Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The National Park Service cites 'significant structural deficiencies' in decision to retire The Georgetown.
The Georgetown, the mule-drawn 1870's replica boat that has carried thousands history enthusiasts along the C&O Canal, has been retired permanently by the National Park Service (NPS) due to "significant structural deficiencies," according to The Georgetown Current. Want to know more about the history of The Georgetown and the C&O Canal? Check out our three videos from last year. According to The Current, the NPS is in discussions with Georgetown Business Improvement District to assist in raising the necessary funds to create a new boat. Arlette Cahen-Coppock, a local resident and business owner, has even started a petition to “keep a functioning canal barge in Georgetown,” reports The Current. Just a year ago, The Georgetown was getting …
38.90418
-77.060179
C&O Canal
1057 Thomas Jefferson St NW, Washington, DC
/articles/georgetown-mule-drawn-boat-unusable-replaced-by-battery-powered-boat
1308179
/locations/6585953
Monday, June 27, 2011
Hundreds gather at the Georgetown Waterfront Park Sunday.
Music and the enticing smell of grilled meats cut through the large crowd on Sunday during the first ever Waterfront Summer Celebration. The festival, held at the Waterfront Harbour, was the culprit for the larger-than usual weekend crowd in Georgetown, drawing people in for food, games, face painting and the highly anticipated water balloon toss. People lined up on the dock for boat rides and balloon animals while others danced to the Jamaican sounds of the steel drums. Based on the crowd numbers, media attention and community support the Summer Celebration drew for its debut year, it is safe to say it may now be an event annually marked on Washingtonians calendars.
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-77.0611
Georgetown Waterfront Park
3100 K St NW, Washington, DC
/articles/successful-debut-for-the-waterfront-summer-celebration
1309953
/locations/4709383
Monday, March 21, 2011
Boat gets painted in time for upcoming season.
The historic boat carrying the Georgetown moniker got a fresh coat of paint over the weekend. The red, white and blue-painted wooden vessel was looking as withered as the drained canal in which it sat during the harsh months of winter. Forty-five volunteers climbed down into the empty C&O Canal on Saturday morning to paint the exterior of "The Georgetown" and to remove debris--like soda bottles and lawn chairs--that collected at the bottom. The project is organized annually by the C&O Canal Association and conducted by the Volunteers-In-Park (VIPs)--those who pay the $15-$25 membership fee to take part in C&O Canal Park activities and projects. At the end of each seven-month operational season (April thru October) and five months of frigid…
38.90418
-77.060179
C&O Canal
1057 Thomas Jefferson St NW, Washington, DC
/articles/spring-cleaning-for-the-co-canal
1308179
/locations/3750017
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Locking Through
Those seeking to encounter an alternative Georgetown experience by way of boat and mule must do so by Saturday, October 30th, the last day of this season's C&O Canal boat tours. The authentic retreat to the 1870s upon boarding The Georgetown, the wooden boat resting across from the Canal Visitor's Center, will resume in April 2011. Aly Baltrus, Supervisory Ranger of the C&O Canal, says next season is expected to have less construction interference. While bulldozers and metal fencing currently block much of the walkway across the Thomas Jefferson bridge, Baltrus said the construction didn't have much effect on the 2010 tourist season. "Right now it is an inconvenience," she says "But they have remained on schedule." The greatest hindrance …
38.90418
-77.060179
C&O Canal
1057 Thomas Jefferson St NW, Washington, DC
/articles/co-canal-part-three
1308179
/locations/2321303
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Learn about the operational and historic aspects of the C&O Canal in Georgetown
People from around the world visit the canal in Georgetown to experience one of the few remaining historic canals still pulled by mules. In part two of three on the C&O Canal take a ride on the Georgetown and learn more about what makes the canal unique.
38.90418
-77.060179
C&O Canal
1057 Thomas Jefferson St NW, Washington, DC
/articles/co-canal-part-two
1308179
/locations/2287449
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Exoskeleton of Georgetown
The C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Canal stretches 184 miles from Georgetown to Cumberland, MD--cutting not just through roughly 608 ft. of elevation, but through more than two-hundred years of United States history. Newly-opened businesses and modern renovations currently line Georgetown's Wisconsin Ave., but what the contemporary storefronts don't suggest is the history that precedes it. Aly Baltrus, Supervisory Ranger for the C&O Canal in Georgetown, puts the history of the canal in context for the posh precinct all Washingtonians now know to be Georgetown. In the first chapter of a three-part video series, she explains to Patch what the canal was originally used for in the 19th century, how it laid the foundation for what Georgetown is …
38.90418
-77.060179
C&O Canal
1057 Thomas Jefferson St NW, Washington, DC
/articles/co-canal-part-one
1308179
/locations/2215883
ralph
1:36 pm on Sunday, March 18, 2012
They could use a battery-powered boat and keep the mules too. They can walk along the towpath tethered to the boat, just enough effort to keep the lines from going slack. That's how all the politicians work. We've all seen work horses replaced by show-horses, but only in Washington would they replace a work mule with a show mule. In New Orleans, the horse drawn carriages were once pulled by … more ›