"That block is becoming another 14th Street strip," said attorney Courts Oulahan, who is representing Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3A and the Georgetown Citizens Association in an old battle aimed at reducing the number of Class C (restaurants) liquor licenses granted in the area. This article was featured in the InsideHook DC newsletter. Lets not forget Scandals which was definitely a college bar and the famous Tramps Discotheque both in the same building at corner of Wisconsin and Prospect! Admittedly, the quiet Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham) is the only real preppy in St. Elmos Fire (described as a sweet-faced, insecure preppy in the script) as Alec Newbury (Judd Nelson) has advanced into more of a mid-1980s yuppie with his slick hair and Gordon Gekko-esque contrast-collar dress shirts. There definitely was a Mr Henrys on Wisconsin avenue in the 80s. This location has been a bar since 1952 when it was first the Shamrock. Your email address will not be published. Happy memories. "I had this girl friend with me I couldn't stand," Smith said, "so I went up to Brian and asked him to get rid of her for me." In 2014 it was forced to move from its M Street location to K Street, where it replaced longstanding bar Chadwicks due to rising rents. Honestly, I thought it was going to be very preppy [before I moved there] and I had my Lily Pulitzer skirts ready, but no one was really preppy any more, says McGovern, who started at the university in 2013. There was a terrific creperie nearby. I especially remember it being packed on Half-Price Hamburger night (I think this was on Tuesdays). Paul Breton, which later became the Metropolitan Community Church of DC. 10 Best Vintage Photos From Washington DC In The 1970s - OnlyInYourState [14], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}385409N 770343W / 38.9024N 77.0619W / 38.9024; -77.0619, "Music returns to The Bayou, one night only", "Let the Good Times Roll Historical Marker", "Value Added: A 'passion project' leads to documentary on the Bayou", "Montgomery filmmakers see the finish line with the Bayou odyssey", "The Bayou Doc is About To Go International | MTITV Video Production DC", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Bayou&oldid=1125111874. ORileys Pub, opened in the late-1970s by two Georgetown alums one who owned an old warehouse, the other who simply had a catchy Irish name. Photograph: Courtesy Blues Alley. Storz, in Kelly green bermuda shorts, planted a noisy smooch on Smith's lips. Eventually, Wilkerson convinced Flack to give pop music a try. Only In D.C. Facebook page for more. The 9:30 club . And this Georgetown dining room was the fanciest, Frenchest of them all. By the 1990s, Georgetown had, like most of America, entered into a grunge period, with alternative music blasting out of the doors at rock clubs like Poseurs. It was kind of like Tuscany in that everyone had to go there at least once.. In the early days, all gentlemen had to wear a coat and necktie. "This is?" A one-square-mile neighborhood of cobble-stone streets and stately, federal-style homes centered around the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, Georgetown nonetheless boasted more than 115 liquor licenses in an approximately 10-block area. For more discriminating tastes, there are establishments like the Pisces Club, F. Scott's, the Georgetown Club, Charlie's Georgetown, Chinoiserie and Blues Alley, which are protected from the masses by understated facades and locations off the well-trodden Wisconsin-and-M pathway. I guess it would be fairer to say she was discovered at the K St. club (the Bayou maybe?). I had many meals and drinks there. THE BEST Georgetown Bars & Clubs (with Photos) - Tripadvisor In Blues Alley and Charlie's, jazz-lovers sip drinks and converse in muted tones. The bar was bought and converted into an upscale Belgium restaurant called The Sovereign. Photographer Michael Horsley documented the era with a fascinating series of 537 photos. I think the gay steakhouse was called Paramount? She noted that by now the 100-plus bars in the neighborhood were starting to rankle the older, upper-crust residents with to their boisterous partying. "Wally, you can punch me in the face five times and I'd still look better than you," said a tall, lanky fellow as he pulled out his wallet. For one night only, resurrecting a Georgetown nightclub called Currently the AMC Theatre, the Bayou was the go-to music scene from 1953 to 1998. This location was first the Carriage House, a dining room frequented by many important social and political figures of the District. By 1980, WaPo was offering a laundry list of the clientele to expect there: Mt. A rich tan (and were not talking about the Q.T. In the early days, all gentlemen had to wear a coat and necktie. 