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63-560: DC 295 starts at a split from I-295 and I-695 at the 11th Street Bridges in Anacostia . From there, it continues northeasterly along the Anacostia River to the DC-Maryland border. Mileposts continue the sequence of I-295 from the split. Frontage roads near the north end are known as Kenilworth Avenue, which is the name of MD 201 after splitting from the main freeway. DC 295

126-548: A homeless shelter to the area, and the construction of moderate-income rowhouses. In 1992, the city began replacing concrete sidewalks in the Anacostia Historic District with red brick to restore the sidewalks to their original condition. In 2002, the city adopted the Historic Housing Tax Credit Act of 2002, which allowed homeowners in the historic district to claim a tax credit of 50 percent of

189-500: A 9,000-square-foot (840 m ), two-story complex topped by a green roof/nursery center with classrooms, labs, and a multipurpose area beneath. Studios Architecture was chosen to be the architect of the project, while the administrating agency will be the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation . District of Columbia Public Schools operates public schools. Anacostia High School serves Anacostia. Ballou High School

252-627: A bonus promised to them. The event became known as the Bonus Army Conflict. Most of the Bonus Army camped on Anacostia Flats, a swampy, muddy area along the Anacostia River later reclaimed as Anacostia Park/Fairlawn Park. Fearing civil unrest, the President ordered the military to disperse the campers from Washington. The Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur dispersed them, but exceeded

315-454: A federally-owned district in which would be built the new national capital, and George Washington picked the current site in 1791 (a choice ratified by Congress later that year). In 1795, real estate speculator James Greenleaf purchased most of what is now the Anacostia Historic District from the federal government. Although Greenleaf was bankrupted in the Panic of 1796–1797 , a few homes dotted

378-693: A late-1990s report. The report also cited attention to the area at that time from Hillary Clinton and Newt Gingrich . In 2005, Building Bridges Across the River opened the 110,000-square-foot (10,000 m2) Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) which is home to eleven nonprofit organizations, all of which share the goal of helping children and adults reach their full potential. Free summer evening jazz concerts are also given weekly in Fort Dupont Park. The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Parade

441-485: A ring of forts around the city. The first of these forts was Fort Stanton , which began construction in September 1861, was completed on October 22, and fully armed and staffed by December 25. Fort Stanton was built on "Garfield Heights" (now Fort Stanton Park), and a military road (now Morris Road SE, Erie Street SE, Fort Place SE, Bruce Place SE, and Ainger Place SE) constructed from Monroe Street to provide better access to

504-463: A spectacular 21-room mansion, "Mont View," on what is now Mount View Place SE; his son, George Washington Talburtt, lived there for many years (although it is an apocryphal story that John Howard Payne composed the song Home! Sweet Home! there). The first church in the area, the Episcopalian "Ryan's Chapel," opened in 1862. Van Hook had hoped to attract Navy Yard workers to buy and build in

567-733: Is a historic district in the city of Washington, D.C. , comprising approximately 20 squares and about 550 buildings built between 1854 and 1930. The Anacostia Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. "The architectural character of the Anacostia area is unique in Washington. Nowhere else in the District of Columbia does there exist such a collection of late-19th and early-20th century small-scale frame and brick working-class housing." The historic district

630-461: Is a notable annual event along the Avenue bearing Dr. King's name. Starting in 2006 the annual parade date was changed from January to April. (Also see the separate article on Congress Heights ). In January 2007 a new large supermarket opened to serve the neighborhood. Anacostia downtown is located at the intersection of Marion Barry Avenue (formerly Good Hope Road) and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue . It

693-658: Is evident in its architecture. In 1957, an Anacostia landmark, the "world's largest chair", was installed at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and V Street SE. The chair was installed by the Curtis Brothers Furniture Company and built by Bassett Furniture . In the summer of 2005, the " Big Chair " was removed for repairs, then returned in April 2006. Notable facilities in the area include Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling (formerly Bolling Air Force Base and Naval Support Facility Anacostia ). Founded in 2000,

