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I rode my bike around a lot of DC lately and I've gotten the chance to explore NoMa and the ballpark area. Both neighborhoods have zero character and feel completely fake, might as well be Reston, VA or White Flint, MD. There will be people who come in here to defend it but it is what it is. Not to mention both places are boring. Columbia Heights destroys both easily and I use CH as an example because although it has went through gentrification, it still has character. and I'm biased, since I live there. Both NoMa and Capitol Riverfront are STUPID names. NoMa sounds like we are trying to copy NYC (which DC is famous for) and Capitol Riverfront is too long and the area should just be called Navy Yard because it has historical value and its the name of the station that serves the area. Now I was around the wharf and the Florida ave market area in NE as well I was really happy that both places for the most part have kept character. DC has changed, but a lot of things are still the same but NoMa and Captiol Riverfront are awful. The buildings are upscale and all but they look like the suburbs, generic ones at that.
Not sure OP knows what he is talking about. Capitol Riverfront is a dumb name, yes. But the neighborhood is fantastic. You can't look at the Yards Park, Canal Park, The Boilermaker Shops, or the Lumber Shed and say they don't have character. The development people did a great job keeping the historical names and buildings for new use.
I mean yeah, the office buildings and high rise apartments don't have character, but you'd have to be pretty dumb to expect that out of those buildings. You just biked along M Street, didn't you? That's not where the heart of the neighborhood is/will be.
Columbia Heights destroys both easily and I use CH as an example because although it has went through gentrification, it still has character.
The only reason to ever go to CH is Red Rocks. U Street has way more character than CH, and even that will be over once all the frat-douches from Arlington/Dupont start going there more.
The only reason to ever go to CH is Red Rocks. U Street has way more character than CH, and even that will be over once all the frat-douches from Arlington/Dupont start going there more.
What? Columbia Heights offers way more than just Red Rocks and U street IMO is #3, behind CH and Mt. Pleasant. U street just seems like another Adams Morgan to me, which does retain some character.
I wouldnt deny ColHeights has a lot more character. NoMa is very conveniently located though both to employment and to Union Station.
CapRiv is more convenient than ColHeights, though less so than NoMa. Plus its got the ballpark and the riverfront, and its somewhat lower in crime, I beleive than ColHeights is.
Compared to Reston, both are a lot more convenient. Plus its an easy walk from CapRiver to Cap Hill and to SW, while from NoMa its an easy walk to H street, to Eckinton, to Mt Vernon Sq and to downtown. While from Reston TC its a somewhat less easy walk to - well, herndon? I mean I LIKE downtown Herndon, but barracks row kind of outshines it as far as walkable urban amenities.
Last edited by brooklynborndad; 04-29-2013 at 10:41 AM..
I wouldn't want to live in NoMa. But there are obviously a lot of people who do. Maybe the neighborhood will have a different feel once it's all built out. I largely agree on it feeling sterile, however.
The whole area around the ballpark never floated my boat. And that's partly because the baseball stadium itself is so freakin ugly to me. I can't tell if it's a ballpark or a convention center.
That is was new construction does. The character doesn't come in until 15 to 20 years of establishment at least. You can't build character. It grows.
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