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 Construction of the first building on the campus of Georgetown University began in 1788. The university is just one of myriad schools (both public & private) that are located within this posh neighborhood. Once known simply as the town of George, Georgetown is Washington’s oldest neighborhood, having celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2001. Indeed, it is 50 years older than the federal capital itself, which was only established in 1791. With its cobblestone and trolley tracks, most Georgetown streets can be best described as “intimate” – a claim few other, later developed DC neighborhoods can make. This "small-town" feel is intensified by residents who refer to their homes as being in one of two distinct areas: the West Village or the East Village, depending on which side of Wisconsin Avenue (one of two main commercial corridors of the neighborhood) their home falls. The West Village lays claim to Georgetown University's campus. But -- or perhaps because of that fact -- the East Village is the more coveted of the two. One drawback, however, to living in either "village" is that there is no Metro rail station within the neighborhood's boundaries. Instead, residents rely on public and private buses and shuttles or, if they live in the far east end of the East Village, the Foggy Bottom and Dupont Metro Stations are a short stroll away. The university maintains its own fleet of blue shuttle buses, fondly referred to as the "GUTS" buses -- so dubbed thanks to the acronym for "Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle." If the prices of Georgetown homes don't deter you, their size may. Georgetown homes are typically much narrower than those found in other parts of the city. It's not uncommon to find homes in which you can stand in the center of the living room and practically touch the walls on either side. So while the prices of these homes may not be drastically higher than those, for example, in Kalorama or Dupont, the square footage for Georgetown homes can differ substantially. But, then again, what's a few square feet when you're in Georgetown, right? As the old real estate adage goes, it's all about location, location, LOCATION! Not all Georgetown homes sacrifice space, however. Some are deceptively large, while others can only be described as mansions. Indeed, this historic neighborhood lays claim to some of the most exquisite residences, many of which were constructed during the nation's first 50 years of existence and, not surprisingly, have since undergone extensive renovations. Victorian, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, Georgian mansions, Federal and Classical Revival row houses and single-family homes all can be found here. There are still quite a few grande dames in need of a little (or, in many cases, a lot of) TLC. But don't look for any bargains here. Fixer- uppers in this neighborhood easily sell for well over $1 million.. Some may be surprised to learn that in addition to the 18th- and 19th-Century architectural jewels of Georgetown there is also much more recent construction to be found in this posh enclave. The Cloisters, for example, is a gated community tucked into the northwestern-most corner of Georgetown. These Federal-style garage townhomes with brick facades were built in the mid-to-late 1980s. A more recent development, known as "Phillips Row," broke ground in 1999 in the East Village. The 14 high-end luxury townhomes are located on the 2700 block of Olive Street, also wrapping around 27th & 28th Streets. What was once a mere parking lot for the Phillips School now showcases Federal-style and Italianate row houses, as well as a few detached homes. Each home was sold with assigned parking (for 2 cars) in a gated courtyard. Little really has changed on the streets of Georgetown, thanks in part to a law Congress enacted in 1950 that made the area an historic district. That designation requires a panel of architects to review any proposed exterior changes, demolitions or new construction in the area. Georgetown has been and remains home to some of Washington's most illustrious powerbrokers, including the Kennedys, the late U.S. Ambassador to France Pamela Harriman, Washington Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee, investigative reporter/editor Bob Woodward & the late Katherine Graham, to name but a few. But Georgetown wasn't always synonymous with the social and political elite. In fact, it was once considered the social backwater. Far from the high-dollars per square foot that Georgetown’s waterfront commands today, it was an industrial dumping ground as recently as the early 20th Century. To learn more about Georgetown, click here and here. 
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