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756-564: Is in southern Anacostia. The area has a number of middle and elementary schools, and is also the location of Thurgood Marshall Academy . In the 2007 film inspired by the life of Ralph Waldo 'Petey' Greene (played by Don Cheadle ), Greene's straightlaced counterpart Dewey Hughes played by Chiwetel Ejiofor surprises all with his skill at '9 ball' pool. "Grew up in the Anacostia projects ... [and] made [my] way through school hustling", he explains about himself after their game in Talk to Me . The film

819-646: Is located directly east of and along the Anacostia River , after which the neighborhood is named. Bounded by the Southeast Freeway to the north and northwest, the Suitland Parkway to the south and southwest as well as Fort Stanton and Ricketts Park to the east, Anacostia includes all of the Anacostia Historic District , which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site preserves

882-789: Is part of the National Highway System . What is now DC 295 was originally part of two separate highways: the Anacostia Freeway and the Kenilworth Expressway. It was first conceived by the National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1950 as a connector route between the Baltimore–Washington Parkway at Kenilworth Avenue and the Capital Beltway near Oxon Hill . The route would provide access to

945-678: Is roughly bounded by: Buildings within the Anacostia Historic District are generally two-story brick and wood-frame structures. The houses are primarily wood-frame construction, mostly in the Italianate , Cottage , and Washington Row House architectural styles (although there are some homes in the Queen Anne style). Cottage-style buildings tend to have been built earlier, with Italianate structures more popular after 1870. Queen Anne–style homes tend to be clustered in Griswold's subdivision. Many of

1008-592: Is set in the late 1960s. The neighborhood, served by the Anacostia Metro station , is a 10-minute ride on Washington Metro 's Green Line from downtown Washington; other Metro stations on the Green and Orange lines serve other parts of Greater Anacostia. I-295 runs through the neighborhood; it connects to DC 295 further north, and these two routes make up the entire routing of the Anacostia Freeway. Anacostia Historic District The Anacostia Historic District

1071-518: Is the most famous neighborhood in the Southeast quadrant of Washington, located east of the Anacostia River, after which the neighborhood is named. As of the 2010 Census , Anacostia's population is 92% African-American, 5% Non-Hispanic White, and 3% other. The Anacostia Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, and it retains much of its mid-to-late 19th-century low-scale, working-class character, as

1134-571: The Anacostia Station at this intersection led to concerns that the Metro station would destroy the character of historic Anacostia, and after pressure from the federal government Metro moved the site of the station to Howard Road SE. The Anacostia Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. After the 1990 census required the District government to redistrict

1197-775: The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands , purchased John Barry's farm immediately southwest of Uniontown/Anacostia, subdivided the property, and sold small lots at rock-bottom prices to formerly enslaved people (establishing the neighborhood of Barry Farm ). Businessman Arthur Randle purchased the John Jay Knox farm south of St. Elizabeths Asylum and established the new subdivision of Congress Heights in 1890. He purchased undeveloped land south of Pennsylvania Avenue SE and created another new subdivision, Randle Highlands Uniontown/Anacostia, Barry Farm, Congress Heights, and Randle Highlands remained isolated from one another, and most of

1260-508: The Province of Maryland ) gave the area its more etymologically correct name, "Anacostine," from which the modern name of Anacostia is derived. The name means "trading village." The Nacochtank villages which dotted the south side of the Anacostia River were busy trading sites for Native Americans in the region. War and disease decimated the Nacochtank. During the last 25 years of the 17th century,

1323-492: The 17-block subdivision (bordered by Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE, Good Hope Road SE, 16th Street SE, and W Street SE) was 14th Street SE, which had a central market and a 40-foot (12.2 meter) wide boulevard running down the center of it. The first house erected in the new subdivision was a two-story brick building on Harrison Street (on the southwest corner of Harrison and Monroe Streets), and next to it on Monroe Street (on

