A Third Visit To Southwest Washington, D.C.
I moved to Washington, D.C. in 1974 and lived for the first several months in a small furnished apartment in a community known as Capitol Park. This was a large collection of highrise aparment buildings together with townhouses and was part of the redevelopment of the portion of Washington D.C. known as the Southwest. I lived at Capitol Park, went to the local public library a few blocks away and to the adjacent Waterside Mall, which even at the time was showing signs of failure. I also walked the neighborhood, attended concerts, and went for a time to a Reform synagogue which shared space with a church. I moved to a different part of Washington, D.C. several months later and have never lived again in that part of the city even though D.C. has been my home for nearly fifty years. I have visited Southwest D.C. many times over the years and remember fondly the time when it was my home.
In 2006, architect Paul K. Williams wrote his photographic history "Southwest Washington, D.C." as part of the Images of America series of local histories published by Arcadia Publishing. I revisited the area through reading and reviewing Williams' book. The book focused on the massive urban redevelopment project that took place in the 1950s and 60s. Southwest D.C. had become a notorious slum filled with poverty and crime. It was deemed shocking to have an area in sharp decline in the nation's capital. The area was bulldozed almost in its entirety and replaced with a variety of ambitious residential and business developments, including Capitol Park where I lived, to bring new life to the area.
The makeover was and remains controversial. Many long term residents and businesses were driven out, never to return. And the makeover of the area was a mixed success at best. The area remained plagued by crime, some of the developments failed, and there was a sense of sterility.
I revisited the area again by reading this 2017 book by Paul Williams and Gregory Alexander, "Southwest DC". The book is part of a series called "Images of Modern America" published by Arcadia which features "the history of an area from 1950 forward through vintage images". There are over 200 books in this series, but this book on Southwest DC is the first I have read.
The book was commissioned by the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SNA), a nonprofit community organization founded in 1963, to promote the quality of life in this D.C. area and to preserve its history. It is commendable to have an organization such as SNA to enhance community life. The book shows how, subsequent to Williams' first book, Southwest Washington, D.C. has reinvented itself yet again by modifying portions of the first makeover that failed and by adding new ideas both residential and commercial and a new vision to make the Southwest a community in which to "work, live, and play".
The book includes colored images (unlike the exclusively black and white images in the Images of America volume) together with annotations. It begins with a look back at the 1950-60 renovation of the area and then moves forward. I learned more about the Capitol Park development where I first lived and about its subsequent history. The library I patronized is, fortunately, still functioning, and the old mall where I shopped has been radically changed, including a much-expanded supermarket. I saw many of the places I knew from my days in the area and how they have changed.
Most of the book shows the large changes that have been made in the area over the last few years. These changes focus on the Wharf, a large riverfront area which has become a residential and commercial center with new apartments, office space, hotels, businesses, and, recently, a Ferris Wheel. It is a vibrant, lively part of the city. Other parts of this book show further development of Southwest DC, including changes to the large, historic Municipal Fish Market, the marina, which is the home of a large live-aboard boating community, the Riverwalk Trail, the new Metro Stop, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and many other developments. The area has continued its change and development, in the years following the publication of this 2017 book and in the time following the pandemic.
I enjoyed finding this book and remembering my early experiences in a portion of the city that has become my home. Even more than the development and the contiuned search to enhance the area, I was moved by the expression this book shows of a sense of community life. I hope to return to the area perhaps for a day, take a walk, and have yet a fourth visit to see Southwest Washington, D.C. afresh for myself.
Robin Friedman
