Eckington Community
The initial establishment of Washington, DC dates back 10,000 years where Native Americans utilized the Potomac and Anacostia shorelines for hunting and fishing purposes. Ward 5 neighborhoods have been through quite a few changes over time with many major projects underway. Eckington, a residential subdivision was developed by real estate entrepreneur George Truesdell. “Truesdell laid the streets and provided the initial infrastructure, including most notably the Eckington and Soldier’s Home streetcar line.” Dating back to 1887, the Eckington and Soldiers’ Home Railway was commissioned and the District’s first electric streetcar ran from 7th Street and New York Avenue to Eckington Place at 4th Street, NE. Later in 1890, the streetcar was extended along the 4th Street to Bunker Hill Road. “The opening of the city’s first electric streetcar service brought with it great excitement, drawing an estimated five thousand passengers on the first day.”
The project kept extending to Lincoln Road, Glenwood Cemetery and North Capital from New York Avenue. “As a result, coupled with the presence of the B&O freight yards, not only did Eckington become Washington’s major industrial center, its residential development was stimulated by the easier travel to and from Washington and city employment” (DC Office of Planning, 12). Today, Eckington is branded as a unique neighborhood due to the fruitful blend of residential and industrial strips.
Research shows, Truesdell invested great ideas in setting the architecture of the Eckington neighborhood, specifically by building the subdivision’s first houses. “By the spring of 1891, 18 houses that were considered ‘models of architectural beauty’ had been erected and occupied. For the most part, these first residences were freestanding Queen Anne-style frame ‘cottages’.”
Prior to researching the history of Ward 5, particularly the Eckington neighborhood, I was not familiar with the rich historical roots of the site. Research dates the site back to 1632, where the English King Charles granted the colony of Maryland to George Calvert and 100 years past, land yielded from both Maryland and Virginia constituted the nation’s capital, Washington, DC leading to many parts of its neighborhoods.
Ward 5 is very diverse in its neighborhoods and historical assets. One of the major attractions of Ward 5 is the National Arboretum, a 446 acres of botanical research and gardening. The Arboretum was started in 1927 by Congress and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. According to the District of Columbia Office of Planning, Ward 5 has major projects underway to enhance the area neighborhoods.
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The Eckington neighborhood, along with some other Ward 5 neighborhoods, are growing in population because of attracting new businesses/capital developments sought-after by younger and diverse generations. The opening of the New York Avenue Metro station is an added feature to the neighborhood. The city is planning to implement the Mid-City East Plan in the near future, which will further boost the surrounding areas of Ward 5.
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