Whenever I walk through the many dazzling neighborhoods of D.C. or stare at a WMATA map when I ride the metro, I’m constantly wondering where the hell these neighborhood nick-names came from. Whenever I think about the many boroughs of D.C. such as Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Tenleytown, and Dupont Circle, I can’t help but ponder the etymology of each of these strangely unique names. So today, I have decided to do my own little history hunt and dig up the back stories behind some of the unique neighborhood monikers D.C. has earned, and share it with my audience. In picking this list of neighborhoods, I tried to pick a variety of areas with the most intriguing histories, ones with a high population density, and ones with some wacky names (good example: Swampoodle).
For all those in a rush, I have included a quick slide show that gives a snippet of each neighborhood’s etymology, and for those who enjoy reading their history, I have also included a more in-depth explanation below. Here we go!
Adams Morgan – For a place as culturally diverse as Adams Morgan, it’s rather apropos that the history behind it’s name would also have deep tie ins with race and equality. The area dubbed Adams Morgan got it’s name from two formerly segregated elementary schools in the area, the all African-American Thomas P. Morgan Elementary School and the all Caucasian John Quincy Adams Elementary School. Once the supreme court desegregated D.C. schools in 1955, the Adams-Morgan Community Council (made up of people from both the Adams and Morgan schools) redrew neighborhood lines in 1958 that combined Washington Heights, Lanier Heights, and Meridian Hill as one area, dubbed Adams Morgan. Now how all the bars, jumbo slices, and late-night boozing started up is a whole other story.
Foggy Bottom – This iconic D.C. neighborhood that’s home to George Washington University has one of the weirdest names in the District, a name that probably elicits the most ridiculous postulations on it’s possible etymology from tourists on the Metro. To put all of your theories to rest, Foggy Bottom is believed to have received it’s name from two possible sources: the area is close to the river and receives a lot of fog concentration and industrial smoke which is one of the biggest reasons it wasn’t used for the location of the U.S. Naval Observatory. The other hypothesis is that it was named after one of the first beers to be distributed in D.C. by the Olde Heurich Brewing Company, Foggy Bottom, in 1873. Even though it was probably named after the fog, in my heart I would like to believe it was named after the beer. Also, random fact, it was originally named Funkstown in 1763. I kind of wish they stuck with Funkstown.
Dupont Circle – I was hoping this one would be interesting, but it’s pretty straightforward: the neighborhood named after the iconic traffic circle was created by Army Engineers in 187and was originally called Pacific Circle. In 1882, Congress changed the name t0 “Dupont Circle” after Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont, an homage to his brave actions in the Civil War. Yup, kind of boring, but hey, it’s history.
Tenleytown – This area has an awesome history behind it’s name: locals started calling the area Tennallyytown due to the presence of a local bar owned by John Tennally. Over time, the spelling changed up until the 19th century where it adopted it’s current naming, Tenleytown. Naming an entire neighborhood after a bar definitely says something about the area’s original occupants: clearly they loved to party rock.
Shaw – An area of D.C. with a culturally rich history of African Americans, this neighborhood was a freed slaves camp on the outskirts of Washington. It got it’s name during the Urban Renewal Era, when the neighborhood started to be referred to as Shaw due to the neighborhood’s local Junior High School which was named after Civil War Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.
Columbia Heights – Interestingly enough, this area picked up it’s name due to it’s proximity to the first building for Columbian College, known now as The George Washington University, which finished construction in 1822 and was bordered by Columbia Road, 14th Street, Boundary Street (Florida Avenue) and 13th Street. The area started off as a suburb of D.C., where streetcars would pick District residents and deliver them into the heart of Downtown.
Swampoodle – Probably one of the more infamous neighborhoods of D.C. history, this area used to be home to one of the most notoriously dangerous Irish neighborhoods in the country. It was widely known by the public that it was a no-fly zone, and was a rather rambunctious, destitute area that actually contained live farm animals up until the early 1900’s. It was also home to the Uline Arena, the very first place in America that the Beatles played (random). It got the name Swampoodle when a reporter in 1857 wrote about the groundbreaking for a church in that area and referred to the land on North Capitol and I street as having an abundant amounts of puddles and swamp land. So in summation, Swampoodle = formerly dangerous Irish neighborhood with lots of puddles and swampland, also where the Beatles played.
Penn Quarter – Interestingly enough, the name Penn Quarter is relatively new and has only been around for the past few decades. It was originally referred to as Old Downtown until it experienced a massive rejuvenation phase spearheaded by the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation in the 1990’s. The name Penn Quarter sprung up due to the neighborhood’s border running along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Friendship Heights – This neighborhood has a uniquely weird history, picking up it’s moniker from the Village of Friendship Heights which is a special tax district that sprung up in 1914 in D.C. The “village” is run by a special seven-member council who are appointed for two-year terms, and run the legislation and laws of the area. I hate to geek out with a Game of Thrones reference, but when I was researching this I totally had flashes of the city of Qarth in my mind.
Glover Park – This area is home to a number of high-profile embassies, and the history behind it’s name actually ties in pretty closely to why there is such a high density of embassies in this neighborhood. The area is named after one of the most well-known Washingtonians, Charles Carroll Glover, was a well known banker and philanthropist in the 19th and 20th century. Glover is credited for creating the Rock Creek Park system, as well as playing a pivotal role in the creation of Embassy Row via land donations.
