Jump to content

Talk:Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)/Archive 1

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archive 1

Untitled

Just published: Georgetown's Hidden History, Washington Post. BlankVerse 15:54, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Education

discussion copied from my talk page. --Aude (talk) 17:05, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I recently noticed that in the *Georgetown, Washington, D.C. section in the education section that St. Albans is listed and unless the someone moved the National Cathedral it is still part of Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C. It is located at the corner of Mass & Wisconsin 38°55′50″N 77°04′15″W / 38.93057°N 77.07087°W / 38.93057; -77.07087.--NelsonJacobsen

You are absolutely correct. Feel free to change the wording or make whatever changes you think are needed. Cheers. --Aude (talk) 02:07, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
Thanks

Actually upon revisiting the education subsection of the page I also noticed that it listed National Catherdal and GT Prep which is in Montgomery County Md. The whole section need to be rewritten. Which then begs the question -- schools from an historical prespective or now there? --NelsonJacobsen

"Throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries the concentration of wealth in Georgetown sparked the growth of " in the education section seems to contridict the history section where it say "an 1890 flood and expansion of the railroads brought destitution to the C&O Canal, and Georgetown became a depressed slum." This entire article needs to be sourced better, but I know the history section to be correct. I'm not familiar with how private schools developed in Washington, D.C., and what role Georgetown played. Maybe, such discussion belongs in the main article, Washington, D.C. (it would need sources) Here, maybe the education section in this article should pertain more specifically to the neighborhood. Thoughts? --Aude (talk) 17:05, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I placed a call to the Councilmember of that part of the Ward 2 Jack Evans and talked to an aid who sent me list of the Private schools in the area currently. So at least I have a base line for the present.

As for the history of Georgetown schools or DCPS in general--ahhhhh--that would be a whole book because of the transations between the gritty times of georgetown as a waterfront and the urban renewal that transformed it into what it is today.

The District was charter in 1802 and the Public Schools 3 years later under a different charter in 1805 it could appear to be an after-thought which it is not today. The new Mayor Adrian Fenty seeking to take over the school directly and everyone just asking them to be fixed. --Nelson Jacobsen

All sounds good. One bit of advice is that whatever we add to the article generally requires a source - per citing sources and reliable sources. That could be a book, reliable website, etc. The existing material in the article does a poor job of that, with sources needed. --Aude (talk) 15:34, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Have you seen this bridge?

I found a freely available image of a bridge on flickr at File:Georgetown bridge.jpg, but as I'm not a native of D.C. I can't identify the bridge. Can someone familiar with the area place a caption on the image (under the "transportation" section)?

Done. Thanks for adding the photo. --Aude (talk) 17:33, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

Bounded on the south

The text says Georgetown is bounded on the south by the Potomac River, but the map shows it not reaching the river. What's the neighborhood between the river and the southern border of Georgetown as shown on the map? (I'm looking for the name of the neighborhood in which Cecil Place lies.) D021317c 04:08, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

You're right about the map, but the map is wrong. Georgetown extends all the way to the river. Georgetown was a *port*, for gosh sake - it had to hit the river somewhere! Harbor Place is in Georgetown, Whitehurst Freeway is in Georgetown, Water Street (K) is in Georgetown. All of those lie to the south of what shows on the map - so I think it can be said with pretty fair confidence that Cecil Place is, like all those others, in Georgetown too. JohnInDC 10:18, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Hollerith

I tried to make the point succinctly in the summary of my original undo but I will make the point more clearly here so that we can discuss it if need be:

There is no questioning Herman Hollerith's contribution to the field of data processing and computing generally, and it is not really well known that his contribution took place in Georgetown - indeed in a building that still stands. That said, this article is about Georgetown, not about the famous or influential people who have lived in or passed through it. Hollerith was but one of many, many such people and there is no reason to favor him in particular with his own biographical entry here. JohnInDC (talk) 21:23, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Wikihw has restored this disputed content four times via Undo, without commenting here and without responding to a message I left on his Talk page. After his third reversion (which would have required me to make a fourth myself) I posted a Request for Editor Assistance here: Wikipedia:Editor_assistance/Requests#Georgetown.2C_Washington.2C_D.C._-_silent_edit_war. Anyone with comments on the issue is of course welcome to comment there, or here. JohnInDC (talk) 01:14, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

I think the Tabulating Machine Company deserves a mention in the article. The section in dispute focuses too much on Hollerith and repeats material in his article. I'll try to find a way to incorporate the company into the article. SDC (talk) 21:39, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