4.5/5 Wonderful! The people that come here are from good families, explained one Chidi-goer at the time, differentiating them from the non-preppy riff-raff. Those were the days.Let me tell you. Reportedly decked in khakis and polished penny loafers, blond hair and blue eyes, he was a Georgetown junior at the time. 22 Historic Restaurants in Washington DC - TripSavvy Mike is impressed by the complexity of todays craft cocktails, if a little mystified by their appeal. Ladin, lingua ladina . But those are off the main drags. At first she considered the suggestion an insult, but over time she began making appearances at local clubs, both as a pop singer and as a piano accompanist for others. Not a fan of Rhino, but its a shame to see rising rents continue to reduce Georgetowns diversity of storefronts. The Georgetown bar culture was filled with much more than loafers, gingham, pleats and shoulder pads, wrote McGovern. I think the infamous Maximilian Rochambeau had a club in that building back in the early Nineties. Enjoy the seasonal outdoor pool and visit the 3 bars/lounges and poolside bar for drinks. While Im sad to see eras end, Georgetown is due for another chapter, said Georgetown restaurant broker Bill Miller at the time. It wasnt all preppies, of course. Champions: This sports bar at the end of the alley next to Benetton entertained drunk college kids for years before it briefly became the upscale Blue Gin. There was high crime, a lot of drugs, prostitution Georgetown was where the going-out scene ended up being simply because the rest of the city wasnt as nice.. 5. The interior, meanwhile, was more inspired by another preppy haven popular with college kids, an underground spot called The Tombs. Whats a Hoya with a fake ID to do these days? If Washingtonians mostly only drank at restaurants, hotels, social clubs and high-society parties previous to 1980, that was about to change, and quickly. Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgteown's Fabled Preppy Bars In the Washington Post, January 7, 1982, there is an account of the unfathomably named Richard Hamilton Herrud Houghton III.. It was closed in 2015 due to high rent and is now Club Monaco, a clothing store. Required fields are marked *. By the 1990s, Georgetown had, like most of America, entered into a grunge period, with alternative music blasting out of the doors at rock clubs like Poseurs. Tomorrow evening, April 17, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Georgetown Public Library at 3260 R St. NW, one of Georgetowns coolest times will be recalled with Last Call; The Bayou, Cellar Door and Georgetown Nightlife., The D.C. Public Librarys Special Collections Archivist Ray Barker will lead a panel discussion of thehistories, stories and insights around Georgetownsgreat venue spaces of the 1960s and 1970s. In the '70s, everything went downtown." Toward the end of its run, the Quonset also featured a downstairs lounge for acts too edgy for the main stage. In 1985, The Third Edition exterior acted as the stand-in for the titular St. Elmos Fire bar in the Joel Schumacher film about recent Georgetown graduates. Loved American Cafe. These 13 Photos Of Ohio In The 1970s Are Mesmerizing Georgetown Billiards: GM loved this place. Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetown's Fabled Preppy Bars - Yahoo! The best was very comfortable. If by the 1980s New York was going new wave and hip-hop, club kids and cokeheads, in Washington, DC, a melting pot of fledgling lawyers, bankers and politicos still enjoyed dressing up in boat shoes, blue blazers and Brooks Brothers button-downs to hit the town. Just think back a few years ago and list the rowdy bars that almost exclusively attracted college-aged (or very recently graduated) patrons: Thats just from the last couple years. Meanwhile, the bars upstairs, outdoor patio was a tiki bar complete with kitschy totems. Upstairs was a deli/market called Il Pane (thats Italian for bread). The owner sold it to a corporation and then it began to slide. Open in Google Maps. Friendships often begin in Georgetown bars. However, Poseurs loyal followers hosted a 30-year reunion, so check out their event on Facebook Event. In the Washington Post, January 7, 1982, there is an account of the unfathomably named Richard Hamilton Herrud Houghton III. A note to Jacques: Before Lucianos on the second floor was Blimpies, the original foot long sandwich shop (theres still one up in New Jersey). It closed in 2011. "Space is the Place" was the soundtrack to radio spots for d.c. space. ", But Bruce Norris, cartoonist for The Georgetowner newspaper and a Nathan's regular, goes about finding a companion creatively. Georgetown Grill | The Georgetown Grill, from 1948 to 1977 - Facebook Quickly, Williams and McDonalds bashes, based on a Myrtle Beach frat-boy aesthetic they had grown up on in the South, were a sensation, packed with men in blazers and women, according to WaPo, who pronounced daddy as a three-syllable word. It would become gridlocked with cars as far as the eye can see, according to the New York Times, each and every Saturday night. Theres a lot of booze in the book. Thursdays was E.J. Passions can run high in the restaurant biz. Georgetown