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1386-476: The 1960s. The Commissioners of the District of Columbia changed the street names in Anacostia to conform to those in the city of Washington in 1908. In 1920, local African-American Roman Catholics constructed Our Lady of Perpetual Help church on land formerly owned by physician J.C. Norwood. The Fort Stanton site was purchased by National Capital Park Commission (NCPC) for $ 56,000 in 1926. In 1867, Major General Oliver Otis Howard , commissioner in charge of

1449-533: The 1980s, the Anacostia neighborhood became synonymous with crime and violence and had one of the highest crime rates in the District of Columbia (albeit not in all crimes)—leading to further deterioration in the condition of the buildings in the area. The southern part of the Washington Metro 's Green Line was originally designed to pass over the 11th Street Bridges to the intersection of Good Hope Road SE and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. The site of

1512-585: The Anacostia Freeway, I-295, officially ends on a ramp to the 11th Street Bridges, though it originally referred to everything south to Oxon Cove. For years the northern portion between there and the District Line was often referred to as Route 295 even though it bore no such markings. It was not long after parts of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Maryland were numbered MD 295 in the 1980s that

1575-478: The Anacostia Historic District came in 1820. The growth of the Washington Navy Yard created the need to provide housing for the many new employees working there. Still, little land was available for new construction in the area, and housing prices were high. Consequently, in 1818, the privately owned " Upper Navy Yard Bridge " was built over the Anacostia River at 11th Street SE. A toll bridge , this bridge

1638-561: The Anacostia River. Archaeological evidence indicates that American Indians settled in the Washington, D.C., area at least 4,000 years ago, close to the Anacostia River . Native inhabitants within the present-day District of Columbia included the Nacotchtank , at Anacostia, who were affiliated with the Conoy . Captain John Smith explored the area in 1608, traveling up the "Eastern Branch"—later

1701-677: The Anacostia River—mistaking it for the main body of the Potomac River , and met Anacostans. Before the arrival of whites, the Nacostine villages in this area were a lively center of trade visited by Native Americans such as the Iroquois of New York. Even after the founding of Maryland, Leonard Calvert, in a letter to a merchant in London, described "Anacostan" as one of the three best places in

1764-498: The Anacostia Waterfront Initiative is revitalizing a 45-acre (180,000 m ) piece of the Anacostia River waterfront to promote the community. Plans include numerous parks restored of their natural wetlands and forests, canoe tie-ups, a playground, a four-acre 9/11 memorial grove, and an environmental education center. The center provides visitors with education about the history and use of the Anacostia River through

1827-618: The Anacostia waterfront, which included Bolling Air Force Base and the Anacostia Naval Station . In 1955, District officials approved the portion of the route between Suitland Parkway and East Capitol Street; the remainder of the route was approved in 1956. The southern portion of the route, from the Beltway to the 11th Street Bridges, was given a financial boost when it was included in the Interstate Highway System . The route

1890-535: The District of Columbia numbered its portion as DC 295. Exit numbers were added in 2014 as part of the 11th Street Bridges reconstruction. The entire route is in Washington, D.C. Anacostia Anacostia / æ n ə ˈ k ɒ s t i ə / is a historic neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Marion Barry Avenue (formerly Good Hope Road)SE and

1953-569: The District of Columbia, became a part of the city of Washington when the city and District became coterminous in 1878. On January 27, 1886, the House of Representatives Committee on the District of Columbia voted in favor of renaming Uniontown to Anacostia. After the bill passed the House of Representatives, the Senate also voted in favor of the name change. The name change became effective on April 22, 1886. At

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2016-542: The District of Columbia. It was designed to be affordable for Washington's working class, many of whom were employed across the river at the Navy Yard ; its (then) location outside of and isolated from the city made its real estate inexpensive. The initial subdivision of 1854 carried restrictive covenants prohibiting the sale, rental or lease of property to anyone of African or Irish descent. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass , often called "the sage of Anacostia", bought Cedar Hill,