Good idea. Thanks. JohnInDC (talk) 00:08, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
The article and any additions to it require citations, per our verifiability policy. Saying something like "The claim can be made because his inventions" very much needs to be cited and attributed to some source. And not as much discussion of Hollerith himself is needed. --Aude (talk) 05:45, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

Cleanup

I started making some edits to cleanup the article and bring up to standards, which include citing information in the article. I have a bunch of books to use, and think this article could be a whole lot better. If you have any problems or questions (or suggestions) with my edits, please say so. --Aude (talk) 12:57, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

Those are some nice additions. There's some good rich history in Georgetown and the article is improved by your changes. JohnInDC (talk) 13:17, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
Okay, I made some more changes, adding more details about Georgetown's African-American history, its founding, and changed some of the subheadings. I'm not sure the best way to organize the subheadings, but think it works for now.
Also, I have a user page here (User:Aude/Sandbox5) which lists articles from the Columbia Historical Society journals (available off-line) by topic. There's quite a lot about Georgetown, but useful material for other aspects of DC history. I never had much time as I like to work on these articles, but been meaning to do something with them. Maybe now. --Aude (talk) 23:18, 19 March 2008 (UTC)


Hi, I couldn't figure out how to edit the introduction, but as long as you're listing embassies, the Venezuelan Embassy ought to be included -- it's on 30th, below M. Also: I would add a note explaining the importance of the Tabulating Machine Company -- that's a really cool exhibit. Finally, George Stephanopolous has moved from 28th Street, but might be elsewhere in Georgetown. Another interesting residential note could be that while the 2004 election was going on, both Kerry and Edwards lived in Georgetown (and Kerry still does).

One other interesting location might be the Inn where Jefferson and Hamilton pretty much got drunk and made the deal creating what would become the Federal Reserve in exchange for some states rights protection. Madison was in the mix somehow, too. I tried googling it, but whiffed. I think it's a building that stood near 33rd & P. Maybe one of you knows more?

IvyGold (talk) 01:23, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Jefferson

The article states that Jefferson lived in Georgetown while serving as Secretary of State under John Adams. I have no idea when Jefferson lived there but he was Vice President during the Adams administration, not Secretary of State.

Correction made. Thanks --Aude (talk) 15:01, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

Georgetown category

APK is ready for Spring 16:15, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Nevermind, I've been informed this is a speedy issue. APK is ready for Spring 21:07, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Hollerith redux

This morning I undid a 1,464 character edit regarding Herman Hollerith by Wikihw. The specific edit, and adaptations to better suit the article, was discussed on this Talk page here. The user's persistent reintroduction of the original material, refusal to engage in discussions concerning it, and eventual block was discussed at WP:ANI here. JohnInDC (talk) 12:23, 3 November 2009 (UTC)

Georgetown history article

I found this:

WhisperToMe (talk) 21:04, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Map please

This article would benefit greatly from a map to shew readers whereabouts in the District of Columbia Georgetown is. 92.40.203.232 (talk) 23:47, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree, but the problem is that the northern boundary of Georgetown is open to interpretation. Realtors are always trying to tell buyers that a property is in Georgetown when in fact it's in Burleith. For example I found this map:

http://wikitravel.org/en/File:Georgetown_map.png

but anything above R Street, and arguably above Reservoir, just isn't Georgetown -- that's an area of houses with nice yards and driveways instead of Georgetown proper's characteristic blocks of townhouses and corner markets.

I'd make the case that Reservoir is the northern boundary, but that would cut out the Georgetown library, so R Street? I'd also cut out anything west of 37th.

Maybe if somebody could create a map with shading up there?

IvyGold (talk) 00:00, 9 December 2010 (UTC)


Proposed move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Closing as follows. There is a clear consensus for moving unambiguous names to titles with no disambiguating signal. However, there is no consensus for moving the remaining titles to a particular alternative format. bd2412 T 05:06, 10 March 2013 (UTC)

– These were moved from Oct. 8-13, 2010 by User:Bsherr with the edit summary ‘’Per WP:NCGN’’. At that time NCGN advised not using the comma convention but today’s WP:USPLACE does not. In fact, it is much more common to see the comma convention. Also, you may have noticed that these only go up to the letter "H". That's because the mover never got around to moving the others and so about half of D.C. neighborhoods still use the comma convention. Marcus Qwertyus (talk) 21:16, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

