Editing Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)

{{redirect|Georgetown, Washington|the Seattle neighborhood|Georgetown, Seattle}}
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'''Georgetown''' is a historic [[Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.|neighborhood]] and commercial district in [[Northwest (Washington, D.C.)|Northwest Washington, D.C.]], situated along the [[Potomac River]]. Founded in 1751 as part of the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial-era]] [[Province of Maryland]], Georgetown predated the establishment of [[Washington, D.C.]] by 40 years. Georgetown was an independent [[municipality]] until 1871 when the [[United States Congress]] created a new consolidated government for the entire District of Columbia. A separate act, passed in 1895, repealed Georgetown's remaining local ordinances and [[Georgetown street renaming|renamed Georgetown's streets]] to conform with those in Washington, D.C.

The primary commercial corridors of Georgetown are the intersection of [[Wisconsin Avenue]] and [[M Street (Washington, D.C.)|M Street]], which contain high-end shops, bars, restaurants, and [[Georgetown Park]], an enclosed shopping mall. [[Washington Harbour]], which includes waterfront restaurants, is located to the south on [[K Street (Washington, D.C.)|K Street]] between 30th and 31st Streets.

Georgetown is home to the main campus of [[Georgetown University]] and other landmarks, including the [[Old Stone House (Washington, D.C.)|Old Stone House]] (1765), the oldest still standing building structure in Washington, D.C., the [[Volta Laboratory and Bureau|Volta Bureau]] for deaf education, the [[Dumbarton Oaks]] estate, and a historically significant stretch of the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]]. The [[List of diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C.|embassies]] of [[Embassy of Cameroon, Washington, D.C.|Cameroon]], [[Embassy of France, Washington, D.C.|France]], [[Embassy of Iceland in Washington, D.C.|Iceland]], [[Embassy of Liechtenstein in Washington, D.C.|Liechtenstein]], [[Embassy of Mongolia, Washington, D.C.|Mongolia]], [[House of Sweden|Sweden]], [[Embassy of Thailand in Washington, D.C.|Thailand]], [[Embassy of Ukraine, Washington, D.C.|Ukraine]], and [[Embassy of Venezuela, Washington, D.C.|Venezuela]] are located in Georgetown.

== History ==
[[File:Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel, DC.jpg|thumb|[[Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel]], designed by [[James Renwick Jr.]] in 1850, is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].]]
[[File:USA-Georgetown C&O Canal.jpg|thumb|The [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]]]]
[[File:The Old Stone House.jpg|thumb|[[Old Stone House (Washington, D.C.)|Old Stone House]], built 1765, is the oldest building structure still standing in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
[[Image:Georgetown wa dc 1862.jpg|thumb|Georgetown, depicted in 1862, shows the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]] and [[Potomac Aqueduct Bridge|Aqueduct Bridge]] (on right) and an unfinished [[United States Capitol dome|Capitol dome]] in the distant background.]]
[[File:Georgetown waterfront in 1865.jpg|thumb|[[Sailing ship|Sailing vessels]] docked at the Georgetown waterfront, c. 1865]]
[[File:Poor children playing on sidewalk, Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Digital ID- (digital file from original neg.) fsa 8a00156 http- hdl.loc.gov loc.pnp fsa.8a00156.jpg|thumb|Children playing on sidewalk in Georgetown during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], photographed by [[Carl Mydans]] in 1935]]
[[File:Washington Harbour view.JPG|thumb|upright=1|[[Washington Harbour]] complex located on the [[Potomac River]] with [[Georgetown University]]'s [[Healy Hall]] visible in the background]]
[[File:Dahlgren quad in winter.jpg|thumb|[[Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart|Dahlgren Chapel]] at [[Georgetown University]]]]
Located on the [[Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line]], Georgetown was at the [[head of navigation]] on the [[Potomac River]], the farthest point upstream that boats coming from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] could navigate. 
===17th century===
In 1632, English fur trader Henry Fleet documented an American Indian village of the [[Nacotchtank]] people called Tohoga on the site of present-day Georgetown and established trade there.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Walk Through Georgetown |author=Delany, Kevin |publisher=Kevin Delany Publications |year=1971}}</ref> The area was then part of the [[Province of Maryland]], an [[English overseas possessions|English colony]].{{citation needed|date = May 2023}}

===18th century===
In approximately 1745, [[George Gordon (merchant)|George Gordon]] constructed a tobacco inspection house along the [[Potomac River]] on a site that was already a tobacco trading post when the inspection house was built. Warehouses, wharves, and other buildings were then constructed around the inspection house, and it quickly became a small community. Georgetown grew as thriving port, facilitating trade and shipments of goods to and from the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial-era]] [[Province of Maryland]].{{sfn|Lesko|1991|p=1}}

In 1751, the legislature of the Province of Maryland authorized the purchase of {{convert|60|acre|m2}} of land from Gordon and [[George Beall]] for £280.{{sfn|Ecker|1933|pp=1-6}} A survey of the town was completed in February 1752.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Richard Plummer |title=The Chronicles of Georgetown, D.C., from 1751-1878 |publisher=R. O. Polkinhorn |year=1878 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_VFUUAAAAYAAJ/page/n16 3]–4 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_VFUUAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> 

Georgetown was founded during the reign of [[George II of Great Britain|King George II]], and some speculate that the town was named after him. A second theory is that the town was named after its founders, George Gordon and George Beall.<ref>{{cite book |title=Establishment and Government of the District of Columbia |date=1 January 1901 |publisher=U.S. Senate reports of 1900, Congressional Edition, Volume 4043, US Gov't GPO |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lhlHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA183 |access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> The [[Maryland General Assembly|Maryland Legislature]] issued a charter and incorporated the town in 1789.{{sfn|Lesko|1991|pp=1-2}} Although Georgetown was never officially made a city, it was later referred to as the "City of Georgetown" in several 19th-century [[Act of Congress|Acts of Congress]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Tindall |first=William |title=The Establishment and Government of the District of Columbia |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1901 |pages=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lhlHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA171}}</ref>) [[Robert Peter]], an early area merchant in the tobacco trade, became the town's first mayor in 1790.{{sfn|Ecker|1933|p=8}}

