like a fall cooking demonstration, pet parade, pumpkin painting and more.
MONTPELIER HUNT RACES
November 2, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
The 89th running of the Montpelier Steeplechase.
THOMAS JEFFERSON WINE FESTIVAL
November 9, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest retreat will host at least 15 Virginia wineries, who will be pouring samples of their best vintages. VIP tickets are available for special seating and heated tents will allow for the event to happen rain or shine.
Visit James Madison’s Montpelier for Constitution Day
BY THE GEORGETOWNER
Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 21 and make the trip to Montpelier (a short, just under two-hour drive from Georgetown) for the day. Their Constitution Day celebration, traditionally held on the third Saturday of September, begins with an early morning hike.
The East Woods Hike at Montpelier: Plantation Below the Canopy begins at 8 a.m. with Dr. Matthew Reeves, Montpelier’s Director of Archaeology & Landscape Restoration. Reeves will take hikers on a tour of Montpelier’s woods to learn about the hidden plantation landscape under the tree canopy. There will be discussions about hidden agricultural sites and slave quarters located on site toward the end of James Madison’s life. There will be opportunities to learn more about the enslaved community of the East Woods and their accomplishments under bondage and pursuit of freedom. Note: terrain can be rough in some areas, so comfortable clothing and footwear is recommended, as is water and a snack. The hike begins at Lewis
Hall and you can register for it here.
There will also be children’s activities beginning at 9:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m., as well as archaeology artifacts and information on hand. Montpelier will have an open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, including our fourth president, James Madison himself welcoming guests to his home.
Children and the young at heart will love “Touch a Truck” with the Orange County EMS. Finally, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., an Old Fife and Drum Corps will be performing traditional music.
Also at 11 a.m., there will be an author book talk and signing with Dr. Lindsay Cormack, associate professor of political science at Stevens Institute of Technology. Registration for the author talk and signing is required, and you can do so here.
Cormack will be discussing her book “How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It).” Her book is a great tool for parents, educators, and those interested in encouraging more civic engagement. The 30-minute talk will discuss how to talk about
IN COUNTRY
political issues and the U.S. government with younger generations. Cormack will discuss insights from her book, the current state of civic education in America, and strategies for talking about politics at home. There will be a Q&A session and book signing immediately following the discussion.
Another noteworthy event that requires reservations is the Bill of Rights Walking Tour, which begins at 2 p.m. The one-hour tour explores James Madison’s critical role of “Architect” of the Bill of Rights. The walk is approximately a half mile and registration can
be found here.
Finally, don’t miss the Family Woods Walk, also at 2 p.m., that explores the Landmark and Demonstration Forest. The family walk is free and does not require registration.
Constitution Day admission is $10 per person aged 11 and up, with some events at an additional cost. Montpelier offers memberships as well, which are a great option for returnees who wish to check out other Montpelier staples like their Holiday Open House and exhibitions.
MacMahon (703) 609-1905
MacMahon (540) 454-1930
MacMahon (703) 609-1905
MacMahon (703) 609-1868
James Madison’s Montpelier. Wikipedia photo.
‘When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion’
A TOUR-DE-FORCE LOOK AT THE DOYENNES OF DESIGNER COUTURE.
BY KITTY KELLEY
Given that women are the biggest buyers of books in America, and that the country boasts the largest apparel market in the world ($312.4 billion between 1992 and 2022), a book about women in fashion is bound to be a best-seller for Julie Satow, who ingeniously spotlights the three female moguls who ruled Fifth Avenue fashion in the 20th century.
With style and sass, Satow tells the story of the trio who revolutionized retail at Bonwit Teller, Lord & Taylor, and Henri Bendel. Each of those plate-glass palaces, late and lamented, reigned as cathedrals to the carriage trade. While all three were purchased by men, each blossomed into profit and prestige under women. Satow unspools their stories of success with polish and panache, writing of an era in which department stores were consumer wonderlands and rich emporiums of luxurious goods.
Satow begins “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue” at the height of the Depression, with Hortense Odlum arriving at Bonwit Teller wrapped in fur as she steps from her chauffeured limousine to enter the Art Deco skyscraper now
owned by her husband, Floyd, president of Atlas Corporation. Unbeknownst to Hortense, 41, her husband had fallen in love with the young woman behind the perfume counter; but he decided his wife, who’d never worked but always shopped, could transform Bonwit’s, then bordering on bankruptcy.
“Just take a look and tell me what you think,” said Floyd. “Figure out why women don’t shop there anymore.”
Hortense accepted the challenge. She took a look, made a few suggestions and, thinking the corner office and title of president would only be temporary, began rearranging the boutiques and salons. She had every department painted and redecorated and, most important, started relating to customers as “high class, but not high hat.” The 26-year-old behind the perfume counter ended up marrying Floyd, who financed her career as a pilot. Hortense, meanwhile, became the first female titan on Fifth Avenue, a position she held for six years before abruptly retiring, embittered by the price she’d paid for her professional success. “I worked like a Trojan.
