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Southwest Waterfront in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Change on the Waterfront

River Farms to Urban Towers

— Southwest Heritage Trail —

 
 
Change on the Waterfront Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 15, 2019
1. Change on the Waterfront Marker
Inscription.
You are standing in the heart of one of Washington, DC's oldest—and newest—neighborhoods. For 150 years Southwest Washington was a working waterfront community. Then urban renewal changed the landscape forever. Today Southwest is a monument to 1950s and 1960s architecture and city planning.

The city's first military post (now Fort Lesley J. McNair) was established here in 1791 on Greenleaf's Point, where the Anacostia and Potomac rivers meet. In 1978 a ferry began running to Virginia from the point. Wharves received building materials and food for the new city, while shipyards thrived. The port was particularly busy during the Civil War.

By 1900 this bustling neighborhood was fully built, home to a densely populated working-class community of 35,000. They were modest people of all backgrounds: European immigrants, urban African Americans, and migrants from nearby rural areas.

Southwest was called "the island" because the Tiber and James creeks separated it from the rest of the city. Later a canal and railroad tracks reinforced the nickname. Homey and self-sufficient, Southwest aged in place. Its modest brick and wooden rowhouses, interspersed with some elegant dwellings and many alley homes, became run down. By the 1930s reformers called it obsolete, located "shamefully... in the
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shadow of the Capitol." Consequently nearly all of Old Southwest—560 acres of buildings—disappeared between 1954 and 1960 for a new neighborhood free of what was then called urban blight. Southwest became an admired "new town in the city." But the forced dispersal of 23,500 people continues to raise important questions about the benefits of urban renewal.
 
Erected 2004 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 1.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansArchitectureIndustry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Southwest Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1793.
 
Location. 38° 52.594′ N, 77° 1.049′ W. Marker is in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Southwest Waterfront. Marker is at the intersection of M Street Southwest and 4th Street Southwest, on the right when traveling west on M Street Southwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1100 4th Street Southwest, Washington DC 20024, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Suggs Plaza (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Blending Old and New (about 600 feet away); New Town in the City (about 700 feet away); Thomas Law (about 700 feet away);
Reverse of the Change on the Waterfront Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 15, 2019
2. Reverse of the Change on the Waterfront Marker
History of SW / Buzzard Point (about 700 feet away); Lewis House (about 800 feet away); Barney House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Rooms With a View: An Idealistic Vision (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Southwest Washington.
 
Also see . . .  River Farms to Urban Towers Booklet. (Submitted on October 20, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.)
 
Change on the Waterfront Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 15, 2019
3. Change on the Waterfront Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 20, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 252 times since then and 37 times this year. Last updated on March 8, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on May 15, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024