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Yes, west of the Washington Monument in 1851 was the Potomac River, not a swamp.
It was actually the poster "GoMason" who put forward the swamp notion. But while not literal swamps, it is still true that lowland and other areas of the city were regular victims of unpleasant flooding in the years before dredging and in-fill and proper sewage and drainage systems came along. Neighborhoods don't get called "Swamp Puddle" for nothing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by revitalizer
The longevity of the DC swamp talk is just another example of people pounding on DC, using it as an insult.
People love to hate politics, but I'm not sure how any long ago swampiness can be an insult to the city itself. After all, various of our western states were once at the bottom of an inland sea. Now that's beyond swampy! But I don't think it's much held against them.
Can't think of too many places in Northwest DC that have very bad parts.
NW is block by block east of 16th street. Columbia Heights, Shaw, Petworth, Sursum Corda, Truxton Circle, Bloomingdale, Brightwood, and the Georgia ave corridor still have crime problems that NW areas west of 16th street don't have.
It's a swipe at DC that's commonly taken here on C-D.
This is sort of like "Your mother wears combat boots" then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
I never knew there were any swamps in DC.
The polite term might be "water-rich", but it applied only in certain areas. Still, back in the city's early days what lay south of the White House bluffs and west of what is now called Capitol Hill was a tidal plain of spring-fed marshland that often flooded. Things have changed a great deal since then. The spring that brought clean drinking water to the newly constructed White House for instance is now buried beneath Franklin Park. Congressional Cemetery (which opened in 1807) is perhaps the only piece of land in the original city that continues to resemble what it was in those early years.
NW is block by block east of 16th street. Columbia Heights, Shaw, Petworth, Sursum Corda, Truxton Circle, Bloomingdale, Brightwood, and the Georgia ave corridor still have crime problems that NW areas west of 16th street don't have.
The standard was "very bad". Do any of these areas meet that? Do you actually visit any of them?
The standard was "very bad". Do any of these areas meet that? Do you actually visit any of them?
I'm actually from DC unlike most people here and I'm uptown all the time. Certain blocks in NW are indeed very bad. Sursum Corda and Park Morton are just as bad as Barry Farms despite being in an overall better part of town.
NW is block by block east of 16th street. Columbia Heights, Shaw, Petworth, Sursum Corda, Truxton Circle, Bloomingdale, Brightwood, and the Georgia ave corridor still have crime problems that NW areas west of 16th street don't have.
It's not really that block by block, at all. Yes the areas west of 16th St are better. But many of these areas east of it are not that bad, the block by block analogy is way off. The problem areas are pretty well known. In terms of the Georgia Ave. Corridor, the major issues are more in Brightwood Park and Northern Petworth, than in Brightwood itself. Even then, these areas are not that bad, it's not even close to as bad as east of the river, or parts of NE. Likewise once you get as far north as Takoma and Shepherd Park, and the entire Walter Reed area is consistently safe, in fact it is probably the safest area east of the park.
It is more clearly identifiable pockets of trouble. Such as the intersection of North Capital and NY Ave for example. In terms of Georgia Ave, it's the area around Kennedy St.
I was thinking about all of the little small details that you see on other cities that makes them beautiful. I'm not talking about big buildings, architecture, people, but just those little moments that keeps you standing still for a moment, that makes a city beautiful.
So, is DC a beautiful city?
Personally, I think DC is gorgeous. The buildings aren't tall which allows for the sun to shine which is more rare in cities with skyscrapers. Also, the monuments and several of the federal buildings are beautiful. I fell in love with the beauty of DC years ago which is why I made it a point to move here. I often find myself driving or walking around the city thinking how lucky I am to call DC home.
DC's street grid is pretty and unique for a US city. I love the colorful rowhomes too. I am surprised more people don't talk about DCs beauty. And thank god DC is not full of ugly rectangle boxes-- ie skyscrapers.
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