I spent the last 10 years in Georgetown at the same address in the East Village. And then just before Thanksgiving of 2008, I moved to a new neighborhood in NW DC. Everyone, including me, seems to think this new part of town is called Petworth.
Well, maybe not. Just out of curiosity, I looked at the official NW DC neighborhood map. Which is not much help at all. Yes, while my home metro stop is the Georgia Avenue-Petworth stop, the official map shows the western boundary of Petworth is Georgia Avenue. Since the metro stop is on the east side of Georgia Avenue, that puts it in Petworth.
But I live west of Georgia Avenue, so what neighborhood am I in? Not Adams Morgan--that's too far west and south, right on top of Dupont Circle. Columbia Heights is northwest of Adams Morgan, which should put it (and me in it) right between Adams Morgan and Petworth.
Except, according to the official map, the eastern boundary of Columbia Heights is 16th Street--and Georgia Avenue is more or less 7th Street. That means in these parts, there's a 9 block strip between Columbia Heights and Petworth, and I can't seem to find anyone who will agree just WHAT this little neighborhood is called. So far, I've gotten votes on 16th Street Heights, 14th Street Heights, and North Tivoli or Tivoli North. North Tivoli/Tivoli North is what some people say the kids call it. "Kids," I'm presuming, are teenagers, and they are recalling the former appeal of the area, which once housed the Tivoli Theater, to their parents, who trooped there on Saturdays to watch movies. The Tivoli Theater building (now a restaurant) is still on one of the main intersections near the Columbia Heights metro stop--which, since it's on 14th street, is two blocks EAST of Columbia Heights.
And so on. I kept Googling. Thanks be, there is a wonderful map of the DC neighborhoods on Wikipedia. The author is Peter Fitzgerald, and I have to say that he seems to know his DC neighborhoods.
The answer to my question, according to Fitzgerald's map, is 16th Street Heights. I think.
I rather like the name Foggy Bottom.
ReplyDeleteMary Ellen, I guess you are living in limbo. ;-)
ReplyDeleteshammy: yeah, that's a GREAT name and a lovely place, too. one of the oldest parts of the city, i think. home of GWU, the state department, and a fabulous little museum--the museum of the americas. It's close to the river (ergo foggy bottom), while this place is up on the hill.
ReplyDeletedarlene: right...or the 16th bolgia of dante's inferno. i'm goin to Johns Hopkins's CI picnic this aft...gonna find out if they have lil raincoats for processors--i'm sweating like a bullet (my late sister-in-law used to say that, but i never asked her if bullets actually sweat.)