georgetown bars 1970s

", Not everyone in Mr. Henry's was as happy as the wide-eyed North Carolina visitor, though. The loss of a significant number of Georgetown's bars and late-night options has run contrary to the neighborhood's population growth. Website by Red Clay Creative. By 1980, WaPo was offering a laundry list of the clientele to expect there: Mt. The Bayou was a music venue and nightclub located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.[1][2] The club occupied an old building at 3135 K Street, NW, in Georgetown, under the Whitehurst Freeway for forty-six years. But on May 19, the Birchmere will host a reunion of people. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. This became the preppy list-restricted George-more popular with a slightly older 20-something crowd of transplant Southerners-which itself recently became Chinese Disco. By the 21st century, Georgetown bar culture was dying as students began going out in the Adams Morgan neighborhood instead. Before the dawn reclaims the streets, there are myriad human sights and sounds, often in stark contrast. . A 'hip' bar scene in Towson during the 1970s. Death Of a Disco - The Washington Post He snatched the offending pieces of beef off the plates and slapped them on the bar top, Mike writes. But I'm not interested in going to discos and taking drugs. 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. Our room was spacious, clean and quiet. I wonder if Rocky Horror Picture Show is still playing at that little theater across from Henrys? The other big draw was the $1 hamburger night with Gregorio the bar-back flipping the nastiest hamburgers allowed for human consumption. While Maryland raised its drinking age to 21 in 1982 and Virginia did the same in 1985, the District of Columbia held out, wrote Hunter Main for The Hoya Georgetown Universitys student newspaper in trying to explain the era. Those were the days.Let me tell you. It's what they call a "listening room," with little signs on the tables firmly requesting that customers not chitchat during performances. In the early fall of 1983, J. Pauls opened to much fanfare, a two-level bar uniquely built for preppies. 7 Jazz Clubs in D.C. for Live Jazz Music - Time Out Washington DC 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. He got a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown and a law degree from Catholic University. The Boy-Whore World. If Washingtonians mostly only drank at restaurants, hotels, social clubs and high-society parties previous to 1980, that was about to change, and quickly. Beer was king, specifically bottled beer. From 1977 to 1991, the building at 7th and E Streets NW that currently houses a Starbucks was home to one of the area's. The current location, near the White House, has been its home since 1983. Brad, you might be right, but what I read is that Flack started at the Georgetown Mr. Henrys and then the club owner, Henry Yaffe, recognized her talent and then built a room for her at his Capitol Hill location. It would become gridlocked with cars as far as the eye can see, according to the New York Times, each and every Saturday night. 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. Former Music Venues of Washington: d.c. space | DCist Not exclusively gay but ahead of its time? Although many Georgetown merchants say this is the worst summer for business they have seen in years, one bartender in a popular nightclub said it can gross $10,000 on a Saturday night. Drinks were different back then. Eastern Kentucky boys and men, circa 1964. [4] The sound system mixing console was located on the second floor balcony, overlooking the stage. When he wasnt pounding keg beer on the Maryland shore, the future Supreme Court Justice could be found pounding [brew]skis at underage bars and house parties, according to his handwritten notations. There was one at Tenly Circle and the famous Mr. Henrys of Roberta Flack fame is at 601 Pennsylvania Ave SE on Capitol Hill. There were family restaurants, jazz clubs, punk bars and average joe-type dives, many frequented by Marines from the nearby barracks. Co-proprietor Hugh Kelly was relaxing after the kitchen had closed for the night only to be asked if he could cook up a pair of steaks for some late travelers. Copyright 2023 InsideHook. In 1970, All Souls was the site of the Black Panthers' Peoples Revolutionary Constitutional Convention, an event staged with the strong support of DC's Gay Liberation Front. Great memories. 1) Washington DC in the 1970s was a riveting time. There was another room in back down a hallway,which had a bar and piano. 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. For one night only, resurrecting a Georgetown nightclub called Mr. Henrys Georgetown was owned by Avery Morrison and Larry Samuel. