For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly. I used to bartend at Winstons in 1990/1991. Bill Scanlan: MTITV, filmmaker of The Bayou: DCs Killer Joint Now, its location is filled in with Fine Retailer (whatever that means). This location has been a bar since 1952 when it was first the Shamrock. For the two spines of Georgetown-M and Wisconsin-the era of college bars is now closed. Mike whipped the plate of half-eaten chop from the table. 10 Things You'll Remember If You Grew Up In The 80s In Washington DC The 1970s at Georgetown: An Exhibition from the Georgetown University In 1970, All Souls was the site of the Black Panthers' Peoples Revolutionary Constitutional Convention, an event staged with the strong support of DC's Gay Liberation Front. Changed to the Bayou in 1953 with Owners Mike Munley, Vince and Tony Tramonte, The Tramontes sell the Bayou to Cellar Door Productions in 1980, This page was last edited on 2 December 2022, at 07:05. "This is?" He influenced many and left a mark on the soul with his performances. 1) Washington DC in the 1970s was a riveting time. He started as a busboy and dishwasher at Chadwicks in Georgetown. From May 1- May 3, a series of large scale demonstrations were held in DC protesting the war. And this Georgetown dining room was the fanciest, Frenchest of them all. Roberta Flack performed more at Mr. Henrys on Capitol Hill than in Georgetown. "It's a very loose, relaxed place," said Rick Del Grande, 23, who lives in the Marine barracks at Eighth and I streets SE. The Boy-Whore World. Just ten years ago, such an outcome would seem impossible, but after a few years of relentless closures, the inevitable has come about. Worked at The Crazy Horse and The Cellar Door. Chidi had been opened as this youthful preppy scene was just beginning to emerge, in 1976. All rights reserved. If by the 1980s New York was going new wave and hip-hop, club kids and cokeheads, in Washington, DC, a melting pot of fledgling lawyers, bankers and politicos still enjoyed dressing up in boat shoes, blue blazers and Brooks Brothers button-downs to hit the town. Third edition was my go to spot from 92-96. Spent a lot of time at the tiki bar at Third Edition. The D.C. Public Library's Special Collections Archivist Ray Barker will lead a panel discussion of the histories, stories and insights around Georgetown's great venue spaces of the 1960s and 1970s. Unfortunately, in 1982 it stopped Staying Alive and closed its doors. The interior, meanwhile, was more inspired by another preppy haven popular with college kids, an underground spot called The Tombs. The clothing store Wet Seal opened here sometime around 2003. While Chinese Disco had long since moved locations to Prospect Street NW, even it would close in 2018. Washingtons weird territorial placement in the American firmament also played a key role in the bar scene that emerged. In the late 1960s and early 1970s there were so many Georgetown undergrads streaming down the hill to work at the neighborhoods bars, nightclubs and eateries that Mike and his friends had another name for the elite Jesuit university: the Georgetown Restaurant School. Somehow we had to remake things so that those who wished could engage in political activity. Sign up for InsideHook to get our best content delivered to your inbox every weekday. 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. "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. A Louisville Howard Johnson during the 1960s. And, of course, it was partially the model for the St. Elmos bar in St. Elmos Fire. The protests are known as Mayday. [4] The sound system mixing console was located on the second floor balcony, overlooking the stage. 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, Not just Georgetown students, those spots were big draws for GW students in the 90s and 2000s (and before, too.) 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. Blues Alley. 12. Not exclusively gay but ahead of its time? They say customers park illegally, drink beer, urinate on sidewalks and gardens, and vandalize property before driving away intoxicated. Get InsideHook in your inbox. 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. Gunchers, Olde Mac;s, Winstons, Paul Mall, Apple Pie, Chadwicks, Third Edition, Guards. We're happy. Which brings GM to: Chadwicks: GM can speak from a brief personal experience that this bar was popular with GU students (at least in the late 90s) and that its entrystandards werelargely to blame. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. | The Georgetown Metropolitan. An American Bar, according to its marquees subtitle, it opened in 1963 in a former motorcycle hangout as the first full-sized bar in the District since Prohibition. The loss of a significant number of Georgetown's bars and late-night options has run contrary to the neighborhood's population growth. A rich tan (and were not talking about the Q.T. That was redneck.. For the record: Dinos Paramont Steakhouse, with a parking lot to the left, and Mr. Henrys to the right, and American Cafe to the right of that. There were also the more restrained, upscale clubs like Pisces Club, Charlies Georgetown and F. Scotts for the preppies who had aged out of their old college favorites. . John Thompson's teams made it to the Final Four three times in the 1980s and won the National Championship in 1984. Just ten years ago, such an outcome would seem impossible, but after a few years of relentless closures, the inevitable has come about. Fourteen years in the making, "The Bayou" is a 90-minute documentary about the legendary Georgetown nightclub, which closed in 1998. Check out the website Booze to Bougie to learn more: Photos/gifs:trophyhomes.com, images.google.com, boozetobougie.wordpress.com. 1. Winstons was the go-to spot in the mid 80s. 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. But if it was, I would suggest that you check out this website to learn more. By the 1990s, Georgetown had, like most of America, entered into a grunge period, with alternative music blasting out of the doors at rock clubs like Poseurs. [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. Copyright 2023 InsideHook. Or order the book at meetmeatthebarimhungry.com. These kids are very well-behaved," Spaulding said. I think the infamous Maximilian Rochambeau had a club in that building back in the early Nineties. 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. It closed in 1989 and is now the Running Company. 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Very sad to see the continued gentrification of a once great area. You can stand and talk and see the sights.". 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. There definitely was a Mr Henrys on Wisconsin avenue in the 80s. "Wally, you can punch me in the face five times and I'd still look better than you," said a tall, lanky fellow as he pulled out his wallet. Mr. Smiths was arguablythe second oldest continuing bar in the Georgetown neighborhood as it was founded in 1962. ", But Bruce Norris, cartoonist for The Georgetowner newspaper and a Nathan's regular, goes about finding a companion creatively. type); blond, dirty blond or light brown hair; a polo shirt with some sort of animal or mammal applique; a pair of madras pants or Bermuda shorts; and your name on the Britches mailing list for its new fall collection.. One amorous pair -- a man and woman -- eating dinner and oblivious to their surroundings, was asked, "Did you know this is considered a gay bar?". 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. 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. It transitioned toWinstons Pumphouse in 1972, and then in 1996 it became Rhinoa popular if not beloved Georgetown Universitybar. 4.5/5 Wonderful! She noted that by now the 100-plus bars in the neighborhood were starting to rankle the older, upper-crust residents with to their boisterous partying. All Rights Reserved. Great memories. Half of Mikes book is recipes, scaled down for household use, and half is behind-the-scenes reminiscences. The owner sold it to a corporation and then it began to slide. 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. The. 3125 Mount Pleasant St NW, Washington, D.C. 20010. 'Meet Me at the Bar': A new memoir celebrates Georgetown's busy saloon The Third Edition was a Georgetown neighborhood staple, serving students, visitors and the neighborhood from 1969 to 2013. On weekends, Georgetown is Washingtons front porch, wrote Leslie Berger in yet one more 1982 WaPo nightlife article. And I'll go down the list and that gets them talking.". 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. 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. Donal was a protege of Roberta Flacks. Storz said he spit beer. In the early days, all gentlemen had to wear a coat and necktie. Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetown's Fabled Preppy Bars - Yahoo! Then again, no one in Georgetown is these days either. Whats a Hoya with a fake ID to do these days? The post Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetowns Fabled Preppy Bars appeared first on InsideHook. According to Salon, the American diplomat now sported short trousers, a large tattoo and spoke Arabic he was anything but a preppy. 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. Above all, it was . Were not splitting the atom here.. "I spend a lot of time here. [7], The Bayou was known for hosting benefits, including one for Toni Wilson, a singer who would frequent the club with her family. (202) 387-8411. 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. 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). The Cellar Door was a 163-seat music club located at 34th & M Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. from 1964 through January 7, 1982. . Third Edition: This one was legendary among GU students for its lax entry policies. While Im sad to see eras end, Georgetown is due for another chapter, said Georgetown restaurant broker Bill Miller at the time. 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. 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. 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.