John Beatty established the first church in Georgetown, a [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church on High Street. [[Stephen Bloomer Balch]] established a [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] church in 1784. A [[Catholic Church]], Trinity Catholic Church, was built in 1795, along with a parish school-house. Construction of [[St. John's Episcopal Church, Georgetown|St. John's Episcopal Church]] began in 1797 but paused for financial reasons until 1803, and the church was finally consecrated in 1809. Banks in Georgetown included the [[Farmers and Mechanics Bank (Georgetown)|Farmers and Mechanics Bank]], which was established in 1814. Other banks included the Bank of Washington, Patriotic Bank, Bank of the Metropolis, and the Union and Central Banks of Georgetown.<ref name="The Washington Post">{{cite news |title=An Old City's History: The Simple Annals of Our Venerable Suburb |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 24, 1878}}</ref>

Newspapers in Georgetown included the ''Republican Weekly Ledger'', which was the first paper, started in 1790. ''The Sentinel'' was first published in 1796 by Green, English & Co.  Charles C. Fulton began publishing the ''Potomac Advocate'', which was started by Thomas Turner. Other newspapers in Georgetown included the ''Georgetown Courier'' and the ''Federal Republican''.  William B. Magruder, the first postmaster, was appointed on February 16, 1790, and in 1795, a custom house was established on Water Street. General James M. Lingan served as the first collector of the port.<ref name="The Washington Post" />

In the 1790s, City Tavern, the Union Tavern, and the Columbian Inn opened and were popular throughout the 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Holmes, Oliver W. |title=The City Tavern: A Century of Georgetown History, 1797-1898 |journal=Records of the Columbia Historical Society |volume=50 |pages=1–35}}</ref> Among these taverns, only the City Tavern remains today, serving as a private social club and known as [[City Tavern Club]], located near the corner of [[Wisconsin Avenue]] and [[M Street (Washington, D.C.)|M Street]].{{citation needed|date = May 2023}}

[[George Washington]] frequented Georgetown, including [[Suter's Tavern]], where he negotiated many deals to acquire land for the new national capital.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Holmes, Oliver W. |title=Suter's Tavern: Birthplace of the Federal City |journal=Records of the Columbia Historical Society |volume=73-74 |pages=1–34}}</ref> A key figure in the land deals was a local merchant named [[Benjamin Stoddert]], who arrived in Georgetown in 1783. He had previously served as Secretary to the Board of War under the [[Articles of Confederation]]. Stoddert partnered with General [[Uriah Forrest]] to become an original proprietor of the [[Potomac Company]].{{sfn|Ecker|1933|p=12}}

Stoddert and other Potomac landowners agreed to a land transfer deal to the federal government at a dinner at Forrest's home in Georgetown on March 28, 1791. Stoddert bought land within the boundaries of the federal district, some of it at the request of Washington for the government, and some on speculation. He also purchased stock in the federal government under Hamilton's assumption-of-debt plan. The speculative purchases were not, however, profitable and caused Stoddert much difficulty before his appointment as [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] by [[John Adams]], the nation's second [[President of the United States|president]]. Stoddert was rescued from his debts with the help of [[William Marbury]], a Georgetown resident who later was a plaintiff in the landmark case ''[[Marbury v. Madison]]''. Stoddert ultimately purchased [[Halcyon House]] at the corner of 34th and Prospect Streets.{{sfn|Ecker|1933|p=12}} The [[Forrest-Marbury House]] on [[M Street (Washington, D.C.)|M Street]] is currently the embassy of Ukraine.

===19th century===
In 1800, the federal capital was moved from the [[American Revolution|revolutionary]] capital of [[Philadelphia]] to Washington, D.C., and Georgetown became an independent municipal government within the District of Columbia, of which there were three: Alexandria, D.C., Georgetown, D.C., and Washington, D.C. Georgetown, D.C., was in the new [[Washington County, D.C.]]; the District's other county was [[Alexandria County, D.C.]], now [[Arlington County, Virginia]], and the independent city of [[Alexandria, Virginia]].

By the 1820s, the [[Potomac River]] had become silted up and was not navigable up to Georgetown.  Construction of the [[Chesapeake & Ohio Canal]] began in July 1828, to link Georgetown to [[Harper's Ferry]], Virginia in present-day [[West Virginia]]. But the canal was soon in a race with the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] and got to Cumberland eight years after the railroad, a faster mode of transport, and at the cost of $77,041,586. It was never profitable. From its beginning to December 1876, the canal earned $35,659,055 in revenue, while expending $35,746,301.<ref name="The Washington Post"/>

The canal provided an economic boost for Georgetown. In the 1820s and 1830s, Georgetown was an sizable shipping center. Tobacco and other goods were transferred between the canal and shipping on the Potomac River; salt was imported from Europe, and sugar and molasses were imported from the [[West Indies]].<ref name="The Washington Post"/>  These shipping industries were later superseded by coal and flour industries, which flourished with the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal|C & O Canal]] providing cheap power for [[flour mill|mills]] and other industry.{{sfn|Gutheim|Lee|2006|p=49}} In 1862, the [[Washington and Georgetown Railroad|Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company]] began a [[horsecar]] line running along M Street in Georgetown and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, easing travel between the two cities.

The municipal governments of Georgetown and the City and County of Washington were formally revoked by Congress effective June 1, 1871, at which point its governmental powers were vested within the District of Columbia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=016/llsl016.db&recNum=463|title=A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875|website=memory.LOC.gov|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref>  The streets in Georgetown were [[Georgetown street renaming|renamed]] in 1895 to conform to the [[street name]]s in use in Washington.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chap. 79.-An Act Changing the name of Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes |url=http://www.constitution.org/uslaw/sal/028_statutes_at_large.pdf |work=United States Statutes at Large from August 1893 to March 1895 |access-date=July 10, 2011 |page=679 }}</ref>

