Georgetowners Courting Politics & Prose for Old Theater

A group of Georgetown residents approached the owners of renowned Washington bookstore, Politics & Prose, about potentially opening a new location in the old Georgetown theater at 1351 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washingtonian reports. 

Bradley Graham, who co-owns the book store with Lissa Muscatine , confirmed to Washingtonian that a Georgetown location had been proposed. 

“What makes the Georgetown proposal more attractive is the strength of community interest and the suggestion they would be able to raise the necessary funds to purchase the property and renovate,” Graham told Washingtonian.

Georgetowners have been lamenting the loss of so-called third spaces in the area, particularly Barnes and Noble that closed in December 2011. 

Joe Sternlieb, the CEO of the Georgetown BID, is leading the effort to bring the bookstore to the neighborhood, whether it goes in the theater or elsewhere. He says the owners of the old Georgetown theater are "sitting" on an offer from his group to purchase the property. 

The community held a public meeting about the Old Georgetown Theater several years ago to discuss its potential future use and the general improvement of that section of Wisconsin Avenue NW. Since then, most of the discussions have been behind the scenes. 

Topher Matthews, who writes the Georgetown Metropolitan blog, moderated that public forum. He says he expects the effort to purchase the theater to involve crowdsourcing through public funding of the purchase price and renovation. 

Would you want a Politics & Prose in Georgetown? Tell us what you think in the comments.