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. 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. Not just Georgetown students, those spots were big draws for GW students in the 90s and 2000s (and before, too.) It was a dubbed the original sports bar and was a favorite with the Georgetown student body, visiting college students, tourists and residents of the DMV area. Mr. Henrys Georgetown catered to a gay crowd but never declared itself as such because of its dependence on the tourist crowd in Georgetown. 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. Nowhere was that more evident than in our nations capital, which was uniquely positioned to become Americas preppiest party city of the era. "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. 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. Over the years, it has moved to a few different locations in the downtown area. Then I am mistaken. Georgetown Billiards: GM loved this place. In his day, a good bartender worked fast. As for Mr. Henrys, there may have been one in Georgetown, but Id go to Mr. Henrys on Capitol Hill, upstairs, to see Roberta Flack. She directed church choirs and began taking voice lessons, concentrating primarily on opera, with Frederick Wilkie Wilkerson. Only In D.C. Facebook page for more. 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. But Winston's manager Scott Spaulding said his bar and the others are "scapegoats" for every problem that arises in the busy district. 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. Then it was taken over by the famous disco club Tramps, run by Washington Playboy Mike OHarro. 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. You can stand and talk and see the sights.". Nathans, Tombs. The food was very good (my wife had a Shrimp Basket, I had a chicken+cheese sandwich basket; the shrimp was very good. 12. 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). Winston's is part of the cluster of bars in the 3200 block of M Street, which includes Crazy Horse, Desperados, Beneath It All and Paul Mall. Mike, 63, is semi-retired now. 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? Back on Wisconsin Avenue, Mr. Henry's of Georgetown bar and restaurant, where gays and straights mingle freely, is so demure ("We're not a cruise bar, hon," said waiter Mark Redell) that families and heterosexual couples sometimes wander in, only to look around and walk right back out. The Boy-Whore World. They have a gay following and the original is near Dupont Circle. Thursdays was E.J. He got a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown and a law degree from Catholic University. Photograph: Courtesy Blues Alley. In 1970, the Old Ebbitt Grill was struggling financially and was bought by the owners of Clyde's of Georgetown. Panelists include: Mike Tramonte: The Bayou Bill Scanlan: MTITV, filmmaker of "The Bayou: DC's Killer Joint" The Bayou backed up to another famed D.C. music institution, Blues Alley, located down the alley behind the Bayou. In Nathan's, where sophisticated young professionals mingle before a backdrop of forest green walls and framed pastel hunting scenes, a lawyer explained his presence simply: "It's loneliness, the human condition. Does that sound right? In its script, St. Elmos is described as a P.J. Would eat some nearly every lunch. Dave Was Paramount not one of the early Washington gay enlightened restaurants? Bars & Clubs. 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. "It's okay for young people in their twenties. Unfortunately, in 1982 it stopped Staying Alive and closed its doors. That same year, WaPo was already pointing toward Georgetowns end days, and they werent even aware of the looming crack epidemic which would cripple the city and turn it into the nations murder capital. Pool. There are two worlds in Georgetown. A very civil place six nights a week according to a 1978 Hoya article, the only exception being thirsty Thursdays, when the preppies would invade en masse to Carolina shag a dance descendent of the jitterbug and drop trou, a supposed mating ritual endemic to an era when sexual harassment didnt exist. Mr. Smiths was arguablythe second oldest continuing bar in the Georgetown neighborhood as it was founded in 1962. I worked there. It wasnt all preppies, of course. Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events, Mike Soper, a D.C. chef who started out working in Georgetown bars in the early 1970s, at Bobby Van's restaurant in Washington. 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. There was a time when some bartenders kept pace with their customers, when some chefs carefully calibrated their liquor intake over the night, sweating out the alcohol over a hot grill. GM was a big fan of Britches back in the day when a Britches Great Outdoors was at his local Connecticut mall. Flickr/Hunter Desportes 2) In the early 1970s, the country embroiled in the Vietnam War. 