In the 1850s, Georgetown had a large [[African American]] population, including both slaves and free blacks. Slave labor was widely used in construction of new buildings in Washington, in addition, to provide labor on tobacco plantations in Maryland and Virginia. Slave trading in Georgetown began in 1760 when John Beattie established his business on O Street and conducted business at other locations around Wisconsin Avenue. Other slave markets ("pens") were located in Georgetown, including one at McCandless' Tavern near M Street and Wisconsin Avenue.{{sfn|Gutheim|Lee|2006|p=51}}  Slave trading continued until 1850, when it was banned in the District as one element of the [[Compromise of 1850#End of slave trade in District of Columbia|Compromise of 1850]].{{sfn|Lesko|1991|p=2}}   Congress [[District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act|abolished ownership of slaves in the entire District]] on April 16, 1862, annually observed today as [[Emancipation Day]].<ref name="H-DC Discussion Network">{{cite web|url=http://www.h-net.org/~dclist/timeline1.html|title=H-DC - H-Net|website=H-Net.org|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref>  Many African Americans moved to Georgetown following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], establishing a thriving community.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-02-20|title=Our Black History … in Georgetown|url=https://georgetowner.com/articles/2019/02/20/black-history-georgetown-2/|access-date=2021-10-17|website=The Georgetowner|language=en-US}}</ref>

By the late 19th century, flour milling and other industries in Georgetown were declining, in part due to the fact that the canals and other waterways continually silted up.{{sfn|Gutheim|Lee|2006|p=58}}  Nathaniel Michler and S.T. Abert led efforts to dredge the channels and remove rocks around the Georgetown harbor, though these were temporary solutions and [[United States Congress|Congress]] showed little interest in the issue.{{sfn|Gutheim|Lee|2006|p=94}}  An 1890 flood and expansion of the railroads brought destitution to the C&O Canal, and  Georgetown's waterfront became more industrialized, with narrow alleys, warehouses, and apartment dwellings which lacked plumbing or electricity. Shipping trade vanished between the [[Civil war|Civil War]] and [[World War I]].<ref name="Smith, A. Robert and Sevareid, Eric 154, Library of Congress card number 65–24912">{{cite journal |author1=Smith, A. Robert  |author2=Sevareid, Eric |title=Washington: Magnificent Capital |journal=Doubleday & Company, New York, 1965 |pages=154, Library of Congress card number 65–24912}}</ref> As a result, many older homes were preserved relatively unchanged.

In the late 18th century and 19th century, African Americans comprised a substantial portion of Georgetown's population, with a large number centered around Herring Hill in the far eastern section near [[Rock Creek Park]]. The [[1800 United States census|1800 census]] reported the population in Georgetown at 5,120, which included 1,449 slaves and 227 free blacks.{{sfn|Lesko|1991|p=2}} A testament to the African-American history that remains today is the [[Mount Zion United Methodist Church (Washington, D.C.)|Mount Zion United Methodist Church]], which is the oldest African-American congregation in Washington. Prior to establishing the church, free blacks and slaves went to the Dumbarton Methodist Church where they were restricted to a hot, overcrowded balcony.  The church was originally located in a small brick meetinghouse on 27th Street, but it was destroyed by fire in the 1880s. The church was rebuilt on the present site.{{sfn|Mitchell|1983|p=10}} [[Mount Zion Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Mount Zion Cemetery]] offered free burials for Washington's earlier African-American population.<ref name="Washington, DC-Mt. Zion Cemetery">{{cite web|url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc10.htm|title=Washington, DC--Mt. Zion Cemetery|website=cr.NPS.gov|access-date=December 30, 2017|archive-date=August 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805022322/http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc10.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> "From a pre-[[American Civil War|Civil War]] population of 6,798 whites, 1,358 free Negroes, and 577 slaves, Georgetown's population had grown to 17,300 but half these residents were poverty-stricken Negroes."<ref name="Smith, A. Robert and Sevareid, Eric 154, Library of Congress card number 65–24912"/> Other [[black church]]es in Georgetown included [[Alexander Memorial Baptist Church]], First Baptist Church, Jerusalem Baptist Church, and Epiphany Catholic Church.<ref name=remembered>{{cite book | title=Black Georgetown Remembered | publisher=Georgetown University Press | author=Lesko, Kathleen M.; Babb, Valerie Melissa; Gibbs, Carroll R. | year=2016 | pages=203 | isbn=9781626163263}}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:M Street NW, Georgetown, Washington, DC (46556250902).jpg|thumb|Georgetown is Washington's main shopping district and a major tourist attraction.]]
[[File:Wisconsin Avenue NW, Georgetown, Washington, DC (45694221865).jpg|thumb|Storefronts on [[Wisconsin Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Wisconsin Avenue]] decorated for Christmas.]]
[[File:M Street and 31st Street N.W., Georgetown, Washington, DC.jpg|thumb|Storefronts on [[M Street (Washington, D.C.)|M Street]]]]
[[File:The Shops at Georgetown Park.jpg|thumb|The shops at [[Georgetown Park]] is an indoor shopping area that has undergone substantial renovation in recent years. It's shown here in 2006.]]
In 1915, the [[Buffalo Bridge]] on present-day Q Street opened and connected this part of Georgetown with the rest of the city east of [[Rock Creek Park]]. New construction of large apartment buildings began on the edge of Georgetown.  In the early 1920s, John Ihlder led efforts to take advantage of new [[zoning]] laws to get restrictions enacted on construction in Georgetown.{{sfn|Mitchell|1983|p=2}}  In 1933, a study by [[Horace Peaslee]] and Allied Architects laid out ideas for how Georgetown could be preserved.{{sfn|Gutheim|Lee|2006|p=199}}

The [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]], then owned by the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], formally ceased operations in March 1924.  After severe flooding in 1936, [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] sold the canal to the [[National Park Service]] in October 1938.<ref name="H-DC Discussion Network"/>  The waterfront area retained its industrial character in the first half of the 20th century. Georgetown was home to a lumber yard, a cement works, the Washington Flour mill, and a meat [[rendering (food processing)|rendering]] plant, with incinerator smokestacks and a power generating plant for the old [[Capital Traction]] streetcar system, located at the foot of Wisconsin Avenue, which closed in 1935, and was demolished in October 1968. In 1949, the city constructed the [[Whitehurst Freeway]], an elevated [[highway]] above K Street, to allow [[automobile|motorists]] entering the District over the [[Francis Scott Key Bridge (Washington)|Key Bridge]] to bypass Georgetown entirely on their way downtown.