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. If the Ivy League look had been around since the early 20th century, with a true scene emerging by mid-century, it would be mainstreamed into preppy culture by the start of the 1980s. Not just Georgetown students, those spots were big draws for GW students in the 90s and 2000s (and before, too.) 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. 3125 Mount Pleasant St NW, Washington, D.C. 20010. They have a gay following and the original is near Dupont Circle. And then Bistro Francais on M, where everyone would show up at 3am and stay till dawn. It was the spot to be on Sunday nights. 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. Its free. Likewise, if in the 1970s, Georgetown was mostly known for its thrift stores (such as Commander Salamander), record shops and even a disco bar called Tramps, that too was in flux. The American Caf was next door down the street. Have you wondered where these bars went? The Bayou backed up to another famed D.C. music institution, Blues Alley, located down the alley behind the Bayou. "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." No one was coming to his restaurant any way, so Chin figured he had nothing to lose. He's the author of a new memoir, "Meet Me at the Bar, I'm Hungry." Then again, no one in Georgetown is these days either. At least one valid email address is required. Meanwhile, the bars upstairs, outdoor patio was a tiki bar complete with kitschy totems. In 1970, the Old Ebbitt Grill was struggling financially and was bought by the owners of Clyde's of Georgetown. The actual menu of the Bar Poliesportiu De Monserrat. There was definitely a Mr. Henrys at 1225. The Bayou was strictly a rock and blues venue, and it was UNDER K st. on Water St. down by the river. At least Quick Pita lives on!! Been to them all, Lets not forget The Cellar Door, The Bayou, The M club, oh my I know theres a few I left out. They say customers park illegally, drink beer, urinate on sidewalks and gardens, and vandalize property before driving away intoxicated. Likewise, if in the 1970s, Georgetown was mostly known for its thrift stores (such as Commander Salamander), record shops and even a disco bar called Tramps, that too was in flux. [10], The Bayou was the subject of a documentary produced by Metro Teleproductions, Inc. Maryland Public Television aired the program on February 25, 2013. The food was very good (my wife had a Shrimp Basket, I had a chicken+cheese sandwich basket; the shrimp was very good. The Death Knell of Georgetown College Bars, ANC Signals End to Moratorium But Delays Decision | The Georgetown Metropolitan, The Georgetown Metropolitan Forgets its Birthday Again | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Ten Years: The Recent Past | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Mayor Proposes End to Tavern License Cap in Georgetown | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Georgetown Looks Set to Double Tavern License Cap, Will it Matter? The article Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetowns Fabled Preppy Bars by Aaron Goldfarb was originally published on InsideHook. She was discovered there by Henry Yaffe, who brought her to his trendy new Georgetown club Mr. Henrys. Mr. Henrys was rollicking, but it was Mr. Henrys on Capitol Hill, Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., where Roberta Flack performed and from which she became a hit. While Maryland raised its drinking age to 21 in 1982 and Virginia did the same in 1985, the District of Columbia held out, wrote Hunter Main for The Hoya Georgetown Universitys student newspaper in trying to explain the era. (139 reviews) Can't wait to go back. Paul Breton, which later became the Metropolitan Community Church of DC. The spacious bar offered martinis and Sinatra music, while a preppy look acted as the cover charge. Occasionally on Wednesdays and always on Saturdays, the premier preppy spot was The Third Edition, or Thirds, a casual, wood-paneled restaurant opened in 1969 that in the evenings would become a nightclub full of Georgetown and George Washington students. 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. Pingback: Neighborhood News Roundup: Your Receipt, Please Edition - City Desk. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ae994b54ef062d4461bc2a54018d3062" );document.getElementById("gab125c3ec").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Opened 1939 as Don Dickerman's Pirate's Den. All rights reserved. Just ten years ago, such an outcome would seem impossible, but after a few years of relentless closures, the inevitable has come about. Mike, 63, is semi-retired now. The 1970s were a memorable time no matter where you livedbut here in Ohio it was extra groovy. 