Congress Heights on the Rise

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Ward 8 Neighborhoods....according to Wikipedia

The past few days Ward 8 and River East residents have voiced their displeasure at how inaccurately or vague the media – especially some of the local media – have been in reporting the tragic shootings that occurred on South Capitol Street in the Washington Highlands and Bellevue neighborhoods which make up a portion of Southeast AND Southwest.


With that in mind I thought it would be a good idea to post (again) the list of Ward 8 neighborhood names as posted on Wikipedia (so don’t shoot me if they aren’t accurate) in hopes that we can review them and possibly correct them if they are incorrect, outdated, heavily biased negatively etc. As a community we need to stay on top of these things and expect – and sometimes demand – that those that report on news in our communities at the very least know the basics of our geography.

The Advoc8te is asking readers to review the information posted on Wiki for Ward 8 neighborhoods and leave their comments, thoughts, corrections to the information posted on Wikipedia.  If there are errors or ommissions perhaps we could get Wiki to update these neighborhood profiles. Also, if anyone is aware of any more Ward 8/River East neighborhood maps that would be great. Perhaps we can educate a few people (including myself) today.

Including snippets of each entry. To read the full neighborhood entry click the neighborhood name.

Anacostia neighborhood
ANACOSTIA
Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Its historic downtown is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. It is the most famous neighborhood in the Southeast quadrant of Washington, located east of the Anacostia River, which the area is named after. Like the other quadrants of Washington, D.C., southeast encompasses a large number of named neighborhoods, of which Anacostia is the most well known. It includes part or all of the Anacostia Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1] Often the name Anacostia is used to refer to the entire portion of the city that is southeast of the Anacostia River, and not just the small core area shown on red on this map.


Barry Farm neighborhood
BARRY FARM
Barry Farm is a small neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., adjacent to St. Elizabeths Hospital. Possibly the oldest African American neighborhood in Washington, it is today almost entirely occupied by public housing projects and has a reputation for violent crime, poverty, and neglect. The entire neighborhood of public housing is planned for a complete redevelopment from single-use, single-income (low) into a mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood designed to complement its historic setting and location adjacent to the Anacostia Metro Station. [1]


Barry Farm is located east of the Anacostia River and is bounded by the Southeast Freeway to the northwest, Suitland Parkway to the northeast and east, and St. Elizabeths Hospital to the south. Also see article on Anacostia.

Also home to The Goodman League, named after community activist George Goodman (formerly known as Barry Farms Community Basketball League). League features current and former NBA players, college players, and participants from various communities. The league has been around since the mid 1970's.

Bellevue neighborhood
BELLEVUE
Bellevue is a residential neighborhood located in Southwest Washington, D.C, east of Bolling Air Force Base. It is bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SW to the west and northwest, Joliet Street SW to the south, and First Street and South Capitol Street on the east. There are many garden apartments, one high-rise apartment building, and some 1940s era detached homes with yards. The Naval Research Laboratory is adjacent, as are the Washington Firefighters training center, a federal Job Corps center, the Blue Plains wastewater treatment plant, and Hadley Memorial Hospital. Celebrities with neighborhood connections include Denyce Graves, New York metropolitan opera singer who grew up on Galveston Street Southwest, and country singer/entertainer Roy Clark who as a teenager lived on First Street Southeast.


Hadley Memorial Hospital, which provides long-term acute care services (but is not a full-service hospital, despite the name), is located in Bellevue. There is also a commercial corridor along Atlantic Street near South Capitol.

Buena Vista neighborhood
BUENA VISTA
Buena Vista is a large residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., east of the Anacostia River. Politically, Buena Vista is in Ward 8, the poorest ward in Washington. However, although the neighborhood is dominated by detached single-family housing and multi-family complexes, as are the adjacent neighborhoods of Barry Farm and Douglass, the homes in Buena Vista tend to be privately owned by higher-income residents. One prominent resident of the neighborhood is former Mayor and current Ward 8 councilman Marion Barry.


Buena Vista is on a hilly region of southeast Washington, which has resulted in narrow and winding roads within the neighborhood. However, its high elevation means that the neighborhood has expansive views of downtown Washington, including the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument. Accordingly, one of the largest and most recognizable condominium complexes is called Washington View.

The western end of the neighborhood, near Sheridan Road SE, is sometimes called Sheridan. Also see article on Anacostia.