In 1950, Public Law 808 was passed, establishing the historic district of "Old Georgetown".{{sfn|Lesko|1991|p=95}}  The law required that the [[United States Commission of Fine Arts]] be consulted on any alteration, demolition, or building construction within the historic district.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfa.gov/georgetown/pl808_81.html |title=Old Georgetown Act |publisher=National Commission of Fine Arts |access-date=December 9, 2008 |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114015711/http://cfa.gov/georgetown/pl808_81.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1967, the '''Georgetown Historic District''' was listed on the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name=nrhpdoc>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=67000025}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Georgetown Historic District |publisher=[[National Park Service]]|author=HL Boundary Review Project |date=February 1980 |access-date=September 22, 2016 }} with {{NRHP url|id=67000025|photos=y|title=11 historic images and photos}}</ref>

===21st century===
Georgetown is home to many politicians and [[lobbyists]]. Georgetown's landmark waterfront district was further revitalized in 2003, and includes a [[Ritz-Carlton]], [[Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts|Four Seasons]], and other hotels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/bts/archives/adaptivereuse/04_ritz/overview.asp |title=The Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences, Georgetown |publisher=Architectural Record |access-date=July 24, 2010}}</ref> Georgetown's highly traveled commercial district is home to a variety of specialty retailers and fashionable boutiques.

==Geography==
Georgetown is bounded by the [[Potomac River]] to the south, [[Rock Creek (Potomac River)|Rock Creek]] to the east, [[Burleith]], [[Glover Park]], and [[Observatory Circle (Washington, D.C.)|Observatory Circle]] to the north, and [[Georgetown University]] to the west. Much of Georgetown is surrounded by parkland and green space that serve as buffers from development in adjacent neighborhoods, and provide recreation. [[Rock Creek Park]], [[Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Hill Cemetery]], Montrose Park, and [[Dumbarton Oaks]] are located along the north and east edge of Georgetown, east of Wisconsin Avenue.{{sfn|Mitchell|1983|pp=14-15}}  The neighborhood is situated on bluffs overlooking the Potomac River. As a result, there are some rather steep grades on streets running north–south. The famous "[[Exorcist steps|''Exorcist'' steps]]" connecting M Street to Prospect Street were necessitated by the hilly terrain of the neighborhood.

The primary commercial corridors of Georgetown are [[M Street (Washington, D.C.)|M Street]] and [[Wisconsin Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Wisconsin Avenue]], whose high [[fashion]] stores draw large numbers of tourists as well as local shoppers year-round. There is also the [[Washington Harbour]] complex on [[K Street (Washington, D.C.)|K Street]], on the waterfront, featuring outdoor bars and restaurants popular for viewing boat races. Between M and K Streets runs the historic [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]], today plied only by tour boats; adjacent trails are popular with joggers or strollers.

== Education ==
===Primary and secondary education===
{{Further|District of Columbia Public Schools}}
[[File:Hyde-Addison Elementary School.jpg|thumb|Hyde-Addison School]]
[[File:Visitation1.jpg|thumb|[[Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School]]]]
Throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, the concentration of wealth in Georgetown sparked the growth of many [[university-preparatory school]]s in and around the neighborhood. One of the first schools was the Columbian Academy on N Street, which was established in 1781 with Reverend Stephen Balch serving as the headmaster.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Clark, Allen C. |title=Rev. Stephen Bloomer Balch, a Pioneer Preacher of Georgetown |journal=Records of the Columbia Historical Society |pages=73–95}}</ref>

Private schools currently located in Georgetown include [[Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School]], while nearby is the eponymous [[Georgetown Day School]]. [[Georgetown Preparatory School]], while founded in Georgetown, moved in 1915 to its present location several miles north of Georgetown in [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]].

[[District of Columbia Public Schools]] operates area public schools, including Hyde-Addison Elementary School on O Street.<ref>"[https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Attendance%20Zones%20for%20Neighborhood%20Elementary%20%20K-8%20Schools.pdf Elementary Schools] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212035509/http://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Attendance%20Zones%20for%20Neighborhood%20Elementary%20%20K-8%20Schools.pdf |date=February 12, 2017 }}"  (2016-2017 School Year). [[District of Columbia Public Schools]]. Retrieved on May 27, 2018.</ref> Hyde-Addison formed from merging two adjacent schools - Hyde Elementary and Addison Elementary. The Addison section was renovated in 2008 and the Hyde section was renovated in Summer 2014. An addition connecting the two buildings is scheduled for completion in Summer 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/a/dc.gov/dcps-school-modernizations/home/hyde-addison-elementary-school|title=DCPS School Modernizations Hyde-Addison Elementary School|publisher=[[District of Columbia Public Schools]]|access-date=2019-04-13|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412222445/https://sites.google.com/a/dc.gov/dcps-school-modernizations/home/hyde-addison-elementary-school|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Hardy Middle School (Washington, D.C.)|Hardy Middle School]] and [[Jackson-Reed High School]] both serve Georgetown as zoned secondary schools.<ref>"[https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Attendance%20Zones%20for%20Neighborhood%20Middle%20Schools.pdf Middle School Boundary Map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211062934/http://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Attendance%20Zones%20for%20Neighborhood%20Middle%20Schools.pdf |date=February 11, 2017 }}" (2016-2017 School Year). [[District of Columbia Public Schools]]. Retrieved on May 27, 2018.</ref><ref>"[https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Attendance%20Zones%20for%20Neighborhood%20High%20Schools.pdf High School Boundary Map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131001432/https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Attendance%20Zones%20for%20Neighborhood%20High%20Schools.pdf |date=January 31, 2017 }}" (2016-2017 School Year). [[District of Columbia Public Schools]]. Retrieved on May 27, 2018.</ref> [[Duke Ellington School of the Arts]], a public magnet school, is in the community.

