DC Region Top 'Post-Industrial' Metro Area in the U.S.

The industrial age of Georgetown—when the Flour Mill was actually just that and the waterfront had the less-than-pleasant scent of a tanning factory—has long since disappeared, so perhaps it is not entirely surprising that the Washington, DC area ranks top in post-industrial major metropolitan areas in the U.S, according to The Atlantic Cities.

As reported in The Atlantic Cities, a new metric created by José Lobo of Arizona State University and based on data from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis shows the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV census area has an 11.17 ratio of services to goods.

The Greater New York region falls in second behind the DC region at 9.86.

The U.S. average is 3.22.

The Atlantic Cities article points to the inconsistent distribution of this new economic reality:

"Many metros along the Bos-Wash corridor have high service to goods ratios: Boston ranks fifth, Baltimore sixth, Philadelphia 10th, Hartford 11th, and Providence 20th."

But DC has always been less of an idustrial town than similarly-sized metropolitan regions. DCist explains:

"It's hardly shocking that an area in which government is the dominant industry is not that industrial, though D.C. was once something of an industrial hub. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, originating in Georgetown, was a critical transportation route for carrying coal from the Allegheny Mountains to the mid-Atlantic states, and provided a southern competitor to the Erie Canal running through Upstate New York."

According to the National Park Service, at the peak of the canal's operation an estimated 750 canal boats hauled 663,500 tons of freight products including coal, flour, iron, and limestone products between Georgetown and Cumberland, Md. 

Today, the Georgetown Patch Directory is filled with hotels, restaurants, salons, spas and other service-industry businesses. The Flour Mill is now a condo, the Georgetown incinerator is now part of the Ritz Carlton and the Powerhouse, which once stored streetcar parts, is an events and conference space.

(Read: Ephemera Offer Glimpse Into Georgetown's Past)

Tell us what you think about the evolution of Georgetown from industry to services in the comments.