Photo by PoPville flickr user ewilfong
“Dear PoP,
What’s your take on this? Has U Street evolved to where it should be called a neighborhood?
If you ask people who live at 13th and T, NW where they live, they’ll probably say near U Street. Same goes from residents at 10th and V. And so on.
How’s this for neighborhood boundaries: Florida Ave. (north); T Street (south); 16th St. (west) 9th Street (east).”
Personally, I think U street is absolutely a distinct neighborhood (and I think your borders are more or less spot on.) There are certain neighborhoods like Shaw (where technically U St resides), Columbia Heights, Capitol Hill even Petworth that are so large that they have very different feels within them. I also think that neighborhood names evolve over time. One of the things I used to use was the closest metro stop name (but obviously some neighborhoods aren’t served by metro.)
We can also look at Capitol Hill which we’ve done many times in the past. The fact that some people call the area by Capitol South metro the same neighborhood name as the H St, NE area is ridiculous to me. Just like I think U Street is a neighborhood, I also think H Street NE (or Atlas District as some people call it, though I prefer H Street) is a distinct and separate neighborhood.
Having said all that – at the end of the day – I’m perfectly fine with people self identifying what neighborhood they live in. I’m not a big fan of fake Realtor names like “East Dupont” but if someone identifies their neighborhood with Ledroit Park but they really live one block from the border in Shaw, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I know people who are a lot older than I am and have lived here a lot longer than I have and they say they live in Petworth though they are technically over the border. Well, I have no problem with them saying they live in Petworth.
And as the city continues to change and develop I have no problem with the invention of new names like NoMa as long as the residents like it. But that’s just me.
What do you guys think?
Recent Stories
From an email: “This month, I’ll be hosting free bike maintenance/repair classes and offering free basic bike repairs at the Adams Morgan Ace Hardware.
Thanks to Chris for sending this great shot from Harvard and Adams Mill. Friends of the White Whale Society is brought to you by the team behind Hawks*** around Town….
“Dear PoPville, What’s going on with Capital One Arena? How come so many artists are choosing CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore over the 6,000 extra seats at CapOne that has…
“This is Boop. She lives in LeDroit Park. She enjoys napping.” If you have any animal/pet photos you’d like to share please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’…
Good news, D.C. area. You can save money on your next home cleaning with Well-Paid Maids. It’s easy!
We offer a discount when you set up recurring cleans — and the discounts just increased this week!
For weekly cleans, get $30 off each cleaning.
Potomac Harmony is Back! Following a gap year of competing, then virtual rehearsals during the pandemic, followed by the well-earned retirement of our long-term director, a year of a director search, Potomac Harmony hit the regional contest stage in Concord, North Carolina in March for the first time since 2018! It was exhilarating, reaffirming, and rewarding!
The chorus hit all of its goals, the biggest of which was to have fun and sing our best on contest stage — we did both! Because we earned a score over 400 points, our new Director, Allison Lynskey, was awarded the Novice Director award, photo above. Additionally, one of our charter members, Jackie Bottash, was nominated for and honored with the Leadership Excellence award. It was a celebratory weekend!
What’s next? So much! We now look forward to upcoming performances, growing our membership, and expanding our musical product with new arrangements and an education component each week. It’s an exciting time to be part of this ever-growing ensemble!
St Mary Armenian Church Annual Spring Food Festival
Come hungry and leave happy! Experience culture, community, and cuisine all in one place. See you at the festival!!!!
Comedy Cabaret
Kick up your heels at Bad Medicine’s COMEDY CABARET extravaganza at the DC Improv Comedy Club on Tuesday, May 21st. Revel in the sights and sounds of this entertaining musical revue, with songs, dance and sketch comedy that will have