=== Georgetown University ===
{{Main|Georgetown University}}
[[File:Healy Pink.jpg|thumb|[[Healy Hall]] at [[Georgetown University]]]]
The main campus of [[Georgetown University]] is located on the western edge of the Georgetown neighborhood.  Father [[John Carroll (bishop)|John Carroll]] founded [[Georgetown University]] as a [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[private university]] in 1789, though its roots extend back to 1634.<ref name=jstor>{{cite journal |title=Miniatures of Georgetown, 1634 to 1934 |first1=Edward A. |last1=Fitzpatrick |journal=The Journal of Higher Education |volume=7 |issue=1 |date=January 1936 |pages=56–57 |doi=10.2307/1974310 |publisher=The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 7, No. 1 |last2=Nevils |first2=William Coleman |jstor=1974310}}</ref>  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 {{nowrap|6,853 undergraduate}} students and {{nowrap|4,490 graduate}} students on the main campus.<ref name=factsheet>{{cite web |url=http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=742&PageTemplateID=52 |title=Georgetown At A Glance |work=[communications.georgetown.edu/ Office of Communications] |publisher=Georgetown University |date=December 12, 2006 |access-date=March 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218221043/http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=742&PageTemplateID=52 |archive-date=February 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

The main campus is just over {{convert|102|acre|ha}} in area and includes 58 buildings, student residences capable of accommodating 80 percent of undergraduates, various athletic facilities, and the medical school.<ref name=factsheet/> Most buildings employ [[collegiate Gothic]] architecture and [[Georgian architecture|Georgian brick architecture]]. Campus green areas include fountains, a cemetery, large clusters of flowers, groves of trees, and open quadrangles.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=25425 |title=Georgetown Goes Greener |date=July 5, 2007 |work=Blue & Gray |access-date=July 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715181913/http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=25425 |archive-date=July 15, 2007 }}</ref> The main campus has traditionally centered on Dahlgren Quadrangle, although Red Square has replaced it as the focus of student life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehoya.com/eg/campus/locations/redsquare.cfm |title=Red Square |access-date=July 24, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091757/http://www.thehoya.com/eg/campus/locations/redsquare.cfm |archive-date=September 29, 2007 }}</ref> [[Healy Hall]], built in [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Flemish Romanesque]] style from 1877 to 1879, is the architectural gem of Georgetown's campus, and is a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Georgetown University's Healy Building |first=Hardy |last=George |journal=The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=31 |issue=3 |date=October 1972 |pages=208–216 |doi=10.2307/988766 |publisher=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 31, No. 3 |jstor=988766|url=http://jsah.ucpress.edu/content/31/3/208.full.pdf }}</ref>

The 1973 film ''[[The Exorcist]]'' was partly filmed at Georgetown University and the surrounding area. The [[Exorcist steps]], the stairway that the character Father Damien fell down, connects Prospect Street, on the edge of the campus, and M Street.

=== Public libraries ===
The [[District of Columbia Public Library]] operates the [[Georgetown Neighborhood Library]],<ref>"[http://www.dclibrary.org/hours-locations Hours & Locations]". [[District of Columbia Public Library]]. Retrieved on October 21, 2009.</ref> which originally opened at 3260 R St. NW in October 1935 on the site of the former Georgetown Reservoir. An earlier public library in Georgetown was endowed by financier [[George Peabody]] in 1867 and opened in a room of the Curtis School on O Street opposite St. John's Church in 1875. In the early 1930s, a library committee was formed to encourage the establishment of a new public library branch in Georgetown.<ref>{{cite web|title=Georgetown Neighborhood Library History|date=July 23, 2009|url=http://dclibrary.org/node/726|publisher=DC Public Library|access-date=January 8, 2016|archive-date=January 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126024248/http://dclibrary.org/node/726|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The building was severely damaged by a fire on April 30, 2007, and underwent a $17.9 million renovation and expansion. The building was then re-opened on October 18, 2010, with a [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design|LEED]]-Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.<ref>{{cite web|title=Georgetown Library Opened Oct. 18, 2010|date=July 10, 2009 |url=http://dclibrary.org/node/607|publisher=DC Public Library|access-date=January 8, 2016}}</ref> A newly constructed, climate-controlled third floor now houses the collections of the original Peabody Library and is a center for research on Georgetown history.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Peabody Room at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library|date=September 13, 2013 |url=http://dclibrary.org/node/35929|publisher=DC Public Library|access-date=January 8, 2016}}</ref>

== Transportation ==
{{see also|Georgetown street renaming}}
[[File:Francis Scott Key bridge.jpg|thumb|[[Key Bridge (Washington, D.C.)|Key Bridge]], which crosses the [[Potomac River]], connects Georgetown with the [[Rosslyn, Arlington, Virginia|Rosslyn]] section of [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington, Virginia]]]]
[[File:C&O Canal - Georgetown.jpg|thumb|right|[[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]] passing through Georgetown]]
Georgetown's transportation importance was defined by its location just below the [[fall line]] of the [[Potomac River]].  The [[Potomac Aqueduct Bridge|Aqueduct Bridge]] (and later, the [[Francis Scott Key Bridge (Washington)|Francis Scott Key Bridge]]) connected Georgetown with [[Virginia]].  Before the Aqueduct Bridge was built, a ferry service owned by John Mason connected Georgetown to Virginia.{{sfn|Ecker|1933|p=39}}  In 1788, a bridge was constructed over [[Rock Creek (Potomac River)|Rock Creek]] to connect Bridge Street ([[M Street (Washington, D.C.)|M Street]]) with the Federal City.{{sfn|Ecker|1933|p=53}}

Georgetown was located at the juncture of the [[Alexandria Canal (Virginia)|Alexandria Canal]] and the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]].  The C&O Canal, begun in Georgetown in 1829, reached [[Cumberland, Maryland]] in 1851, and operated until 1924. [[Wisconsin Avenue]] is on the alignment of the tobacco [[hogshead]] rolling road from rural [[Maryland]], and the Federal Customs House was located on 31st Street (now utilized as the post office). The city's oldest bridge, the sandstone bridge which carries Wisconsin Avenue over the C&O Canal, and which dates to 1831, was reopened to traffic on May 16, 2007, after a $3.5 million restoration.  It is the only remaining bridge of five constructed in Georgetown by the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company.<ref>Weiss, Eric M., "Public Works - Oldest Bridge Reopens", ''[[Washington Post]]'', Thursday, May 17, 2007, page B-5.</ref>

Several streetcar lines and interurban railways interchanged passengers in Georgetown at and near the [[Georgetown Car Barn]], which the [[Capital Traction Company]] operated near the end of the Aqueduct Bridge and later, the Key Bridge (see [[Streetcars in Washington, D.C.]]).  A station serving the [[Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad]] and its successor, the [[Washington and Old Dominion Railroad#Washington and Old Dominion Railway (1911–1936)|Washington and Old Dominion Railway]], was located in front of a stone wall on Canal Road adjacent to the Exorcist steps, immediately west of the Car Barn, from 1912 to 1923.