Congress Heights neighborhood
CONGRESS HEIGHTS
Congress Heights is a largely residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Although it is in the poorest section of what is generally regarded as inner-city Washington—the area east of the Anacostia River -- it is very likely the most economically diverse, and most suburban, neighborhood in that section of the city. Congress Heights, in fact, contains the largest commercial district in Washington's Ward 8, along Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X Avenues.


Congress Heights is bounded by Mississippi Avenue SE to the southeast, Wheeler Road SE to the east, Alabama Avenue SE to the north, and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and South Capitol Street to the northwest. It is served by the Congress Heights station on the Green Line of the Washington Metro. Most residents live in garden apartments, but there are also older single-family bungalows. Frank W. Ballou High School and Hart Middle School serve the neighborhood.

Congress Heights, which takes its name from its hilly geography that offers a view across the Anacostia to the Capitol, began development as a neighborhood in the late 1920s when it was established as the end of the Washington streetcars line. Prior to World War II the D.C. National Guard was housed at Camp Simms. The facility included firing ranges up to 1,000 yards. It was on Alabama Avenue at the intersection of Stanton Road and Barry Farms Housing Project. During WW II it had gun emplacements (Anti-Aircraft) to defend Washington from air attack. After World War II, the U.S. Army built a military reserve facility, in the central part of Congress Heights. The campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital already stood immediately northwest of the neighborhood. Many early residents worked at the U.S. Naval Gun Factory, which stopped production about 1960, or at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The annual Martin Luther King Birthday parade on the avenue bearing his name, is a notable neighborhood event. Starting in 2006, the parade date was changed from January to April to accommodate for cold weather. Now, the parade is held closer to the anniversary of his death (April 4, 1968), rather than his birthday (January 15, 1929). There is an excellent, new tennis and learning center on Mississippi Avenue, combining sports and school tutoring.

Because of its location in Southeast Washington, Congress Heights had experienced great urban neglect for several decades.The reason it experienced neglect was due to the great white flight as it was termed by journalists in the middle sixties. However, in the 21st century, Congress Heights has received a great deal of attention from the city and urban developers. Nineteen development projects worth a total of $455 million are underway or completed in Congress Heights as of November 2006. Among these are a redevelopment of St. Elizabeths West Campus for federal use; a request for Proposals from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for the area around the Congress Heights Metro station; and a planned redevelopment of Camp Simms as a mixed-use project, including a new Giant Grocery Store, enhancement to an existing shopping center, and 75 new residential units. [1

Douglass neighborhood
DOUGLASS
Douglass is a residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., on the eastern side of St. Elizabeths Hospital. It is bounded by Suitland Parkway to the north and east, Alabama Avenue to the south, and the St. Elizabeths campus to the west. Douglass, which sits atop a hilly ridge that is the highest point in Southeast Washington, was once almost entirely occupied by two public housing complexes: Douglass Dwellings and Stanton Dwellings. It is now one of the up-and-coming areas of Washington, DC, boasting a SuperGiant, several national banks, and an International House of Pancakes. It is also in very close proximity to THEARC (Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Center) which boasts such venerated institutions as Trinity Washington University (formerly Trinity College), the School of the Washington Ballet and the Levine School of Music. The area boasts several new homes ranging from $200-400,000 and is on the border of the Congress Heights Metro Station. Also, Douglass boasts several historic Jewish cemeteries, including the Adas Israel and Elisavetgrad cemeteries. The neighborhood, along with neighboring Congress Heights, is attracting some of Washington's more sustainability-conscious residents because of the housing value, green space, and proximity to public transportation.


The neighborhood is named for the famed American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, whose homestead sits approximately one mile north of his namesake community.

Fairlawn neighborhood
FAIRLAWN
Fairlawn is a poor and middle class residential neighborhood located in southeast Washington, D.C. It is bounded by Interstate 295, Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Minnesota Avenue SE (between Pennsylvania Avenue SE and Naylor Road SE), Naylor Road SE (between Minnesota Avenue SE Good Hope Road SE), and Good Hope Road SE....


Two public schools, Anacostia Senior High School and Kramer Middle School, are located in Fairlawn. Naylor Road School, a private school (grades K through 8) is also in the neighborhood. The Anacostia Branch of the District of Columbia Public Library is located in Fairlawn at 1800 Good Hope Road SE.


