Georgetown: a premier area in multiple ways
The center of Georgetown is the top shopping and nightlife destination in the greater Washington D.C. region. It is filled with bars, restaurants, cafes and shops of various types. Georgetown is also less than 10 minutes from three other neighborhoods that are know for plenty of food, bars and music: Adams Morgan, Rosslyn and Dupont Circle.
FOOD: You can find almost any type of food in Georgetown from the most expensive dining to fast food to lots of choices in between. In the last four years, 35 new fast-casual or quick service eateries have opened in Georgetown, and 26 new full-service restaurants, and there are lots of pre-existing eateries before those.
SHOPPING: Georgetown is a shopping mecca with a wide variety of places. They range from stylish fashion boutiques to bookstores to thrift shops to major chains including a huge 31,000 square-foot 3-story Nike concept store. It has a display of Georgetown basketball history that includes the jerseys of Ewing and many other Hoyas, a hug historicalcollection of past Georgetown Air Jordans and the footprints of past players including Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert. Its floors are made of reclaimed wood from local basketball courts, and the walls are made of wooden bleachers from former gymnasiums. There is also a huge outdoor flea market.
MUSIC: The most famous Georgetown music venue is Blues Alley, the oldest, continuously-operated jazz supper club in the U.S. It is both a locally recognized landmark and an international jazz destination. It has featured every major jazz artist including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett and Wynton Marsalis.
PARKS: Georgetown has large and small parks and is close to many others. Dumbarton Oaks Gardens has 10-acres of trees, including Washington’s famed cherry blossoms plus a variety of flowers and ornamental garden fixtures. The United Nations charter was developed there in 1944. Georgetown is the origination point for the historic C&O Canal, a National Park which goes 184.5 miles into Maryland. It is an urban oasis, and a popular place for running and cycling.
ARCHITECTURE: Georgetown is renowned for beautiful architecture including federalist homes, historic brick and frame row houses, cobblestone streets, and grand estates dating back as early as the mid-1700s. The Georgetown area stands out for the high percentage of historic residences it has: 67.9% of the homes were built earlier than 1939. That’s higher than 97.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
CULTURE: 23.5% of residents were born in other countries. Of the foreign-born population, 42% were born in Europe, 30% in Latin America, Caribbean or Canada, 21% in Asia, 4% in Africa and 3% in Oceania. The 8 most common countries of birth are the U.K., Korea, Colombia, Romania, Brazil, France, Germany and China.
HISTORY: The city of Georgetown was formed 40 years before DC was, and is loaded with history. There is a large amount of African-American history. Prior to the Civil War, Georgetown was home to many free blacks and was an active stop on the Underground Railroad to free slaves. Some fought with the Union in the war. After the war, large numbers of former slaves moved to and lived in Georgetown and made up about 40% of the population. Sojourner Truth came to the area and fought discrimination.
Recently a school alum created the Georgetown African American Historical Landmark Project, whichplans to create a comprehensive Georgetown African American walking tour with 80 locations. In the meantime, several other African-American walking tours exist including self-guided tours like this.
The creation of the college was funded in part with money from slave plantations in Maryland owned by Jesuits, who sold all their slaves about 22 years before the Civil War. After the Civil War, a former slave named Patrick Healy was hired by Georgetown as a professor and later became president, making him the first African-American to be president of a predominantly white college. Healy is known as “Georgetown’s Second Founder” because he transformed it from a small local college into a major national university.
In more recent history, Georgetown is where the charter of the United Nations was developed. It was also home to many of the movers and shakers of the Cold War era including president John F. Kennedy, Henry Kissinger and the publishers of the Washington Post. Many of the scenes in the movie “The Post” are in Georgetown homes. Whole books have been written about the centrality of Georgetown to American policy during the Cold War including this. Kissinger said: “The hand that mixes the Georgetown martini is time and again the hand that guides the destiny of the Western world.” You can find a Kennedy walking tour here.
INTELLIGENCE: 65.4% of people in Georgetown have earned an advanced degree such as such as a Masters, law degree, medical degree, or a Ph.D. That is a higher rate of adults with an advanced degree than 100.0% of the neighborhoods in America. In the average neighborhood in America, just 8.4% of adults have completed a post-graduate degree.
POWER: The Georgetown neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America. 85.8% of the employed people there make a living as an executive, a manager, or other professional. 16% of them work in the U.S. government.
REASONABLE TRAFFIC: For such a popular neighborhood, traffic in Georgetown is reasonable because 24% of residents walk to work, 10% ride bikes to work and nearly 14% work from home. That puts Georgetown in the highest 3% in the nation in all three categories. Another 12% take the bus to work.
Unless otherwise noted, the information above comes from NeighborhoodScout.com and can be seen here.
Washington D.C.: A Booming Top American City
OTHER COLLEGES:
MUSIC: large arenas, college venues, etc.
FAMOUS TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES:
NO TALL BUILDINGS:
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:
MUSEUMS:
NEARBY COUNTRYSIDE:
DIVERSITY: Washington is about 48% black, 36% white, 10% hispanic, 4% Asian and 2% mixed. The Georgetown neighborhood of 14,497 people is less diverse with about 75% white, 8% hispanic, 6% black, 8% Asian and 3% mixed.