Five suburban Virginia lines, connecting in [[Rosslyn, Virginia|Rosslyn]], provided links from the Washington, D.C. streetcar network to [[Arlington National Cemetery]], [[Fort Myer]], [[Nauck, Virginia|Nauck]], [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]], [[Mount Vernon]], [[Clarendon, Arlington, Virginia|Clarendon]], [[Ballston, Virginia|Ballston]], [[Falls Church, Virginia|Falls Church]], [[Vienna, Virginia|Vienna]], [[Fairfax, Virginia|Fairfax]], [[Leesburg, Virginia|Leesburg]], [[Bluemont, Virginia|Bluemont]], and [[Great Falls Park|Great Falls]] (see [[Northern Virginia trolleys]]). Streetcar operations in Washington, D.C. ended on January 28, 1962.

In 1910, the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] completed an 11-mile branch line from [[Silver Spring, Maryland]], to Water Street in Georgetown in an abortive attempt to construct a southern connection to [[Alexandria, Virginia]].<ref name=Schwieterman>{{cite book|last=Schwieterman|first=Joseph P.|year=2001|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=To0W-SyP8z4C&pg=PA116|chapter=Bethesda, Maryland (55,277)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=To0W-SyP8z4C|title=When The Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities In The Age of Rail Line Abandonment: Eastern United States|pages=117–118|isbn=0943549973 |lccn=00054505|oclc=702179808|location=[[Kirksville, Missouri]]|publisher=[[Truman State University]] Press|access-date=December 6, 2020|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> The line served as an industrial line, shipping coal to a [[General Services Administration]] power plant on K Street (now razed) until 1985.<ref name=Schwieterman/> The abandoned right-of-way has since been converted into the [[Capital Crescent Trail]], a rails-to-trails route,<ref name=Schwieterman/> and the power plant replaced by a condo.{{citation needed|date = November 2012}}

=== Proposals for a Metro station ===
There is no [[Washington Metro|Metro]] station in Georgetown. Some residents opposed building one but no serious plans for a station existed in the first place, primarily due to the engineering issues presented by the extremely steep grade from the Potomac River (under which the subway tunnel would run) to the center of Georgetown, very close to the river. The planners expected the Metro to serve rush-hour commuters, and the neighborhood has few apartments, office buildings, or automobile parking areas.<ref>{{cite book |author=Schrag, Zachary |title=The Great Society Subway |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2006 |pages=155–156 |isbn=9781421415772 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fnZAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA155}}</ref> 

Since the Metro's opening, there have been occasional discussions about adding another subway line and tunnel under the Potomac to service the area. Three stations are located roughly one mile (1.6&nbsp;km) from the center of Georgetown: [[Rosslyn (Washington Metro)|Rosslyn]] (across the [[Francis Scott Key Bridge (Washington)|Key Bridge]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]]), [[Foggy Bottom-GWU (Washington Metro)|Foggy Bottom-GWU]], and [[Dupont Circle (Washington Metro)|Dupont Circle]].  Georgetown is served by the 30-series, D-Series, and G2 [[Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)|Metrobuses]], and formerly<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ddot.dc.gov/release/dc-circulator-service-end-dec-31-riders-encouraged-seek-alternate-routes-metro/|title=DC Circulator Service to End Dec. 31, Riders Encouraged to Seek Alternate Routes with Metro|access-date=May 12, 2025}}</ref> the [[DC Circulator]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dccirculator.com/ride/rider-tools/schedule/|title=Schedule: Washington D.C. Circulator|access-date=February 1, 2019}}</ref> Another potential option for transportation in Georgetown is scootering, with scooters provided by companies like [[Bird Global|Bird]] and [[Lime (transportation company)|Lime.]]

{{anchor|Georgetown Historic District}}

== Historic district and historic landmarks ==
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Georgetown Historic District
| nrhp_type = nhld
| nocat = yes
| location = Roughly bounded by Whitehaven Street, [[Rock Creek Park]], the [[Potomac River]], and the [[Georgetown University]] campus
| coordinates = {{coord|38|54|34|N|77|3|54|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = 
| architecture = 
| designated_nrhp_type = May 28, 1967
| added = May 28, 1967
| area = {{convert|750|acre|ha}}
| refnum = 67000025
<!--- | district_map = DC Neighborhoods - Georgetown.svg
| map_caption = Map of Washington, D.C., with Georgetown highlighted in maroon. --->
| designated_other1 = DCIHS
| designated_other1_abbr = DCIHS
| designated_other1_date = November 8, 1964
}}
The entire Georgetown neighborhood is a designated [[National Historic Landmark District]], known as the '''Georgetown Historic District'''.  It received this designation in 1967 for its large concentration of well-preserved [[Colonial architecture|colonial]] and [[Federal architecture|Federal]] period architecture.<ref name="nhlnom">{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|67000025}}|title=NHL nomination for Georgetown Historic District|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=May 1, 2017}}</ref>