12. Log In. Brett Kavanaughs infamous hand-scrawled calendar even detailed his goings-on during that crazy summer, when he was a year away from graduating from Georgetown Prep in nearby Bethesda. NO SKIN NO WIN!!! Prices and visitors' opinions on dishes. The bar was bought and converted into an upscale Belgium restaurant called The Sovereign. "We're probably the preppiest people in there and we really bum people out," he said, leaning against the wall outside Winston's and looking oh-so-preppy in his pink-and-green plaid bow tie and pink sweater. Performers included Count Basie and Woody Herman. I think the gay steakhouse was called Paramount? Half of Mikes book is recipes, scaled down for household use, and half is behind-the-scenes reminiscences. . Nightlife. (Seven-year plan, he says of his stop-and-start undergraduate career.). ", "Ma'am," said the Winston's manager, gazing on the exhibition with horror, "I hope you don't think they reflect my clientele.". Peak hours are 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., during which period the D.C. Department of Transportation estimates about 10,000 cars and 6,000 pedestrians travel through the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street. Georgetown was getting overrun by high-end national retailers, movie theater chains, luxury hotels and cupcake shops, though a few bars had managed to hang on into this century. There are out-of-town families trying to decide where to eat: "But I don't want steak" went the refrain recently outside Dino's Steakhouse. He said he comes to Mr. Henry's mainly for conversation. In the early days, all gentlemen had to wear a coat and necktie. On M Street, in the recently opened disco called The Library, patrons from Potomac and other affluent suburbs gyrate under strobe lights and ignore the books lining the walls. English . Restaurants - from when I was growing up - Pinterest There was a bar and a backroom for small venues. Her date swallowed hard on his fried fish. She directed church choirs and began taking voice lessons, concentrating primarily on opera, with Frederick Wilkie Wilkerson. 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. I loved the Bayou (great bands, great dancing), and the club behind the Biography theater (a psychedelic scene) now a CVS. I was a waiter at tended bar at Winstons in 78-80 glory days. The people that come here are from good families, explained one Chidi-goer at the time, differentiating them from the non-preppy riff-raff. Eventually, Wilkerson convinced Flack to give pop music a try. Pingback: From the Comments | The Georgetown Metropolitan. For the two spines of Georgetown-M and Wisconsin-the era of college bars is now closed. One of D.C.'s ultimate dive bars, The Raven has been tucked away in Mount Pleasant since 1935. Where else can you watch drama, comedy, tragedy and farce for the price of a drink? They chat, window-shop, kiss under the Whitehurst Freeway, throw change to street musicians, carry vendors' red roses, sit on cars and play the radio (sun roofs and hatchbacks open) as if settling down for a day at the beach. Blues Alley. Costner yelled to a group of giggling girls, as he examined a fake I.D. It was a refuge for long-haired psychedelic groups as well as oddballs like Sun Country, a local garage act led by a female drummer. I bartended, waitered and managed the place from 1975-1980. "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. The Georgetown bar culture was filled with much more than loafers, gingham, pleats and shoulder pads, wrote McGovern. Some places, I fit right in. But it was Clydes that the Official Preppy Handbook would list as their definitive prep bar for the DC area. However, if it was dead all week, on the weekends it would become The Chinese Disco, or Chidi, a packed spot where he would dance the shag to beach music and flirt with local coeds it was then the epicenter of Washington DCs preppy playground. 4 out of 5. As for Richard Hamilton Herrud Houghton III, that original WaPo article is literally the only time his full formal name would ever be mentioned in the annals of American journalism. In Blues Alley and Charlie's, jazz-lovers sip drinks and converse in muted tones. The club opened in September 1953 on the site of a former Dixieland nightclub called The Pirates Den which featured Dixieland jazz until the early 1960s when the format changed to rock and roll. Free Cancellation. There were also the more restrained, upscale clubs like Pisces Club, Charlies Georgetown and F. Scotts for the preppies who had aged out of their old college favorites. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Likewise, if in the 1970s, Georgetown was mostly known for its thrift stores (such as Commander Salamander), record shops and even a disco bar called Tramps, that too was in flux. 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. The. $66. "He totally grossed her out," said Smith, with relish. It then became a French bistro and then Five Guys and now &Pizza. It was the Duke Zeibert's of Dance, the Sans Souci of Sweat. Garretts: GM spent many hours at this bar in his early 20s. The action stops only after 2 a.m., when serving liquor is forbidden, and the streets slowly empty as people try to remember where they parked. Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetown's Fabled Preppy Bars - Yahoo! Where: Find: Home / Spain / Montserrat, Valencian Community / Bar Poliesportiu De Monserrat; Would eat some nearly every lunch. Not sure how Scott (the manager) kept a lid on that zoo. Fourteen years in the making, "The Bayou" is a 90-minute documentary about the legendary Georgetown nightclub, which closed in 1998. It closed in 2011. Meanwhile, the bars upstairs, outdoor patio was a tiki bar complete with kitschy totems. Ladin, lingua ladina . 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. And it was popular with college kids primarily because you didnt even need a fake ID to get in; it was 18 and over. 10. Flickr/Hunter Desportes 2) In the early 1970s, the country embroiled in the Vietnam War. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! I had many meals and drinks there. Panelists include: Pingback: Ten Years: The Recent Past | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Pingback: The Sovereign 17 Cork by Northwest, Pingback: Mayor Proposes End to Tavern License Cap in Georgetown | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Pingback: Georgetown Looks Set to Double Tavern License Cap, Will it Matter? This establishment was a left over remanent of the 1970s disco scene. Chidi had been opened as this youthful preppy scene was just beginning to emerge, in 1976. However, the Federal-style townhouse playing host to all those hormones was built in the mid-1800s. "I'm getting disillusioned with gay life," said the 39-year-old man. 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. Yes, a locals place had a great time. In 2014, The Third Edition became El Centro, an upscale Mexican restaurant. More than 100 businesses in the area serve liquor. That would be the Class of 1972 at Georgetown University, although, in the end, Mike wouldnt graduate with it. These Are the 50 Most Influential DC Restaurants of the Last Century So if finals haveyou feeling down, take a walk with 4E down memory lane and peer into the past with our Georgetown Bars Now and Then. But to the chronic dismay of some Georgetown residents, the streets and a circuit of popular nightclubs are a commercial everyman's land. "We wear our boxer shorts and some say 'Oh, my God, who are these guys?' Popular Mobile Games You Must Play In 2023, Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetowns Fabled Preppy Bars. October 7, 1980. Jammed packed, upstairs and down. But he didnt fall off the face of the earth. Where: Find: Home / Spain / Montserrat, Valencian Community / Bar Poliesportiu De Monserrat / Bar Poliesportiu De Monserrat menu; Bottles placed upside down into funnels feeding long tubing led to the downstairs bars. The site you are referring to was The American Cafe in the 80s and may have been an Annies Steakhouse before. 'The Bayou' Documents Legendary Georgetown Nightclub 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. 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. From 2000 to 2012, the population of 20-to-24-year-olds in Georgetown rose by nearly 40 percent, largely because of an increase in student enrollment at the university. J. Pauls would close a few months after that, marking the end of an era, according to Eater. 22 Historic Restaurants in Washington DC - TripSavvy The interior, meanwhile, was more inspired by another preppy haven popular with college kids, an underground spot called The Tombs. However, if it was dead all week, on the weekends it would become The Chinese Disco, or Chidi, a packed spot where he would dance the shag to beach music and flirt with local coeds it was then the epicenter of Washington DCs preppy playground. The 15 Best Bars in Georgetown, Washington D.C. - TripSavvy 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. The owner sold it to a corporation and then it began to slide. I once met John Waters and Divine there. While Chinese Disco had long since moved locations to Prospect Street NW, even it would close in 2018. Also loved the roof deck and, Avril, who became a fast friend with the . There are a few prerequisites [for entry], wrote WaPo. This establishment was a left over remanent of the 1970s disco scene. Friendships often begin in Georgetown bars. Mike once banned a waitress from his kitchen after he heard her tell a customer that his stuffed calamari was made from testicles, instead of tentacles. While Chinese Disco had long since moved locations to Prospect Street NW, even it would close in 2018. 