  • Oppose. First, some of these need to be carefully reviewed to ensure that the move is correct. Chevy Chase is a good example of one that isn't. Second, while the comma convention may be more popular, in the case of most of these articles, I question whether that is really appropriate in the (always special) case of Washington, D.C., where the city and larger district are co-terminous, and with no named political subdivisions but rather a collection of (often informally) designated neighborhoods. The comma implies a formality, an official-ness, to these places that is simply not present. The parenthetical construction strikes me as the more appropriate in this case. JohnInDC (talk) 21:51, 13 February 2013 (UTC)
Fixed the Chevy Chase one. I checked beforehand to see that these at least had defined borders on Google Maps and left out the ones that didn't. Marcus Qwertyus (talk) 23:19, 13 February 2013 (UTC)
Thanks. Broadly I don't feel that strongly about this; I just think it reads better, and is less confusing, the way that it is. That being said, and as I look at this more closely, in a few instances I think that adding "Washington, DC" is not necessary at all. I seem to remember one of the provisions in the MOS is that if a place is the only one with that name, it doesn't need a further identifier. So e.g., DuPont Circle should not be moved to DuPont Circle, Washington, DC. Is there another? I'd make the same case for any of the foregoing that now lack the DC qualifier. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm picking at you - you've done a good bit of work. It's more than my attention moves in sort of fits and starts, and so hence my observations - JohnInDC (talk) 02:53, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
Of the entire foregoing list, I think Georgetown is the only one that was ever a separate political entity. The others are all just neighborhoods within Washington, D.C., and should be accompanied by the full name of the city and district. We don't for example say "Watts, California". JohnInDC (talk) 11:53, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
With Georgetown UCN says, "if an organization changes its name, it is reasonable to consider the usage since the change." The presently used name should be used so maybe Georgetown isn't so different from the lot. Marcus Qwertyus (talk) 17:13, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
I agree. Today it's the same. Historically it's sort of interesting that it was once a separate entity within the District of Columbia, but it's been all rolled up together for 140+ years now. JohnInDC (talk) 17:43, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
(edit conflict) I'm afraid I'm missing something. We do name the city, "Washington, D.C." Unless what you mean is, we don't typically say the whole words, "District of Columbia", in which case I don't see how that bears on my point one way or the other - a point which I'll attempt to make in a different way. No one would address a postcard, "Buena Vista, Washington, D.C.". To residents (in particular), the construction reads and sounds weird and wrong. By contrast, "Buena Vista (Washington, DC)" simply reads as a disambiguation of a sort. Which "Buena Vista"? Oh, that neighborhood in DC. Again I don't feel that strongly about it but simply note it to explain my opposition. I do feel more strongly about unique areas like DuPont Circle and Foggy Bottom. There aren't any other of those to my knowledge, and "Foggy Bottom, Washington, DC" is just wrong. No one calls it that, nowhere, ever. In both those cases, DuPont Circle and Foggy Bottom are not just sufficient, but correct, just like Queens - which is not titled "Queens, New York City, New York". Finally I agree that whether it was the original poster's point or my response, the Georgetown thing is pedantic. It's also a one-off and not worth a special case. JohnInDC (talk) 13:13, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
The point about Watts was simply that it didn't make sense, as the IP editor suggested, to title an article "Georgetown, District of Columbia"; it would be like calling it "Watts, California". Why skip the intermediate subdivision? JohnInDC (talk) 13:33, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
I'm going to add a bit more - by way of articulation, not contentiousness - because I'm struggling with how to say what I mean. "Douglass, Washington, DC" (for example) scans, sounds, like the actual name of a place, a phrase that people actually use. But it isn't. No one says it. Locals speaking locally would omit the "Washington DC", and wouldn't bother with the "Douglass" if speaking with someone unfamiliar with the area. The phrase, as an article title, is nothing but a Wikipedia construct and it rings funny to the ear. That's my objection. By contrast, "Douglass (Washington, DC)" reads as the name of a place, of which there might be many, which in this case happens to be the one in Washington, DC. Now - if the MOS really requires the former, fine. It's not important enough to fuss about - users will find what they need, and people from this neck of the woods who frequent WP will just have to get used to seeing it written that way. (I stand by my point for the limited number of unambiguous names like Dupont and Foggy Bottom, which should not be renamed. They are correct as they stand.) JohnInDC (talk) 14:43, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
  • Oppose Like others have said, article names should reflect common name of the subject as much as possible and I too believe that using the comma denotes a level of "officialness" that just doesn't exist. The parentheticals are appropriately used here to disambiguate articles, only with a slightly higher level of precision (e.g. rather than using a title such as "Columbia Heights (neighborhood)"). Best, epicAdam(talk) 12:40, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
  • Comment: There seems to be a misunderstanding here that a title disambiguated by a comma should be a natural term in common use. That has never been the purpose of disambiguation. The wording after the comma is purely there as a disambiguator, to enable the reader to work out which Georgetown is being looked for. The common name element relates to Georgetown, not to whatever it is being disambiguated by. Outside the United States (where it is commonplace to see a place referred to as Little Rock, Arkansas), placenames are rarely disambiguated by a higher unit in natural language. Nobody in the United Kingdom would ever refer to Lincoln, England, for instance, but British editors have accepted that a disambiguator is required, and that this is a valid way of doing it. It really is a bit much when American editors, who were (as a group) instrumental in forcing the comma separation format on a (then) reluctant world, turn round and complain when they are asked to practice what they preached. Skinsmoke (talk) 13:26, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