2079-574: The Parkway started work in 1956 and ended at the same time as the Expressway. Initial construction of the Anacostia Freeway began in the summer of 1957 with the East Capitol Street overpass over Kenilworth Avenue and was completed in 1964. The final part of the project, the connecting ramps to the 11th Street Bridges opened the following year. The Expressway between Benning Road and the District Line

2142-573: The Uniontown development. But although most of the lots had sold by 1860, the Panic of 1857 and the Civil War hindered building and few houses were constructed. The Civil War itself brought many changes to the area encompassed by the Anacostia Historic District. After the First Battle of Bull Run , Northern military leaders realized Washington, D.C., was relatively undefended and quickly began building

2205-432: The area in the 1960s and 1970s. The Anacostia neighborhood, 82.4 percent white in 1950, was only 67.7 percent white in 1960 and 86 percent black by 1970. The influx of large numbers of low-income African Americans, coupled with the economic dislocations caused by the 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination riots , led many businesses to leave the Anacostia business district. During the crack epidemic in Washington in

2268-521: The borders of its electoral districts (wards), a proposal was made to split the Anacostia Historic District between Ward 7 and Ward 8. This proposal was defeated. Efforts have been made to improve the physical and economic conditions in the Historic District. The area's designation as a historic district has been used to prevent the McDonald's corporation from moving into the area, the relocation of

2331-462: The colony for trading with natives. Around the year 1668, native peoples previously living south of Anacostia were forced northward by war. Anacostine Island, which first appeared on a 1670 map drawn by Augustine Herman , was settled by the Anacostans around this time. The core of what is now the Anacostia historic district was incorporated in 1854 as Uniontown and was one of the early suburbs in

2394-523: The estate belonging to the developer of Uniontown, in 1877 and lived there until he died in 1895. The home is still maintained as the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Anacostia. During the Civil War , Anacostia was protected by a series of forts upon the hills southwest of the city. Following the conclusion of the war, the forts were dismantled and the land returned to its original owners. Anacostia, always part of

2457-468: The famous 19th century civil rights leader's home. The Anacostia Community Museum is part of the Smithsonian . Often the name "Anacostia" is used to refer to the entire portion of the city that is southeast of the Anacostia River. The Anacostia Business Improvement District is responsible for the development of the area. The name "Anacostia" comes from the anglicized name of a Nacochtank settlement along

2520-525: The homes feature large lawns and wrap-around porches . The Nacotchtank Native Americans were the first settlers to inhabit the area now known as Anacostia, living and fishing along the Anacostia River . Captain John Smith was the first European to visit the region in 1612, naming the river the "Nacotchtank". Henry Fleet (an English explorer kidnapped for five years by the Nacotchtank beginning in 1621) and Leonard Calvert (later Governor of

2583-574: The land between them was undeveloped until World War II . The oppressive need for housing during the war, brought by a massive influx of federal workers to the capital, led to extensive development of the region and the linking of the area encompassed by the Anacostia Historic District with other parts of Southeast D.C. Only 16 percent of the homes in Southeast Washington below Pennsylvania Avenue SE were built before 1940, but 38 percent were built after 1950. Suburbanization dramatically changed

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2646-525: The land it occupied was turned back over to private ownership. The structures of the fort itself remained, falling into decay. The Union Land Association went bankrupt in the Panic of 1873 , and Van Hook was forced to sell Cedar Hill. The mansion was purchased by Frederick Douglass in 1877, who defied the whites-only covenant governing the subdivision in buying the property. The 1880 census shows that about 15 percent of Uniontown's residents were African American . Several new subdivisions were built in