But I never intended to stay,” she remarked. “I’m out now and the whole thing leaves me cold.”
The real Trojan, who thrived on the 24/7 work and pressure of retail business, was Dorothy Shaver of Mena, Arkansas, who devoted her life to the job from 1921 until the day she died in 1959. Shaver became president of Lord & Taylor and, writes Satow, “Fifth Avenue’s First Lady.” By the time of her death, Shaver, who never married and lived with her sister, had rocketed store sales to $100 million a year and was revered throughout society.
Shaver’s death at the age of 66 made the front page of the New York Times, which hailed the “First woman ever elected to head a large retail corporation when she became president of Lord & Taylor.” Such was her standing that the paper’s publisher, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, wrote to Dorothy’s sister: “Terribly distressed to hear of your loss.” Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, former President Herbert Hoover and Vice President Richard Nixon also sent their condolences.
By this time, Geraldine Stutz was reigning over the exclusive boutique of Henri Bendel and dispatching buyers to the side streets of Paris to purchase garments — only from small-scale designers and only in small sizes. Given her phobia about weight, Stutz stocked sizes two, four and six, figuring that anyone larger should shop at Macy’s. Stutz decreed Henri Bendel would be all about style. “I want our own stuff, the way that we want it.” Her mantra: “Fashion says, ‘Me, too,’ while style says ‘Only me.’”
As a connoisseur of style, Stutz hired a uniformed butler to greet Bendel’s clientele, opening doors, supplying umbrellas and hailing cabs for the privileged likes of Gloria Vanderbilt, Cher, Barbra Streisand and Lee Radziwill. In addition to providing European fashion for elite shoppers, Stutz converted
Bendel’s sixth level into “the beauty floor,” with a hair salon, cosmetic counter and Pilates studio for her slim clientele. In addition, she opened a sportswear department, most appropriately called Cachet.
The demise of these luxury stores started at the end of the 20th century, when Bonwit Teller closed and the building at 56th Street and Fifth Avenue was bulldozed by Donald J. Trump, who erected Trump Tower: 58 stories of shining brass and, according to the BBC, “enough pink marble to make Liberace blush.” Draping his doormen in gold braid and dangling epaulets like “The Pirates of Penzance,” Trump ushered in the Gordon Gekko era of “Greed is good.”
Fifth Avenue elegance made its last gasp in 2019, when Henri Bendel folded just weeks before Lord & Taylor, America’s oldest department store, collapsed and emerged from bankruptcy as a website. By then, the sun had set on Satow’s “Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion,” but her recollections of Hortense’s heyday, Dorothy’s legendary run and Geraldine’s Street of Shops make for a wistful look at retail’s most romantic era.
Georgetown resident Kitty Kelley has written several number-one New York Times best-sellers, including “The Family: The Real Story Behind the Bush Dynasty.” Her most recent books include “Capturing Camelot: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the Kennedys” and “Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington.” She serves on the board of BIO (Biographers International Organization) and Washington Independent Review of Books, where this review originally appeared.
Welcome to the new Verstandig Pavilion at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital where you’ll find:
• 31 state-of-the-art operating rooms
• Expanded and modernized new emergency department with 32 private rooms
• Access to the most advanced treatment technologies
• 156 private patient rooms with natural, healing light
GEORGETOWN
$15,995,000
3508 Prospect St. NW, Washington, DC
Eileen McGrath 202-253-2226
Kim Gibson 202-256-3628
PHILLIPS PARK $5,595,000
4410 Meadow Rd NW, Washington, DC
Cailin Monahan 804-874-1847
The NTB Group
GEORGETOWN
$2,895,000 2716 O Street, NW Washington, DC
Liz D’Angio 202-427-7890
The NTB Group
DUPONT CIRCLE $2,349,000 1758 Swann Street, NW Washington, DC
Lee Murphy (202) 277-7477
GEORGETOWN
$7,500,000 1314 28th Street NW, Washington, DC
Jean Hanan 202-494-8157
CLEVELAND PARK $4,695,000 3301 Highland Pl. NW, Washington, DC
Margot Wilson 202-549-2100
GEORGETOWN
$2,675,000 3604 Winfield Ln. NW, Washington, DC
Nancy Itteilag 202-905-7762
Chris Itteilag 301-633-8182
GEORGETOWN $2,150,000 2813 N Street, NW Washington, DC
Nancy Taylore Bubes 202-386-7813 The NTB Group
THE RESERVE
$5,799,000 919 Dominion Reserve Dr., McLean, VA
Piper Yerks 703-963-1363
Penny Yerks 703-760-0744
CLEVELAND PARK $3,995,000 3307 Newark St. NW, Washington, DC
Margot Wilson 202-549-2100
YORKTOWN $2,495,000 2546 N Grananda Street, Arlington, VA