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. I enjoyed F Scotts on 36th and Prospect. The current location, near the White House, has been its home since 1983. C/Luis Garca Berlanga, 19-21, Valencia, Valencia, 46023. [4] The sound system mixing console was located on the second floor balcony, overlooking the stage. While Chinese Disco had long since moved locations to Prospect Street NW, even it would close in 2018. we found that we could get into clubs if we dressed up! I worked in a candy/gift store (Sharons Mom and Dad owned it) right across the street from Mr. Henrys,and I also worked just down M Street at Clothes Circuit, so Henrys was a very convenient destination. But he didnt fall off the face of the earth. I remember waking by the side steps of The Cellar Door and John Denver was just sitting there, strumming his guitar, enjoying some sun. We wear our boxer shorts and some say Oh, my God, who are these guys?. The people that come here are from good families, explained one Chidi-goer at the time, differentiating them from the non-preppy riff-raff. Happy memories. 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. However, the Federal-style townhouse playing host to all those hormones was built in the mid-1800s. Thats because theyll often leave some behind, and since the club is cut into separate quarters, its almost sanitary to snatch a bit off the plate. On weekends, Georgetown is Washingtons front porch, wrote Leslie Berger in yet one more 1982 WaPo nightlife article. Remember in the 1980s, DC wasnt doing well, says Alana McGovern, a Georgetown alum who wrote about the neighborhoods bar scene over the years for a project entitled Booze to Bougie. The site you are referring to was The American Cafe in the 80s and may have been an Annies Steakhouse before. He said he comes to Mr. Henry's mainly for conversation. 3125 Mount Pleasant St NW, Washington, D.C. 20010. 293 views, 6 likes, 4 loves, 2 comments, 1 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Preserving LGBT Sites in Metro DC: The Georgetown Grill, from 1948 to 1977, became a popular gay male hangout, especially. Open in Google Maps. Use to work for Britches Great Outdoors. Washingtons weird territorial placement in the American firmament also played a key role in the bar scene that emerged. Nov 21, 2022 - Explore Sharon Clayton's board "Restaurants - from when I was growing up", followed by 176 people on Pinterest. Winstons, Pall Mall, Pierce Street Annex, Numbers, The Bayou, Bojangles, Windsor McKays, Abbey Road and Pattons, Pingback: ANC Signals End to Moratorium But Delays Decision | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Pingback: The Georgetown Metropolitan Forgets its Birthday Again | The Georgetown Metropolitan. The clothing store Wet Seal opened here sometime around 2003. Go back further and you add a string of legendary bars from Georgetowns 80s heyday, like Charring Cross, Pall Mall, the Bayou, etc. | The Georgetown Metropolitan. 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. From bell bottoms to long lost amusement parks we all wish would come back to Ohio, it was certainly a unique time to live in the Buckeye State. There were family restaurants, jazz clubs, punk bars and average joe-type dives, many frequented by Marines from the nearby barracks. English . Tuesdays was Pendletons or Chadwicks, a K Street joint located under Whitehurst Freeway known for its hamburgers, cheap beers and late-night hours. This is the scrappy old lesbian bar Coconuts, converted last year into Waterstone -- a pretty tavern for the under-served western edge of Mount Vernon . There are a few prerequisites [for entry], wrote WaPo. Nor the fact that an endorsement from then-Mayor Marion Berry would make September 30, 1986 the final day 18-year-olds could legally drink in Washington. 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. Where: Find: Home / Spain / Montserrat, Valencian Community / Bar Poliesportiu De Monserrat / Bar Poliesportiu De Monserrat menu; Storz, in Kelly green bermuda shorts, planted a noisy smooch on Smith's lips. The Georgetown bar culture was filled with much more than loafers, gingham, pleats and shoulder pads, wrote McGovern. Equally lamentable was the disappearance of Philly Cheesesteak. [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. Thursdays were the big nights Georgetown/American University nights. 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. It was the closest, the sleaziest, and the drunkest bar of them all. Friendships often begin in Georgetown bars. We talked for a bit and then I went on my way. Nightlife. We wear our boxer shorts and some say Oh, my God, who are these guys?. 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. I remember a Mr. Henrys in Georgetown at the same time as the American Cafe but that Mr. Henrys closed around 1980-81 (it started getting mostly straight customers when they hired a teenaged Tori Amos to play piano)and the American Cafe followed suit a few years later. 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). Everybody went there. 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. "Now that's a babe," he said, pointing to a picture of a blond. Drinks were different back then. 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. Past Bars in Georgetown By Curtis Newman on Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 11:01 AM D.C. bars back in the day If they have an address I have the Matches with Address and Ph# 15 Minute club 18th Street Lounge 21st Amendment was a GW hangout 3514 (12th St NE) 5th Column 930 Club (Was F St now 815 vst) Abbey Road ACME Bar and Grill Yes, a locals place had a great time. 