Petworth, Washington, D.C.

Petworth
Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.

"(Here I Stand) In the Spirit of Paul Robeson" by Allen Uzikee Nelson, 2001. Corner of Georgia and Kansas Avenues NW

Map of the District of Columbia, with Petworth highlighted in red
Coordinates: 38°56′32″N 77°01′32″W / 38.942161°N 77.025525°W / 38.942161; -77.025525
Country  United States
State/District  District of Columbia
Quadrant Northwest
Ward Ward 4
Advisory Neighborhood Commission ANC 4C; ANC 4D
Government
 • Councilmember Brandon Todd
 • Delegate to the U.S. Congress Eleanor Holmes Norton
Area
 • Land 0.91 sq mi (2.4 km2)
Elevation 188.0 ft (57.3 m)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
ZIP Code 20010, 20011
Area code(s) 202

Petworth is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.. It is bounded to the east by the Soldiers’ Home and Rock Creek Church Yard and Cemetery, to the west by Arkansas Avenue NW, to the south by Rock Creek Church Road NW and Spring Road NW, and to the north by Emerson Street NW.[1]

Petworth is represented on the Council of the District of Columbia by the Ward 4 councilmember: since May 2015, Brandon Todd.[2] Muriel Bowser served as Ward 4 councilmember until she became the city's mayor on Jan. 2, 2015.

History

"Petworth" was the name of the 205-acre country estate of Benjamin Ogle Tayloe at the northeast corner of 7th Street Pike (later known as Brightwood Avenue, now Georgia Avenue) and Rock Creek Church Road. In 1887, it was sold by Tayloe's heirs to developers for $107,000.[3][4] By 1889, developers registered “Petworth” with the District surveyor as a 387-acre plat of subdivision containing the former Tayloe estate and the Marshal Brown estate.[5] In 1893, additional real estate deals formed "West Petworth," from land west of Brightwood Avenue, including the Ruppert Farm, which was sold for $142,680, the 20-acre Burnaby tract, and a 14-acre property known as Poor Tom’s Last Shaft.[6] In 1900, Henry J. Ruppert sold an additional 31.7 acres west of Brightwood and Iowa Avenues and south of Utica Street (now Allison Street)[7] to the District for a proposed municipal hospital.[8]

The neighborhood bloomed with the expansion of the streetcar line up Georgia Avenue from Florida Avenue to the Washington, D.C., line at Silver Spring, Maryland.

Many of the thousands of similar brick row houses in the neighborhood were constructed by Cafritz Builders and by D.J. Dunigan Company in the 1920s and '30s. Dunigan donated the land that became the site for St. Gabriel's Church and School next to Grant Circle.

Today, the neighborhood is primarily residential with a mix of townhouses and single-family homes. It is served by the Georgia Ave-Petworth station on the Washington Metro's Green Line and Yellow Line. Petworth borders to two expanses of historic greenspace, Rock Creek Cemetery and the US Soldiers' and Airmens' Home (now known as the Armed Forces Retirement Home).

A sign in Petworth

Demographics[9]

Year Total ANC-4C Population % Children % Black % White % Hispanic % Asian/P.I. Average Family Income Median Home Sales Price
1990 19,875 19% 88% 6% 6% 1% $77,679 $166,000
2000 19,519 23% 72% 6% 20% 1% $85,209 $177,000
2005 19,540 17% 63% 14% 20% 1% $92,009 $491,000
2010 20,330 19% 57% 15% 26% 2% Not Avail. $460,000

Community events

Since 2006, the Upshur Street Arts and Crafts Fair has been an annual event in December.[10]

The Petworth Community Market, a weekly Saturday farmer's market, is held along 9th Street between Upshur and Taylor Streets from May through October.[11] The market features produce, local vendors, and prepared foods.

Petworth Jazz Project is a free music series of jazz performances held at Petworth Park at 8th and Taylor Streets from May through September.

Since May 2014, the Celebrate Petworth street festival was held in May 2014 on Upshur Street between 8th and 9th Streets.[12]

From 1993 to 2011, the DC Caribbean Carnival parade was held annual each June along Georgia Avenue, passing through Petworth en route to Howard University.[13]

Education

Libraries

Petworth Neighborhood Library

The two-and-a-half story Georgian Revival Petworth Neighborhood Library building opened in 1939 at the corner of Georgia Ave. NW, Kansas Ave. NW, and Upshur St. NW.[14] In addition to providing access to DC Public Library general circulation items, the library’s collection includes a Spanish Language collection, job and employment literature, and Adult Basic Education materials. In June 2009, the library underwent a two-part renovation and re-opened on Feb. 28, 2011.

Public Schools

Roosevelt Senior High School

Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School

Roosevelt Senior High School enrolls students in ninth through 12th grade. The high school is also home to Roosevelt S.T.A.Y. program, an alternative academic and career/technical program that will lead to a high school diploma or vocational certificate. The high school, located at 13th and Upshur Streets NW was built in 1932 to accommodate 1,200 students. It is currently undergoing a $121 million, two-year facility modernization.[15] The renovation is scheduled to be completed for the 2015-2016 academic year. During the renovation period, classes are being conducted at the MacFarland Middle School campus nearby on 13th Street NW.