Georgetown is also home to several other historic landmarks, including:
* Canal Square Building, 1054 31st Street, NW, former home of the [[Tabulating Machine Company]], a direct precursor of [[IBM]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/vintage/vintage_4506VV2027.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050121185758/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/vintage/vintage_4506VV2027.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 21, 2005|title=IBM Archives: Tabulating Machine Co. plant|date=January 23, 2003|website=www-03.IBM.com|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacatchrestaurant.com/history/|title=Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar|website=SeaCatchRestaurant.com|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref>
* 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{{sfn|Mitchell|1983|p=10}}
* The [[Forrest-Marbury House]], 3350 M Street, NW, where [[George Washington]] met with local landowners to acquire the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]], which is currently the Embassy of Ukraine.
* Georgetown Lutheran Church, founded in 1769, was the first church in Georgetown. The current church structure, the fourth on the site, was built in 1914.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.georgetownlutheran.com/history.html |title=Church History |publisher=Georgetown Lutheran Church |access-date=April 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510032126/http://www.georgetownlutheran.com/history.html |archive-date=May 10, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
* 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gtownpres.org/history.asp |title=History |publisher=Georgetown Presbyterian Church |access-date=April 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409131454/http://www.gtownpres.org/history.asp |archive-date=April 9, 2008 }}</ref>
* [[Healy Hall]] on [[Georgetown University|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<ref name="Washington, DC-Mt. Zion Cemetery"/>
* The [[Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Hill Cemetery]], a gift of [[William Wilson Corcoran]] whose [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] [[Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel (Washington, D.C.)|chapel]] and gates were designed by [[James Renwick Jr.]], was, at one time, the resting place of [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s son Willie and other figures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc9.htm|title=Washington, DC--Oak Hill Cemetery|website=cr.NPS.gov|access-date=December 30, 2017|archive-date=December 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207110237/https://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc9.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The [[Old Stone House (Washington, D.C.)|Old Stone House]], built in 1765, located on M Street is the oldest house in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/rocr/oldstonehouse/|title=National Park Service - We're Sorry<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=NPS.gov|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref>
* [[Tudor Place]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tudorplace.org|title=Tudor Place - Historic House & Garden|website=TudorPlace.org|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref> and Dumbarton Court<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dumbartoncourt.com|title=DumbartonCourt.com|website=DumbartonCourt.com|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref>
* The [[Volta Laboratory and Bureau]], created by [[Alexander Graham Bell]] as his first formal research laboratory, the profits from which were used to create a research and educational institution devoted to serving the deaf, which operates today as the [[Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing]], also known as the 'AG Bell'.<ref name="NPS">National Park Service. [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/wash/dc14.htm Washington, D.C. National Register of Historic Places: Volta Laboratory & Bureau], National Park Service, U.S. Department Of The Interior, Washington. Retrieved from NPS.gov website December 2009.</ref>

==Notable people==
[[File:Martin's Tavern (53820915738).jpg|thumb|[[Martin's Tavern]], where [[John F. Kennedy]] proposed to [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jackie]] in 1953]]
===Former residents===
*[[Madeleine Albright]], former [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] during the [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]]
*[[Max Baucus]], former [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Montana]] from 1978 to 2014
*[[Alexander Graham Bell]], inventor and scientist, lived in Georgetown briefly due to Congressional and legal hearings related to telephone patents<ref name="NPS" />
*[[Pedro Casanave]], Georgetown's fifth mayor who directed the construction of the [[White House]] and installed its cornerstone on October 12, 1792 
*[[Julia Child]], chef, author, and television personality, lived in Georgetown with her husband Paul. Their first residence, purchased in 1948, was on Olive Street in Georgetown. In 1956, they returned to Georgetown, living in the Olive Street house until they relocated to [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] in 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2015/06/30/the-julia-child-house-in-georgetown-can-be-yours-for-1-1-million/|title='The Julia Child House' in Georgetown can be yours for $1.1 Million|first=Helena|last=Andrews-Dyer|date=June 30, 2015|access-date=December 30, 2017|via=www.WashingtonPost.com}}</ref> 
*[[Francis Scott Key]], attorney, author, and poet who wrote "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" during the [[Battle of Baltimore]] on September 14, 1814 
*[[John F. Kennedy]], 35th [[President of the United States|U.S. president]], lived in Georgetown in the 1950s while serving in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] and [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]. In 1953, Kennedy proposed to [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]] at [[Martin's Tavern]] at 1264 [[Wisconsin Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Wisconsin Avenue]] in Georgetown. On January 20, 1961, Kennedy departed for his [[Inauguration of John F. Kennedy|presidential inauguration]] from his townhouse at 3307 N Street.
*[[Elizabeth Taylor]], actress, who lived in Georgetown during her marriage to U.S. Senator [[John Warner]] from 1976 to 1982<ref>{{cite web|url=http://patch.com/district-columbia/georgetown/local-connection-elizabeth-taylors-marriage-to-va-sence4001832e|title=Local Connection: Elizabeth Taylor's Marriage to VA Senator John Warner Made Georgetown her Home|date=March 23, 2011|website=Patch.com|access-date=December 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208203445/http://patch.com/district-columbia/georgetown/local-connection-elizabeth-taylors-marriage-to-va-sence4001832e|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Herman Wouk]], [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction|Pulitzer Prize]]-winning author for ''[[The Caine Mutiny]]'', resided in Georgetown, where he attended [[Kesher Israel (Washington, D.C.)|Kesher Israel Congregation]], a Georgetown synagogue, between 1964 and 1983 while researching and writing ''[[The Winds of War]]'' and ''[[War and Remembrance]]'', two novels about [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web |title=30 Years: Rabbi Philip Rabinowitz - a Commemoration and Remembrance |url=http://images.shulcloud.com/440/uploads/rabinowitz-program-v2.pdf |access-date=December 15, 2014}}</ref><ref>nid=1298&dat=19810314&id=0fpNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5707,2057766|title=The Free Lance-Star - Google News Archive Search|website=news.Google.com|access-date=December 30, 2017}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2025}}</ref>
*[[Olivia Wilde]], actress and writer

===Current residents===
* [[John Kerry]], former U.S. Secretary of State during the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]]
* [[Robert Mueller]], former [[Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI director]] from 2001 to 2013
* [[Bob Woodward]], reporter, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', whose reporting uncovered the [[Watergate scandal]], leading to the resignation of U.S. president [[Richard Nixon]]