The large Marbury Plaza apartment building complex (2300 and 2330 Good Hope Road SE) in the Fairlawn neighborhood is named for William Marbury. Naylor Road SE is named for the Naylor family, whose farm constituted much of southern and southeastern portion of Fairlawn. Good Hope Road SE is named for the town of Good Hope, D.C., founded in 1820 around a tavern located near the current intersection of Good Hope Road SE and Alabama Avenue SE.[4][11][22]

The Anacostia Gateway building (1800 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE) was built by the District of Columbia in Fairlawn at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE and Good Hope Road SE.[23][24] As of January 2010, it houses the D.C. Department of Housing and Economic Development. The Anacostia Gateway building will be a the terminus of the Anacostia Line of the DC Streetcar trolley system, under construction as of December 2009.[25]

The easternmost portion of Fort Dupont Park runs along T Street SE, Naylor Road SE, and Altamont Place SE in the Fairlawn area. The park adjoins Fort Stanton Park at Good Hope Road SE.


Garfield Heights neighborhood
GARFIELD HEIGHTS
Garfield Heights is a residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., bordering Prince George's County, Maryland. Garfield Heights contains both apartment units and single-family detached houses.


Garfield Heights has gone through a wave of physical renovation and an increase in property values since 2006, along with an influx of wealthier residents. Rental apartment buildings throughout the quiet neighborhood have been converted to luxury style condominiums. Recently, Garfield Heights has emerged as one of Southeast's up-and-coming neighborhoods.

Garfield Heights is bounded by Alabama Avenue to the west, Suitland Parkway to the southwest, Southern Avenue to the southeast, and Naylor Road to the northeast.

Knox Hill neighborhood
KNOX HILL
Knox Hill is a small neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is almost entirely occupied by a public housing complex of the same name. Knox Hill lies in Washington's Ward 8, long the poorest and least developed of the city's wards. Like the neighborhoods around it, Knox Hill is almost exclusively African American.


Knox Hill is bounded by Hartford Street and Knox Place to the north, Alabama Avenue to the east, Jasper Street to the south, and Fort Stanton Park to the west.



Shipley Terrace neighborhood
SHIPLEY TERRACE
Shipley Terrace, formerly known as Randall Heights, is a large residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., bordering Prince George's County, Maryland. The neighborhood, named after a former public housing complex in the neighborhood, which was largely occupied by low-income housing — primarily walkup and garden unit apartments. This neighborhood now has a mix of townhome communities, large single family home communities, as well as some low-income housing. It is a model neighborhood for the Hope VI revitalization Grant Program.


Shipley Terrace is bounded by Alabama Avenue to the north, Mississippi Avenue to the south, Wheeler Road to the west, Suitland Parkway to the northeast, and Southern Avenue to the southeast. Also see article on Anacostia.

Washington Highlands neighborhood
WASHINGTON HIGHLANDS
Washington Highlands is a large residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., bounded on three sides by Oxon Run Park and on the fourth (southeast) side by Southern Avenue. It is the largest residential neighborhood in Ward 8, the poorest and least developed section of Washington. Most of the neighborhood is low-income and public housing apartment complexes, including the two large housing projects Valley Green and Highland Dwellings. A new tennis and learning center, combining sports and education, is there. Former neighborhood residents include the late Calvin and Wilhelmina Rolark, (founder of the United Black Fund and Councilwoman), who lived on Foxhall Place, and country singer/entertainer Roy Clark who grew up on First Street. In recent years a gated community, Walter Washington Estates, has drawn middle-class residents. The most prominent landmark in Washington Highlands is Greater Southeast Community Hospital, the facility that serves the majority of public health-care needs in the District of Columbia, and whose funding and finances are stretched.


Washington Highlands is among the most violent neighborhoods in the District of Columbia; approximately one third of the city's 181 homicides in 2007 occurred there.[1] The neighborhood became the focus of media attention in January 2008, when city officials discovered that Washington Highlands resident Banita Jacks had been living for months in her rowhouse with the bodies of her four murdered children in advanced states of decomposition upstairs.

Woodland neighborhood
WOODLAND
Woodland is a small residential and industrial neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Woodland lies in Washington's Ward 8, long the poorest and least developed of the city's wards. Like the neighborhoods around it, Woodland is almost exclusively African American.


Woodland is bounded by Ainger Place SE to the north, Alabama Avenue and Knox Place to the east, Hartford Street to the south, and Fort Stanton Park to the west.

A staggering death count of young men in this neighborhood rivals the death count of U.S. troops in Iraq, earning this neighborhood the nickname "Iraq."

 
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