DC area questions, questions, questions (Washington: hotel, felony, buy)

[rlrl]

I was at the Washington Hilton in 1974 when i was 12. Is it still there and if so where is it located?

In 1980 I stayed at a really old world style elegant hotel but I can't quite recall the name. I think there was a "ham" at the end of the name like The Oldham or Shoreham or Waltham. White and back were the color schemes of the hotel. Not in the modern commercial style of a tourist hotel. If you can identify it and it's still there where is it located?


Then in 1979 and '80 I remembered a 2 story Greek restaurant, food was really good, and outside the area had many XXX adult shops similar to 8th Avenue in NY but I never saw any hustlers on the streets and unlike NY the street was clean and sanitized. I also recalled a monument across the street by 2 intersecting streets and possible a metro train station outside the area(the orange line perhaps?). How long before '80 were the DC subways around for? Where was this restaurant located?

Finally, driving back from DC to NY, i recalled passing through some really bad slum areas. Was this New York Avenue(US 50) going west to I 95? Looking at the map it seems it may have been the most logical route into/out of DC for NY

thanks

[jm67]

Hmmm... interesting queries.

The Washington Hilton is on Connecticut Ave NW just north of Florida, in Dupont. Its greatest claim to fame is being the same spot where Reagan was shot in 1981. Originally Frank Lloyd Wright was supposed to put a structure there in the 1940's but the city fathers were aghast at something modern and esoteric, so instead we got an incredibly bland warehouse for tourists some years later.

The other hotel could have been the Omni Shoreham in Woodley Park, right on Rock Creek Park. It's still there (although the ownership keeps changing).

Not sure about the Greek restaurant. Very few restaurants from 1980 are still in business. Zorbas on Connecticut in Dupont has been around for years and is a 2 story building, but I find it hard to believe there were XXX bookshops in Dupont even in the 1980's.

The slums were probably on NY Ave. Some of them have been cleared up, some are still there.

[rlrl]

**hey thanks for the info. I like to reminisce about good years and times. I always liked DC; being from NY back in the 70's downtown tourist DC seemed so sanitized and clean compared to NY back then


Another question i wanted to ask was back in '79 and '80 in DC i recalled seeing a movie called "To Fly" which featured a bunch of joggers running atop of NY City's Rockefeller Center skyscrapers but I can't recall the main point of the film or the name of the theater i saw it in. Maybe it was the Kennedy Center? It was not a movie theater but some theater that featured this film designed for the public and tourists. Any idea? I think it had 2 levels like a museum but I just can't place it

[umograd83]

I think the movie you are talking about is an Imax Theatre movie. I lived in DC around that time and I have seen that one.

The Metro was completed in 1976.

[PenguinSix]

To Fly is one of the 'core' movies at the Air and Space IMAX theater. I think it might still be playing even now. You can also buy it on DVD.

[rlrl]

yes! you reminded me of the place. was that theater near the capitol?

[saganista]

Originally Posted by rlrl

Then in 1979 and '80 I remembered a 2 story Greek restaurant, food was really good, and outside the area had many XXX adult shops similar to 8th Avenue in NY but I never saw any hustlers on the streets and unlike NY the street was clean and sanitized.

This might well have been The Astor, which was just east of 19th on M Street. Sit-down, white-tablecloth place. Cushy, comfy furniture from grandma's house. Usually live Greek music in the upstairs, particularly on weekends, and the food was simply excellent. If that's the place, it didn't last too long after your visit, although Luigi's, the italian place right around the corner on 19th that was sort of in the same category as The Astor, is still there. Just one of the strip clubs is left...the Camelot Show Bar.

Originally Posted by rlrl

I also recalled a monument across the street by 2 intersecting streets and possible a metro train station outside the area(the orange line perhaps?). How long before '80 were the DC subways around for? Where was this restaurant located?

Not sure about the monument part, at least not right across the street. Dupont Circle is two blocks to the north and it would fit the general description. Maybe more to the point is that one block to the east would have been the intersection of M Street with both Connecticut and Rhode Island Avenues. There is a smallish, tree-shaded, triangle-shaped park there with a statue of Longfellow in the middle. No Metro station right there, but the north entrance to Farragut North is visible a block to the south at Connecticut & L. Farragut North was "the end of the line" when the first Metro train ran on March 27, 1976.

Originally Posted by rlrl

Finally, driving back from DC to NY, i recalled passing through some really bad slum areas. Was this New York Avenue(US 50) going west to I 95? Looking at the map it seems it may have been the most logical route into/out of DC for NY. thanks

Very likely yes, except that it's US-50 east and US-1 north at that point. That area along New York Avenue and the railroad tracks used to be pretty trashy indeed. It's gotten a little better, but still isn't great. It has been a major route out of town headed for the northeast for decades. Either follow the BW Parkway to I-95 just south of Baltimore, or take the quick jog on the Beltway to hit I-95 right away. Before the interstate system, you would have taken New York Avenue, then turned left onto Bladensburg Road and followed Route-1 to the northeast. Yuck!

[PenguinSix]

Originally Posted by rlrl

yes! you reminded me of the place. was that theater near the capitol?

Yes. About 4 blocks away, and at the time you were there the Native American museum was not built so if you went to one end of the museum the view of the Capitol would just fill the entire wall of windows.

[rlrl]

Curious how the judicial structure works in DC. Since DC technically is a state(I could be wrong correct me if I am) but also the nation's capital, I might imagine it may work differently.

If say someone is busted for a small misdemeanor would their case be heard in some type of municipal court(where the average misdemeanor case is heard througout the nation) but if they were busted for a big felony the case might be heard in an upper court such as the supreme or state court

Is the DC judicial system divided into a municipality and a state system like other states or is it different? Always wondered because geographically DC looks pretty small on a map

I always liked DC and found it charming and very clean. Look forward to going back as it's been 28 years

[DustyButt]

Someone is writing a book.