Uncovered New Deal Artwork -- "The American Panorama," a 1934 New Deal–funded fresco by the Baltimore-born artist Nelson Rosenberg,[16] was uncovered during renovation work in the cafeteria in fall 2013.[17] The fresco is currently being restored and will be incorporated into the final renovation.

Truesdell Education Campus

Truesdell Education Campus enrolls 480 students (2013-2014) in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.[18]

Powell Elementary School

Powell enrolls students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.[19] The school building first opened in 1929 as a single two-story brick structure on Upshur St. NW near 14th St. NW The school footprint was expanded in 1959 with the addition of a second structure. The school is currently undergoing a $42 million modernization and expansion.[20]

Presidential Visit to Powell

On March 4, 2014, President Obama visited Powell, where he announced the fiscal year 2015 budget and spoke about Powell’s early childhood education program. “We know — and this is part of the reason why we’re here today — that education has to start at the earliest possible ages,” Obama said. “So this budget expands access to the kind of high-quality preschool and other early learning programs to give all of our children the same kinds of opportunities that those wonderful children that we just saw are getting right here at Powell.”[21]

Public Charter Schools

Local Businesses

In recent years, Petworth has seen more commercial establishments courting its growing urban population.[25][26]

Public Art

Historic Places

Adams Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Rock Creek Church Yard and Cemetery
Entrance gate to St. Paul's Rock Creek Church Yard, Petworth neighborhood, Washington, DC, USA. December 2009

References

  1. ↑ "Neighborhood Names". opendata.DC.gov. DC Office of Planning. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Sommer, Will (15 May 2015). "New Councilmembers Sworn In, With Nods To Bowser". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Another purchase of suburban property". The Washington Post. March 4, 1887. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Bits of Local News". The Washington Post. January 6, 1888. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Plat of "Petworth" Filed". The Washington Post. January 17, 1889. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Sale of West Petworth". The Washington Post. July 27, 1893. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "New Street Names". ProQuest. The Washington Post. August 2, 1905.
  8. ↑ "Hospital Site Chosen". The Washington Post. November 17, 1900. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Neighborhood Info DC". Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  10. ↑ W, Andrew (Dec 9, 2014). "9th annual Upshur Street Arts & Crafts Fair this Saturday". New Columbia Heights. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Petworth Community Market, Inc Website".
  12. ↑ W, Andrew (May 9, 2014). "Celebrate Petworth festival is tomorrow! 9am-6pm on Upshur". New Columbia Heights.
  13. ↑ Kiviat, Steve (July 17, 2013). "Will the Caribbean Carnival Ever Return to D.C.?". Washington City Paper.
  14. ↑ "Petworth Library History". DC Public Library.
  15. ↑ "Roosevelt High School Proejct". DC Department of General Services. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Nelson Rosenberg". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Wiener, Aaron (Jan 31, 2014). "Rough Ride: Can a new building, redrawn boundaries, and a changing neighborhood transform D.C.'s struggling Roosevelt High School?". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Truesdell Education Campus Profile". DC Public Schools. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Powell Elementary School Profile". DC Public Schools. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Powell Elementary School Modernization Project". DC Department of General Services. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  21. ↑ Brown, Emma (March 4, 2014). "Obama announces budget at D.C.’s Powell Elementary". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  22. ↑ http://bridgespcs.org/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ↑ http://www.centercitypcs.org/our-schools/petworth-campus-ward-4/petworth-home-page/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ↑ http://www.elhaynes.org/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ↑ Severson, Kim (14 January 2009). "Chefs Settle Down in ‘the Real D.C.'". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ STEINHAUER, JENNIFER (20 October 2014). "Washington Has More on Its Plate". The New York Times.
  27. ↑ "Roosevelt High School Project". DC Department of General Services.
  28. ↑ "MacFarland MS Students Create Mural Memorial for Go-Go Legend". DCPS.
  29. ↑ "DC Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Office of Planning. November 21, 2014.
  30. ↑ "DC Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Office of Planning. November 21, 2014.
  31. ↑ "DC Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Office of Planning. November 21, 2014.
  32. ↑ "DC Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Office of Planning. November 21, 2014.
  33. ↑ "DC Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Office of Planning. November 21, 2014.
  34. ↑ "DC Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Office of Planning. November 21, 2014.
  35. ↑ "DC Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Office of Planning. November 21, 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Petworth, Washington, D.C..
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Brookland-Petworth-Takoma.

Coordinates: 38°57′07″N 77°01′11″W / 38.9519°N 77.0196°W / 38.9519; -77.0196

 Brightwood Brightwood Park Fort Totten
Sixteenth Street Heights Rock Creek Cemetery
United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery
   Petworth  
Columbia Heights Park View Soldiers' Home
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