Today, July 1970 The overwhelming majority of the faculty believed that we, right on the doorstep of the national government, just could not conduct business as usual. Donal was a protege of Roberta Flacks. In 2014, The Third Edition became El Centro, an upscale Mexican restaurant. An American Bar, according to its marquees subtitle, it opened in 1963 in a former motorcycle hangout as the first full-sized bar in the District since Prohibition. The clothing store Wet Seal opened here sometime around 2003. [7], The Bayou was known for hosting benefits, including one for Toni Wilson, a singer who would frequent the club with her family. [9], Though The Bayou generally attracted an older crowd, the club also featured a diverse following including college students from Georgetown University, men and women from the many military installations in the DC area and The Pentagon. He looks back on his career in a new self-published memoir: Meet Me at the Bar, Im Hungry (Dog Ear Publishing; $16.95 paperback, $26.95 hardcover). Your email address will not be published. It wasnt all preppies, of course. In 1970, the former boarding house stand-around bar, Old Ebbitt Grill, stood one city block away from the White House. By 1982, preppy partying in our nations capital was reaching a fever pitch, with limousines crawling down M Street and bars packed eight-deep as people queued up for drinks. There were family restaurants, jazz clubs, punk bars and average joe-type dives, many frequented by Marines from the nearby barracks. Then Hugh tossed the meat back onto the plates and said it was probably plenty tender now. Spent a lot of time at the tiki bar at Third Edition. For the two spines of Georgetown-M and Wisconsin-the era of college bars is now closed. The idea was you needed to sell food at the bar, as well as drinks, because it took up so much real estate, Mike says. [citation needed], The Bayou was a stop on the national tours of musical groups and solo artists. The Cellar Door was a 163-seat music club located at 34th & M Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. from 1964 through January 7, 1982. This week for Not So Long Ago, GM stops by Wisconsin Ave. just above M St. where the Vinyard Vines and Bebe shops now sit. Georgetown Bars Now and Then - The Fourth Edition - The Hoya I thought Georgetown was a pioneering neighborhood in that regard. . And it was popular with college kids primarily because you didnt even need a fake ID to get in; it was 18 and over. While it may have "grill" in the name, diners won't find much more than Utz potato chips to go with the beer and rail drinks. "I'm getting disillusioned with gay life," said the 39-year-old man. We wear our boxer shorts and some say Oh, my God, who are these guys?. Mike tells tales on himself, like the time he saw a customer abusing the dish he most loved to make: a veal chop stuffed with prosciutto and Fontina cheese. But on May 19, the Birchmere will host a reunion of people. Mike whipped the plate of half-eaten chop from the table. While Im sad to see eras end, Georgetown is due for another chapter, said Georgetown restaurant broker Bill Miller at the time. Hotel ILUNION Aqua 4. The club, which was a regular stop on East Coast tours by UK bands from the late 1970s on, featured artists including U2 (their second show in the United States), Kiss, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers (performing twice in 1988 which would be their final DC shows with founding members Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons), The Only Ones, Squeeze, Peter Tosh, Basia (1988, her first show in the United States), The Police, Phish, Leftover Salmon, Dave Matthews Band, Blue yster Cult, Lindsey Buckingham, The New Orleans Radiators, Hootie & the Blowfish, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, the Tom-Tom Club, Acoustic Junction, Steeleye Span, From Good Homes, Foreigner, The Kinks, Todd Rundgren (backed by Utopia on this stop of his 1978 Back to the Bars tour), Yellow Magic Orchestra and other artists that influenced the evolution of rock as well as rhythm and blues from the 1960s through the 1990s. She also began taking on voice students of her own. Hes not sure why. There are two worlds in Georgetown. The Rainbow History Project: PLACES & SPACES -- clubs, bars - YUMPU Check out the website Booze to Bougie to learn more: Photos/gifs:trophyhomes.com, images.google.com, boozetobougie.wordpress.com. ", The need for human contact draws many to bars in Georgetown. This bar (known primarily as a gay bar) was famous for being the place where Roberta Flack launched her career. The entire team was very kind. Unfortunately, in 1982 it stopped Staying Alive and closed its doors. Fourteen years in the making, "The Bayou" is a 90-minute documentary about the legendary Georgetown nightclub, which closed in 1998. Beer was king, specifically bottled beer. I remember waking by the side steps of The Cellar Door and John Denver was just sitting there, strumming his guitar, enjoying some sun.