Patricia Linskey-Nietfeld’s family has roots four generations deep in Georgetown, and she is very knowledgeable about their history. In this interview with John Verghese, she shares stories about her family’s long involvement in the Irish community in the city, as well as stories from her own childhood growing up at 1657 Wisconsin Avenue. She recalls the way many historic moments affected her own life in Georgetown, from the desegregation of DC public schools to the Kennedy election. Pat has a...

Judy Davis shares stories of growing up on P Street including running around with neighborhood children, spinster neighbor ladies, shops and restaurants she and her family frequented and what life in Georgetown was like before the war. Judy grew up on P Street in the same house her mother was born in and that had been in her family for over 100 years. She says she never had a key to her house until after she was married. She recalls Georgetown as a quiet, safe, and marvelous place to live....

Ann Satterthwaite is committed to the preservation of the environment and the community – and is also very interested in historic preservation. What better place to settle than in Georgetown? Ann arrived in Washington after finishing her graduate degree in city planning at Yale University to work with the Outdoor Recreation Resources Commission in the early 1960s where she helped to create parks and green spaces for the city. Having worked in several cities and countries throughout the world,...

Tea and conversation with Tom Birch: The congenial Mr. Birch first came to know Georgetown as a student at George Washington University Law School in the late 1960's and moved there permanently with his partner in 1987 after serving in the Peace Corps and beginning his career on Capitol Hill as a lobbyist for nonprofit organizations. Over the years, Tom has enjoyed the village atmosphere of Georgetown where people often live together for generations, sharing bonds, not just a friendship but...

Pie Friendly moved to Washington in 1971 with her new husband, Alfred, and lived in the Friendly family home on 31st Street for a few years before moving to Cleveland Park. Marrying into one of the established Georgetown families, Pie depicts a life where the tennis court was one of the centers of social and political life. Georgetown was a small community where friends would gather at shops, like the French Market and Neams, and parks during the day and then attend supper parties in the...

Born and raised in the melting pot of Brooklyn, New York, Kevin Delany learned a sense of tolerance and understanding of different cultures at an early age. This certainly paid off later in life when he worked as a foreign news correspondent and traveled the world as an evaluator of Peace Corps missions. As a young man, Kevin entered the Navy during World War II and later found himself at Williams College where he excelled as a track and field star. Following in his brother’s footsteps, Kevin...

Frank Randolph was born on Reservoir Road in Georgetown and the son of Ernest Randolph, the renowned senator from West Virginia. Frank received his early education from the Hardy school and Duke Ellington high school. After two years at West Virginia University, Frank was ready for something different, and signed on for a highly regarded and exciting fine arts program at the University of Florence. Frank returned from Italy and got his real estate license to sustain him. He not only sold homes...

John Richardson is a builder who has lived in Georgetown since 1976 while raising his son with wife, Nina, and developing his business. He was instrumental in the amazing transformation of Volta Park, from what was a “very run down mess – like an old freight yard – filled with inner tubes and dirt and rocks” to the beautiful park it is today. He talks about the early days of that effort and how the people in the neighborhood made it happen – against all odds, about how Georgetown has changed...

Since 1950, Al Wheeler’s life has been deeply intertwined with Georgetown. He and his wife, Naomi, raised their children here, building a home to suit when they couldn’t find one that would address their young son’s penchant for bolting out of the door at every opportunity. And while Al was at it, he also designed and built the neighboring 18 homes around their new one, forming a unique enclave friendly to pedestrians and young sprinters in an area now called West Lane Keys. In an interview...

Dumbarton Street resident, Tyler Abell, 79, has lived at the intersection of power and politics almost from the time of his birth. In 1936, his mother, Livie Abell, married journalist Andrew (Drew) Russell Pearson (1897-1969), whose syndicated newspaper column “Washington Merry-Go-Round” was among the best-known of its day. Pearson paid $20,000 for four houses comprising the entire corner of Dumbarton and 29th Streets, razing two and renovating the other two. His office was in one home, at...