Well I, for one, did not preach anything. Moving all these page names (and disambiguating article names that do not require it) seems like a rather pointless exercise. WP:USPLACE leaves room for other conventions on a "state-wide" basis and thus there seems to be no reason to force a change here. Best, epicAdam(talk) 17:52, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
I accept that a disambiguator is not a natural part of the term and that it, therefore, should be enclosed on parentheses (brackets) to mitigate any confusion. Lincoln, England is a hideous construction foisted by brute force that will receive no accommodation from me. —  AjaxSmack  20:05, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
  • Comment: I think AjaxSmack might as well stop banging his head against a brick wall, as it's quite clear from numerous previous discussions that he's never going to win that one on disambiguating by commas. Eventually, British editors accepted comma separation, largely on the basis that this is how placenames are disambiguated in almost all atlases and road atlases. It really has gone beyond the point of no return now, as to switch to parenthetical disambiguation would mean moving thousands (tens of thousands?) of pages across the English language Wikipedia. And, of course, comma separation has largely been accepted by most editors around the world (yes AjaxSmack, I'm looking at you).
I certainly wouldn't disagree with epicAdam about disambiguating when it isn't necessary. Unfortunately, most editors interested in American placename articles screamed blue murder the last time that was suggested, and insisted that the state had to be in the name (except for the big city exceptions). Has consensus changed? I somehow doubt it, but you could be right. So let's see what people think of dealing with all Washington neighborhoods consistently (at the moment there are at least three different formats), according to one set of rules, and that this be written into the naming conventions for the United States.
There would be no change to the following on the basis that there is nothing to disambiguate from:
The following would move on the basis that there is nothing to disambiguate from:
The disambiguation page currently at Benning would move to Benning (disambiguation), as there is nothing else on that page specifically named Benning.
The disambiguation page currently at Takoma would move to Takoma (disambiguation), as there is nothing else on that page specifically named Takoma.
There would be no change for the following on the basis that they are the primary topic:
The rest need disambiguation. Using Washington as the disambiguator is not ideal as it may lead those searching to think they are in the state of Washington or even part of Washington in England, and so would fail to be precise enough. The disambiguator D.C. was chosen for Washington itself on the grounds that it was known worldwide by that title. That is not the case for, as an example, Brentwood. There is no need for any of these to disambiguate within the District of Columbia, which is coterminous with Washington, D.C., so move the rest as follows:
Skinsmoke (talk) 20:39, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
Those are worse still. If you are going to comma disambiguate here, it should be to Washington, DC (as already exist), and not just District of Columbia. There is no usage precedent at all for a descriptor like "Woodley Park, District of Columbia". (I am unpersuaded by the argument that Lincoln, England is a mistake and so we must repeat it here.) Further, even though Washington and the District are the same, and further disambiguation may therefore not be technically required, leaving out "Washington" from (for example) a descriptor like "Woodley Park, District of Columbia" is in fact ambiguous and confusing in that implies that Woodley Park, DC, is somehow different than or separate from Washington, DC, when in fact it is included within. JohnInDC (talk) 21:05, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
  • Comment: I never said that Lincoln, England was a mistake. I gave the historical background to how it came about. It has been accepted by British editors. As for District of Columbia, I'm quite easy on that. Others suggested it earlier in this discussion. If the consensus is to disambiguate by Washington, D.C. then I have no problem with that. What is unacceptable and confusing, both to readers and editors, is the mish-mash we currently have within Washington, D.C. neighborhoods, with no logic to the pattern whatever. At the moment we have 71 disambiguated by comma, 32 by parentheses and 35 with no disambiguator, plus one disambiguated by parentheses as housing project.Skinsmoke (talk) 21:14, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
You're right that there should be a standard. I'd prefer having no disambiguator when one isn't necessary, but where one is required that it be "(Washington, D.C.)" I find "District of Columbia" problematic for the reason stated by JohnInDC (the article name makes the neighborhood seem like a separate "city" within the District) and dislike the convention with the comma for the reasons I've already stated. As I've mentioned, WP:USPLACE allows for state-wide conventions for local place names and I think that coming up with a unique convention is fully appropriate here. Best, epicAdam(talk) 22:03, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
I'm afraid the assertion simply isn't true. Skinsmoke (talk) 11:28, 22 February 2013 (UTC)
Huh, really? I thought that was how we distinguished them from cities and towns. It would also seem to be better for using the pipe trick. But those results speak for themselves. --BDD (talk) 15:03, 22 February 2013 (UTC)
I think the assertion was that the vast majority of articles on Wikipedia use parenthesis to disambiguate. The comma convention seemingly only applies to articles related to cities and towns (and that's likely okay for North American settlements); however, that convention is itself the anomaly and I don't see why we need to be held to it given the potential confusion and inaccuracy it causes. Best, epicAdam(talk) 15:35, 24 February 2013 (UTC)
  • Support, per Marcus Qwertyus, Skinsmoke, et al: the proposed change would be more consistent both with other similar WP lists and with other entries in the same list. ╠╣uw [talk] 13:02, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