2709-484: The land to tenant farmers and built his home near the intersection of Upper Marlborough Road and Piscataway Road (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE). A post office was established in the area and named Good Hope Station. In 1849, the post office's name was changed to Anacostia. Developers John Dobler, John Fox, and John W. Van Hook purchased the 240-acre (97.2-hectare) area known as Anacostia from Enoch Tucker on June 5, 1854, for $ 19,000 and immediately subdivided

2772-473: The late 19th century, expanding the Anacostia Historic District. Among these were Griswold's (1881), Green's (1881, carved from the former George Barber farm), Griswold's II (1886), Avalon (1887), Avalon Terrace (1889), Anacostia Addition (1890, created from the Otterback farm), Bryan Place (1892, part of the former Talburtt estate), and Griswold's III (1894). These subdivisions retained the architectural styles of

2835-482: The majority of the area on the south bank of the Anacostia River to George Thompson. Slightly inland, Lord Baltimore granted another large tract (known as Chichester) to John Meeks in 1664. "Anacostia Fort" was built on the heights at the present-day neighborhood of Skyland sometime in the 18th century. The area became part of the District of Columbia in 1791. Congress passed the Residence Act of 1790 to establish

2898-403: The neighborhood became predominantly African American. Interactions between the area's white and black residents were often contentious, as was the case in the 1949 Anacostia riot at a desegregated public pool. Shopping, dining, and entertainment facilities throughout greater Anacostia are limited, as development slowed with a decrease in income in the area. Residents often must travel to either

2961-561: The neighborhood contains commercial and government buildings, mid-rise mixed development, city-sanctioned art murals and galleries (under the "Art to Go Go" initiative),a perfroming arts center, a playhouse theater, the local landmark, "The Big Chair," Fredrick Douglass's Home (a museum and historic site) and is adjacent to the Fort Stanton Park neighborhood which hosts the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. It

3024-416: The orders of President Herbert Hoover by crossing the bridge to Anacostia and torching the veteran's encampment. MacArthur believed that the Bonus Army was composed of and led by Communists. George Patton and Dwight Eisenhower served under MacArthur during these events. Anacostia's population remained predominantly European-American up until the late 1950s and early 1960s, with whites comprising 87% of

3087-433: The original Uniontown development and are considered extensions of it. The area also saw some civic improvements. Horse-drawn streetcar service reached the area in 1875, 13 years after the rest of the city had achieved service, and electric streetcars arrived in 1895. St. Teresa's Catholic Church was built at 1244 V Street SE in 1879, and Emanuel Episcopal Church (now Delaware Avenue Baptist Church) at 1301 V Street SE

3150-538: The population. During the 1960s, the Anacostia Freeway (I-295) was constructed. The highway imposed a barrier between the Anacostia neighborhood and the Anacostia River waterfront. Numerous public housing apartment complexes were built in the neighborhood. With the flight of much of the middle class out of the neighborhood during the late 1950s and 1960s with the opportunity to move to newer housing in postwar suburbs, Anacostia's demographics changed dramatically as

3213-466: The property into lots for houses. Fox had built a mansion on Jefferson Street (now W Street SE) some years before, and Fox and Van Hook were business partners in the Union Land Association. Naming the area Uniontown, the development became Washington's first "suburban" community. Van Hook (the lead developer) renamed streets in the area after former presidents: Upper Marlborough Road

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3276-448: The river and Navy Yard Bridge (11th Street Bridges) and to link Fort Stanton with its subsidiary batteries, Fort Ricketts and Fort Snyder, and nearby Fort Wagner (now the site of Stanton Elementary School). The area was officially named Uniontown in 1865, but there was so much confusion between the village and Uniontown, Pennsylvania , that the name of the area reverted to Anacostia on April 22, 1866. Fort Stanton closed in April 1866, and

3339-403: The shores of the eastern bank of Anacostia River in what is now the historic district. William Marbury , a wealthy Georgetown merchant who later was a party in the landmark Marbury v. Madison Supreme Court case, purchased much of the land that is now the Anacostia Historic District some time in the late 18th century or early 19th century. The first permanent modern settlement of size in

