Historic neighborhood and a commercial and entertainment district located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River

How to Get There

Head southeast on Scott Cir NW toward Rhode Island Ave NW. Exit the traffic circle onto Rhode Island Ave NW. Slight right onto M St NW. Turn right to stay on M St NW. Turn left onto 31st St NW. Turn right onto Blues Alley.

Overview

Georgetown is a historic neighborhood and a commercial and entertainment district located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 in the Province of Maryland, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years. Georgetown remained a separate municipality until 1871 when the United States Congress created a new consolidated government for the whole District of Columbia.

The primary commercial corridors of Georgetown are the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, which contain high-end shops, bars, restaurants, and the Georgetown Park enclosed shopping mall. The Washington Harbour waterfront restaurants are located at K Street, between 30th and 31st Streets.

Georgetown is home to the main campus of Georgetown University and numerous other landmarks, such as the Volta Bureau and the Old Stone House, the oldest house in Washington. The embassies of Cameroon, France, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine and Venezuela are located in Georgetown.

In 1967, the Georgetown Historic District was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Georgetown's landmark waterfront district was further revitalized in 2003 and includes hotels such as a Ritz-Carlton and a Four Seasons.

Georgetown University

The main campus of Georgetown University is located on the western edge of the Georgetown neighborhood. Father John Carroll founded Georgetown University as a Jesuit private university in 1789, though its roots extend back to 1634. Although the school struggled financially in its early years, Georgetown expanded into a branched university after the American Civil War under the leadership of university president Patrick Francis Healy. As of 2007, the university has 6,853 undergraduate students and 4,490 graduate students on the main campus.

Georgetown is also home to a variety of other historic landmarks, including:

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

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0