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. They go to good colleges or have good jobs.. We started DCs Fastest Bartender, and Monday night Mike Nardello spinning tunes during No Skin No Win naked dance contest Buddy Jenkins was Mgr. Or have you accepted the fact that M Street is an eerily too similar replica of your hometown mall? In Mr. Smith's, while the young frolic in the garden patio, older patrons get melancholy around the piano bar, singing, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" and "Eidelweiss," harmonizing with strangers in a minor key. Website by Red Clay Creative. 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. Espaol . And before there was an American Cafe next door there was Brits 24 hour diner where all the jazz artists from Blues Alley would go at 4 in the morning and artists from the Cellar Door would hang there, as well as most of the waiters of Georgetown after their respective restaurants closed. And remember when there was Boogeys or Boogies, where now we have the Apple Store? There was also the gay-friendly Georgetown Grill (I may have the name wrong; it was long ago, in the 70s). Every Friday night, he would head to The Day Lily, a red and gold velvet-walled Chinese restaurant, a seedy spot that would seem beneath his social class. 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. It's free. It would become gridlocked with cars as far as the eye can see, according to the New York Times, each and every Saturday night. He snatched the offending pieces of beef off the plates and slapped them on the bar top, Mike writes. And I'll go down the list and that gets them talking.". It was the first bar in Georgetown that integrated music videos into the bar! 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. A good percentage of the people you see here never even went to prep school.. He's the author of a new memoir, "Meet Me at the Bar, I'm Hungry." 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. No one was coming to his restaurant any way, so Chin figured he had nothing to lose. Much like today, there was some turmoil, some celebrations and some change. 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, card. This building used to house The Cellar Door, a live music club thatplayed host to famous artists such as Jimmy Buffet, Patti Smith, Carole King and manymore from1965-1981. It occupied the location of a former music club called The Shadows. I worked on M Street and I ate many meals and drank a few too many drinks there. Bill Scanlan: MTITV, filmmaker of The Bayou: DCs Killer Joint I think that may have been replaced by American Cafe, which was very popular. Marines, who invade Georgetown on Saturday nights, also frequent Annie Oakley's, with its mirrored dance floor and patrons in cowboy hats. It's impossible to discuss 1225 Wisconsin without mentioning that it was the location of Mr. Henry's from 1967 to 1986. Sometimes we take our pants off and it really bums people out, claimed James Muggy (Mike) Smith, a self-proclaimed filthy rich kid who was wearing a pink-and-green plaid bow tie and pink sweater when he was interviewed in yet another 1982 WaPo article on the scene. Popular Mobile Games You Must Play In 2023, Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetowns Fabled Preppy Bars. Mr. Henrys was absolutely 1225 Wisc. J. Pauls would close a few months after that, marking the end of an era, according to Eater. Richard Harrington: music critic, the Washington Post By fww2. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! That same year, WaPo was already pointing toward Georgetowns end days, and they werent even aware of the looming crack epidemic which would cripple the city and turn it into the nations murder capital. Enjoy the seasonal outdoor pool and visit the 3 bars/lounges and poolside bar for drinks. Not exclusively gay but ahead of its time? 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. But it was Clydes that the Official Preppy Handbook would list as their definitive prep bar for the DC area. Its free. Where: Find: Home / Spain / Montserrat, Valencian Community / Bar Poliesportiu De Monserrat; The post Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetowns Fabled Preppy Bars appeared first on InsideHook. To me, a saloon is where the dining room seating is right there with the bar, Mike says. For example, did you know that restaurant workers love it when tiny women order big club sandwiches? Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Spent a lot of time at the tiki bar at Third Edition. Go down the hill on Wisconsin, pass the Church, turn left and there it was. But if it was, I would suggest that you check out this website to learn more. John Kelly writes John Kelly's Washington, a daily look at Washington's less-famous side. I seem to remember a Mr Henrys on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan as well as all the ones mentioned here. The East India Trading Company ( I think), another bar, in the basement of what was most recently Maxime. It offered an onyx bar top, hexagonal white tiles on the floor, checkered tablecloths, draught beer and burgers. Your email address will not be published. "We want to be free to live as a community and not some kind of glorified freak show," said Paul Chadwell, a resident of Potomac Street NW, who, like many Georgetowners, says he is fed up with the traffic, noise and vandalism that are the byproducts of nearby discos. It even got a moment of Hollywood fame as the beloved St. Elmos Fire bar in the 1980s classic St. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. "The Bayou was a mid-Atlantic icon," said Dave Lilling . But Mike always had a soft spot for the bar both sides of it. I think the gay steakhouse was called Paramount? Area residents complain that loud music and rowdy patrons are the bane of their lives. By 1980, WaPo was offering a laundry list of the clientele to expect there: Mt. It was rite of passage. They say customers park illegally, drink beer, urinate on sidewalks and gardens, and vandalize property before driving away intoxicated. There was definitely a Mr. Henrys at 1225. Prices and visitors' opinions on dishes. It transitioned toWinstons Pumphouse in 1972, and then in 1996 it became Rhinoa popular if not beloved Georgetown Universitybar. 1. Del Grande, sporting a high-and-tight haircut, said in confidential tones, "I'll tell you what. Beer was king, specifically bottled beer. Currently the AMC Theatre, the Bayou was the go-to music scene from 1953 to 1998. The. The article Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetowns Fabled Preppy Bars by Aaron Goldfarb was originally published on InsideHook. Eventually, Wilkerson convinced Flack to give pop music a try. By the aughts, now known simply as Richard H. Houghton III, he was serving as Acting Country Director of the International Republican Institute in Baghdad. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Sign up now for more from the Beltway. [My friends] and I were pretty upset about it closing, noted one Georgetown junior in reference to Chadwicks, which shuttered before the new school year of 2014, by now famous for its cheap and unlimited champagne brunches, a preppy mecca until its final days. Georgetown Piano Bar View Map Address 3287 M St NW, Washington, DC 20007, USA Phone +1 202-827-3236 Web Visit website Gather around the cherry red piano and sing along at Georgetown Piano Bar on M Street, which offers music and live entertainment every night of the week. The bar was bought and converted into an upscale Belgium restaurant called The Sovereign. I bartended, waitered and managed the place from 1975-1980. In the early fall of 1983, J. Pauls opened to much fanfare, a two-level bar uniquely built for preppies. 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. Her date swallowed hard on his fried fish. This bar created Georgetowns punk rock scene. [3], The club included a balcony level, with tables and chairs, and two standing room only bars. The customer wasnt charged, but he wasnt able to finish his meal, either. In 2014, The Third Edition became El Centro, an upscale Mexican restaurant. While Im sad to see eras end, Georgetown is due for another chapter, said Georgetown restaurant broker Bill Miller at the time. Popular attractions . This is an Appalachian family in Eastern Kentucky, circa 1964. More than 100 businesses in the area serve liquor. She also found time for a social life during this period, culminating in her 1966 marriage to Stephen Novosel, a jazz bassist. 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. There definitely was a Mr Henrys on Wisconsin avenue in the 80s. Wasnt there a regular Britches a little further up Wisconsin, like around where Polo is now? This location has been a bar since 1952 when it was first the Shamrock. Crazy expensive and hard to get into, it set the standard for special-occasion dining in the era when butter and . Fish Tails Bar & Grill. I do remember when Blimpies Subs opened just south of Mr Henrys, maybe a couple doors down or next door- It was perfect food for late nights,after the clubs. Then again, no one in Georgetown is these days either. 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. ", "Actually, Georgetown is my neighborhood," Smith said. Upstairs was a deli/market called Il Pane (thats Italian for bread). The other big draw was the $1 hamburger night with Gregorio the bar-back flipping the nastiest hamburgers allowed for human consumption. There was another room in back down a hallway,which had a bar and piano. 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. The price is $66 per night. Yes, definitely Mr. Henrys (Georgetown) was just above M street on Wisconsin Avenue, I think it was #1225. This brought a huge influx of teenagers from the DC suburbs to Georgetown on Fridays and Saturdays that, when combined with the sizable university population, led to swells of 20,000 to 30,000 patrons, many of whom travelled by car, during the nighttime.. 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? By the aughts, now known simply as Richard H. Houghton III, he was serving as Acting Country Director of the International Republican Institute in Baghdad. The following 13 vintage photos showcase different areas throughout Ohio during the 1970s: 1. Mike Tramonte: The Bayou ", Not everyone in Mr. Henry's was as happy as the wide-eyed North Carolina visitor, though. 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. 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. 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. If you are talking the late 80s-early 90s, you forgot Winstons. But he didnt fall off the face of the earth. According to Salon, the American diplomat now sported short trousers, a large tattoo and spoke Arabic he was anything but a preppy. And awesome. They used to sell canned Clydes chili. 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. No one was coming to his restaurant any way, so Chin figured he had nothing to lose. John Dominis. Here at 4E we asked these questions and did the research into Georgetowns bar history, and no this is not a shameless plug for my final research project.