3402-504: The site of the former Enoch Tucker farmhouse) rose a brick structure which held George F. Pyle's grocery store. In 1855, Van Hook himself built " Cedar Hill ", a lavish mansion on Jefferson Street near the Fox Mansion. Dr. Arthur Christie, a wealthy Englishman, purchased 50 acres (20.25 hectares) of land on the north side of Harrison Street and named his estate Fairlawn. Lewin Talburtt built

3465-513: The suburbs or downtown Washington for these services. Anacostia, however, does have a year-round ice skating rink at Fort Dupont Park; the city police boys' club; and a tennis and learning center, combining sports with academic tutoring in Congress Heights. St. Elizabeth's Hospital, D.C. Village and the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant were long-established Anacostia developments noted in

3528-532: The time, property deeds restricted land ownership to people who were white, and therefore Anacostia had only white residents. The opening of the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge in 1890 began to link Anacostia to the rest of the District of Columbia. In 1932, during the Great Depression , unemployed World War I veterans from all across the country marched on Washington to demand immediate payment of

3591-499: The tribe ceased to exist as a functional unit, and its few remaining members merged with other local Piscataway tribes. European settlement first occurred in the area in 1662 at Blue Plains (now the site of the city's sewage treatment plant just to the west of the modern neighborhood of Bellevue ), and at St. Elizabeth (now the site of St. Elizabeths Hospital psychiatric hospital ) and Giesborough (now called Barry Farm ) in 1663. In 1663, Lord Baltimore granted ownership of

3654-458: Was built on the right of way of the former Benning streetcar line, which is why parts of it are narrow with short entrances and exits. Until May 1, 1949, streetcar routes 10 and 12 operated from downtown to Deane Avenue. Route 10 continued to Kenilworth, just inside the District Line. Route 12 turned off and ran to Seat Pleasant. That right of way was later paved and it is now called Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue. The southern portion of

3717-532: Was designated I-295 by AASHTO in 1958. Work on the Kenilworth Expressway, the portion from East Capitol to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, began in 1952 and ended in October 1957. Construction of the Expressway included four pedestrian bridges over it. It was all part of the same project that built the East Capitol Street Bridge at the time. The Kenilworth Interchange, between the Expressway, US-50 and

3780-414: Was designed to permit easy access to Anacostia so that housing could be constructed on the eastern shore of the Anacostia River. Before the construction of this bridge and others upstream, there were no mudflats along the banks of the Anacostia. The bridges shifted currents and slowed the river's flow, and within a decade, extensive flats had built up along the shore. In 1820, the town of Good Hope, D.C.,

3843-571: Was erected in 1891 to replace an 1869 church whose foundation had cracked. The 11th Precinct of the Metropolitan Police Department was established in 1901 to patrol the area, the Ketcham School (now Ketcham Elementary School) was built in 1907, and water and sewage service installed between 1904 and 1920. Nonetheless, water and sewage service in the area remained spotty, and some homes drew water from public standpipes as late as

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3906-504: Was founded around a tavern located near the current intersection of Good Hope Road SE and Alabama Avenue SE (forming the current neighborhood of Good Hope ). Businesses began to construct buildings along Upper Marlborough Road (called Good Hope Road SE today) toward the village of Good Hope, forming the Anacostia Business District. In the late 1820s or early 1830s, Marbury sold his land to Enoch Tucker, who rented out part of

3969-434: Was now called "Harrison Street," and Piscataway Road, now known as "Monroe Street". The area between Monroe Street and the Anacostia River was known as the Duvall subdivision, and Duvall's Tavern (a well-known bar ) stood there. Half the lots sold within two months of the first sale. Restrictive covenants prohibited the sale or lease of property to anyone of African descent , Mulattoes , or Irish . The main street in

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