==In popular culture==
===Film and television===
[[File:Exorcist Stairs.jpg|thumb|The "[[Exorcist steps|''Exorcist'' steps]]" at [[Georgetown University]]]]
====20th century====
* ''[[Topaz (1969 film)|Topaz]]'' (1969, private house)
* ''[[The Exorcist (film)|The Exorcist]]'' (1973,  set in Georgetown and partially filmed there. In the movie's climactic scene, the protagonist is hurled down the 75-step staircase at the end of 36th Street NW, which connects Prospect Street with M Street below. The staircase has come to be known as the "[[Exorcist steps|''Exorcist'' steps]]".<ref>{{cite news |author=Slovick, Matt |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/features/dcmovies/exorcist.htm |title=D.C. Movies: The Exorcist |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=October 6, 1999 |access-date=May 3, 2010}}</ref> A false front was built onto the house at the top of the steps so that the bedroom windows would immediately overlook the steps. The real structure is considerably set-back.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/10/07/exorcist-40th-anniversary/2764565/|title = 'Exorcist' creators haunt Georgetown thirty years later.|last = Truitt|first = Brian|date = October 7, 2013|access-date = June 24, 2014}}</ref>
* ''[[St. Elmo's Fire (film)|St. Elmo's Fire]]'' (1985, set in Georgetown, though the campus fraternity row portions were filmed at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] campus in [[College Park, Maryland|College Park]]
* ''[[No Way Out (1987 film)|No Way Out]]'' (1987, featured a Georgetown [[washington Metro|Metro]] stop as a plot device, even though no such station exists; the subway station shots were filmed in [[Baltimore, Maryland]]. Chase scenes for the movie were shot on the [[Whitehurst Freeway]].
* ''[[The Man with One Red Shoe]]'' (1985, an early [[Tom Hanks]] film)
* ''[[Chances Are (film)|Chances Are]]'' (1989)
* ''[[The Exorcist III]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Timecop]]'' (1994)
* ''[[True Lies]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Dave (film)|Dave]]'' (1993)
* ''[[The Jackal (1997 film)|The Jackal]]'' (1997, private homes)
* ''[[Enemy of the State (film)|Enemy of the State]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Dick (film)|Dick]]'' (1999, [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]])
* ''[[Election (1999 film)|Election]]'' (1999)

====21st century====
* ''[[Spy Game]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Minority Report (film)|Minority Report]]'' (2002)
* ''[[The Recruit (film)|The Recruit]]'' (2003)
* ''[[The Girl Next Door (2004 film)|The Girl Next Door]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Wedding Crashers]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Georgetown (film)|Georgetown]]'' (2019)
* ''[[Wonder Woman 1984]]'' (2020)
* ''[[Burn After Reading]]'' (2008) featured Georgetown prominently, but filming was done in [[Brooklyn]].{{Citation needed|date = November 2012}}
* ''[[The West Wing]]'' (1999 to 2006, occasionally filmed scenes in and around Georgetown)<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dickerson |first1=Justin |title='West Wing' Graduates at Georgetown |url=https://www.thehoya.com/west-wing-graduates-at-georgetown/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103185957/http://www.thehoya.com/west-wing-graduates-at-georgetown/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2017 |access-date=August 16, 2015 |work=Newspaper |publisher=The Hoya |date=April 29, 2003 }}</ref>

== References ==
'''Citations'''
{{reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title=A Portrait of Old Georgetown |year=1933 |publisher=Garrett & Massie, Inc. |last=Ecker |first= Grace Dunlop}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gutheim|first1= Frederick Albert|first2= Antoinette J.|last2= Lee |title=Worthy of the Nation: Washington, DC, from L'Enfant to the National Capital |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2006}}
* {{cite book |last=Lesko|first= Kathleen Menzies |title=Black Georgetown Remembered : A History Of Its Black Community From The Founding Of "The Town of George" |author2=Valerie Babb |author3=Carroll R. Gibbs |publisher=Georgetown University Press |year=1991|isbn=9781626163263|oclc=922572367|ref={{harvid|Lesko|1991}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Mitchell|first= Mary |title=Glimpses of Georgetown: Past and Present |year=1983 |publisher=The Road Street Press}}
{{refend}}

'''Further reading'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041207010947/http://www.georgetowndc.com/aboutgeorgetown.php Historical Overview of Georgetown], from the Georgetown Partnership.
* Griffith, Gary. "[http://www.westendguide.us/whurst0104.htm Whitehurst Freeway Coming Down?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041225050245/http://westendguide.us/whurst0104.htm |date=December 25, 2004 }}" at [http://www.westendguide.us/ WestEndGuide.us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223001205/http://www.westendguide.us/ |date=February 23, 2015 }}
* King, Leroy O. ''100 Years of Capital Traction - The Story of Streetcars in the Nations Capital'', Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas, Third printing, 1989, {{ISBN|0-9600938-1-8}}.
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071401398.html Georgetown's Hidden History], from the ''[[Washington Post]]'', by Andrew Stephen, July 16, 2006
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060706131955/http://www.rootsweb.com/~dcgenweb/georgetown.htm Georgetown's early history]
* [http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc15.htm Georgetown Historic District], National Park Service.

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikivoyage|Washington, D.C./Georgetown}}
* [http://www.cagtown.org/ Citizens Association of Georgetown], community association
* [http://www.georgetowndc.com/ GeorgetownDC.com], by the Georgetown Business Improvement District
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20031225050808/http://www.currentnewspapers.com/ ''The Georgetown Current'']}}, community newspaper
* [http://www.georgetowner.com/ ''The Georgetowner''], community magazine
* {{Cite Collier's |wstitle=Georgetown (District of Columbia) |display=Georgetown, a former city in the District of Columbia |short=x}}
* {{Cite AmCyc |wstitle=Georgetown (port or town) |display=Georgetown. I. A port of entry of the District of Columbia |short=x}}
* [http://www.hydeaddisondc.org Hyde-Addison Elementary School]
{{geographic location
|Centre=Georgetown
|Northwest=[[Burleith]]
|West=[[Foxhall, Washington, D.C.|Foxhall]]
|South=[[Potomac River]]
|Southeast=[[Foggy Bottom]]
|East =[[Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.|Dupont Circle]]<br />[[West End, Washington, D.C.|West End]]
|Northeast=[[Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District|Kalorama]]
|North =[[Montrose Park]]
}}
{{Georgetown, Washington, D.C.}}
{{Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.}}
{{District of Columbia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Portal bar|United States}}

[[Category:Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)| ]]
[[Category:1751 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies]]
[[Category:Federal architecture in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Former municipalities in the United States]]
[[Category:Neighborhoods in Northwest (Washington, D.C.)]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Potomac River]]
[[Category:Shopping districts and streets in the United States]]