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. "It's a very loose, relaxed place," said Rick Del Grande, 23, who lives in the Marine barracks at Eighth and I streets SE. In its script, St. Elmos is described as a P.J. Somehow we had to remake things so that those who wished could engage in political activity. 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, Get InsideHook in your inbox. The interior, meanwhile, was more inspired by another preppy haven popular with college kids, an underground spot called The Tombs. Photograph by Ehpien/FLICKR . Much like today, there was some turmoil, some celebrations and some change. 1. While in a restaurant the bar is a small part of the overall seating, in a saloon the bar might represent a third to a half of the total seats. "This is?" It would become gridlocked with cars as far as the eye can see, according to the New York Times, each and every Saturday night. 2. Upstairs was a deli/market called Il Pane (thats Italian for bread). 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. I remember waking by the side steps of The Cellar Door and John Denver was just sitting there, strumming his guitar, enjoying some sun. Modeled after turn-of-the-century Chicago taverns, it offered a 50-foot-long bar, gold-painted ceiling, solid oak floor and elevator doors repurposed from Manhattans Waldorf-Astoria. In the late 1960s and early 1970s there were so many Georgetown undergrads streaming down the hill to work at the neighborhoods bars, nightclubs and eateries that Mike and his friends had another name for the elite Jesuit university: the Georgetown Restaurant School. A shock to the guest, perhaps, but not as shocking as what Mike says once happened at Kellys Irish Times. Marines, who invade Georgetown on Saturday nights, also frequent Annie Oakley's, with its mirrored dance floor and patrons in cowboy hats. And this Georgetown dining room was the fanciest, Frenchest of them all. Nov 21, 2022 - Explore Sharon Clayton's board "Restaurants - from when I was growing up", followed by 176 people on Pinterest. And awesome. C/Luis Garca Berlanga, 19-21, Valencia, Valencia, 46023. said the women. At one point, every place on M Street had a manager or chef who was someone from my class, Mike Soper says as I tuck into my oyster poboy at Bobby Vans downtown. Wasnt there a regular Britches a little further up Wisconsin, like around where Polo is now? self-published memoir: Meet Me at the Bar, Im Hungry. Theres still Tombs (the other inspiration and filming location of St. Elmos Fire) and Chadwicks under a new name is still basically Chadwicks. Perspective Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events. Georgetown is a multicultural and international hub now which I think is a positive thing.. The Third Edition was a Georgetown neighborhood staple, serving students, visitors and the neighborhood from 1969 to 2013. The customer wasnt charged, but he wasnt able to finish his meal, either. Everybody went there. Gunchers, Olde Mac;s, Winstons, Paul Mall, Apple Pie, Chadwicks, Third Edition, Guards. I seem to remember a Mr Henrys on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan as well as all the ones mentioned here. The restaurants stayed open until sometime around 2000. Nowhere was that more evident than in our nations capital, which was uniquely positioned to become Americas preppiest party city of the era. It stayed open until a few years ago when Vinyard Vines opened up. [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. Its still a lot like a frat party, except now, because of the recent prep craze, you might see a Marine or someone from [the bar] across the street just because its cool to be prep, explained another suffixed partier, Jean-Charles Dibbs III, then a barely-legal Republican political aide. Vernon College girls in Pappagallo shoes, McMullen blouses, Villager skirts and Liberty sweaters; Georgetown Foreign Service School types in some of the first Gucci shoes and Paul Stuart suits seen in Washington: tousled Irish Catholic kids in jeans and tweed sportcoats, whose great regret in life was not being old enough to have gotten drunk with Dylan Thomas at the White Horse in Greenwich Village..