The one major exception is Category:Neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida, since that's when I asked the editor to stop the moves until a consensus was established, so it's a mishmash of parentheses (5) and commas (3). I don't have a strong opinion on which to prefer, but going forward with these articles some wider clarification would be nice.--Cúchullain t/c 22:54, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

  • In the spirit of trying to find a consensus, I support adopting the comma convention as evidently the more common way of disambiguating neighborhoods. I oppose including any disambiguator if there's nothing to distinguish it from.--Cúchullain t/c 03:21, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
  • Support for simplicity and consistency based on the above discussions. Better to standardize on one style then to try and use two at random. While a case could be made for using parenthetical disambiguation here, I'm not sure that we could reach consensus. If anyone wants to pursue that, maybe WP:USPLACE is the right forum. Vegaswikian (talk) 03:54, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Notable historical/sociological epochs?

If resident political personalities are worth noting here, perhaps a time-line of important social epochs would be a good fit. I was born in Georgetown hospital in 1953; my family moved to Fairfax soon thereafter, but I grew very fond of the hippy/counterculture flavor of the Georgetown of the late '60's - early 70's. Wisconsin Avenue in particular was replete with psychedelic-themed poster shops, pop art studios, paraphernalia shops, and record emporia filling each block with music of the time. That sun-drenched milieu passed, but surely there are others that could be described, and identified with the topic and entry "Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)".

Thanks, Jeroboambramblejam (talk) 02:06, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure how much of what one might call the "commercial and residential changes in the history of Georgetown" should be detailed in this article, versus elsewhere in the encyclopedia, but that might be worth compiling. I guess I would expect it to include a wide range of changes - e.g. the African-American period prior to what, WWII? as well as the 60s and 70s of the last century. And be sourced. I wonder if anyone has written up anything like that? JohnInDC (talk) 02:15, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

What is the status of Georgetown?

Question from an ignorant Englishman: List of the most common U.S. place names calls Georgetown a "principality". Not sure that's correct, I know we have a new Prince George over here who one day might want somewhere to be prince of, perhaps a Wikipedian thought it would make a nice birthday gift? I hope a DC expert can put it right. --Sussexonian (talk) 22:22, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

A province. Huh. I wouldn't call it that - once a separate city, it's now just a neighborhood within the District of Columbia, like Kensington or Mayfair or Knightsbridge. JohnInDC (talk) 23:41, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

German embassy?

The embassy of Germany is located at 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington DC 20007. Is that still considered Georgetown? If so, Germany should be included in the intro paragraph of countries whose embassies are situated in Georgetown. --Kattania (talk) 21:33, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Hi Kattania, My name is Michael and I'm a Georgetown University grad. I'm also a runner, so I have a good sense of the geography around here. Depending on who you ask, the German embassay is either in the Foxhall neighborhood or in the Palisades. It's definitely not in Georgetown. In fact, some would argue that the French embassy is not in Georgetown either, but rather is part of Burleith. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.44.125.202 (talk) 02:36, 26 August 2016 (UTC)

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Georgetown (Washington, D.C.). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

  • If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
  • If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 12:39, 10 January 2017 (UTC)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Georgetown_(Washington,_D.C.)/Archive_1&oldid=1136761270"