Posts by Topher Mathews — Contributor
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Now and not so long ago: M and Potomac
Here is the 3200 block of M Street, NW today and in 1993. Keep reading…
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84-year-old zoning fight foreshadows those that follow
Digging through the Post archives to research an article on the Fillmore School, I came across a fascinating article from 1927. It described a zoning fight over the block facing the Fillmore School, on the eastern edge of Burleith. According to the article, J.R. Hall owned the buildings on the west side of 35th Street between S and T. This block was zoned for residential use, but… Keep reading…
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Now and not so long ago: Prospect and Wisconsin
Today, the southwest corner of Prospect Street and Wisconsin Avenue houses a Restoration Hardware. In 1993, it was a Roy Rogers. Keep reading…
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Georgetown makes a big shift towards transit
A while ago, I wrote about the car situation in Georgetown and argued that a small amount of residents were having an outsized impact on the supply of cars in the neighborhood. In writing this article, I relied on the census data from 2000. Now that the American Community Survey five-year estimates I can see whether the 200 stats are still holding up. As many readers know, ACS… Keep reading…
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Georgetown Post Office shows need for performance parking
Last week at the ANCE2E meeting, representatives of Eastbanc presented plans for the construction of a new office building behind the historic Georgetown Post Office. Unfortunately, the discussion on parking for the building focused on how to get more parking. What was not discussed was how this project is a perfect example for why we need to bring performance parking to Georgetown. The… Keep reading…
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Civil debate shows common ground on the zoning rewrite
Last night, the Citizens Association of Georgetown hosted a debate between the Office of Planning’s Travis Parker and the Committee of 100’s Nancy MacWood over the proposed zoning code rewrite. While I anticipated a fight between two rival ideologies, what actually took place was a very respectful, high-minded, and detailed discussion. Travis Parker explained… Keep reading…
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The story behind Georgetown’s street grid
If there is one thing that people love the most about Georgetown, it’s the small blocks filled with 18th and 19th century homes. But how exactly did it come to be that way? Much of the land that would eventually become Georgetown was originally granted to a Scotsman named Ninian Beall in 1703. Beall named this 705 acre plot of land the Rock of Dumbarton in a reference to his native… Keep reading…
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Raise residential parking fees on second and third cars first
Last Thursday, the Washington Post reported that as part of his final effort to close the city’s budget gap, Adrian Fenty is considering doubling the fee for residential parking passes. This is not a bad idea, but a better one would be to raise RPP fees for the 2nd and 3rd car. We charge a laughably small fee for street parking: $15 a year. Only in the world of cars is it considered… Keep reading…
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Georgetown’s Wisconsin Avenue needs an overhaul
Does anyone actually like Wisconsin Avenue? Whether you’re walking on it, biking on it, driving on it, it’s almost guaranteed to be an unpleasant experience. But it doesn’t have to be that way, particularly for pedestrians. Some simple changes to the way Wisconsin Ave. is shaped could dramatically improve the pedestrian experience, without significant… Keep reading…
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DC primaries should be scrapped
Come the night of September 14th, DC’s primary election day, the identity of the city’s next mayor will be known. Barring some last minute write-in campaign, most campaigning will slow to a trickle and the victor will engage in a two month victory lap till November. This is true because of the District’s overwhelming Democratic population. Once the party… Keep reading…