Adams Morgan is a
neighborhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
in
Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...
Washington, D.C., centered at the intersection of
18th Street NW
18th Street Northwest is a prominent north–south street thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.
History
The "18th Street" roadway was part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan for Washington by Pierre Charles L'Enfant.
In the presen ...
and
Columbia Road, about 1.5 miles (2.54 km) north of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. Notable establishments in the neighborhood include the
Washington Hilton and
Madam's Organ Blues Bar
Madam's Organ Blues Bar is a restaurant and nightclub located at 2461 18th Street NW in Washington, D.C.'s Adams Morgan neighborhood. A local landmark, the bar is popular for its nightly live music, especially blues and bluegrass. Regular perfo ...
. Notable residential buildings include
Euclid Apartments
Euclid Apartments is an historic structure located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on t ...
,
Fuller House,
Park Tower,
Meridian Mansions
Meridian Mansions, also known as The Envoy, is a historic structure located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. A.H. Sonnemann was the architect for what was considered the city's finest apartment hote ...
, and the
Pink Palace. Embassies in the neighborhood include the
Embassy of Lithuania, the
Embassy of Poland, the
Embassy of the Central African Republic, the
Embassy of Gabon and the
Embassy of Cuba. Notable public artwork in Adams Morgan includes ''
Carry the Rainbow on Your Shoulders'', ''
The Servant Christ'', and ''
The Mama Ayesha's Restaurant Presidential Mural''.
Adams Morgan is a thriving spot for nightlife and live music, particularly along 18th Street NW. Approximately 100 establishments possess liquor licenses. A moratorium on new liquor licenses has been in effect since 2000.
It has been referred to as D.C.'s last funky neighborhood, although some say it is past its prime. It has also been referred to as "quirky".
It is composed of rowhouses and classically-styled mid-rise apartment buildings, including many
cooperatives
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
and
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
s, along with various commercial structures.
The name Adams Morgan, once hyphenated, is derived from the names of two formerly segregated area elementary schools—the older, all-black Thomas P. Morgan Elementary School (now defunct) and the all-white John Quincy Adams Elementary School, which merged in 1955 following
racial desegregation.
Adams Morgan is bounded:
*to the south by
Florida Avenue
Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of the Federal City under the 1791 L'Enfant Plan. With the growth of the city beyond its original borders, Bounda ...
NW and the
Dupont Circle neighborhood
*to the southwest by the
Duke Ellington Bridge and by
Connecticut Avenue NW and
Kalorama-Sheridan
*to the north by Harvard St. and
Mount Pleasant
* to the east by
16th Street NW and
Columbia Heights
Reed-Cooke is a sub-neighborhood of Adams Morgan, consisting of the easternmost area between Columbia Road and Florida avenue.
History
Before the colony of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
was established in 1632, what is now Washington, D.C. was home to the
Nacotchtank Native American tribal group, a branch of the
Piscataway people.
When the District of Columbia was created in 1791, Robert Peter and Anthony Holmead, two prominent colonial-era landowners, held the land comprising Adams Morgan. At that time, these local tracts were north of the original planned City of Washington, and were either undeveloped or only lightly farmed. As the population of D.C. expanded, this land was divided into several estates purchased by wealthy residents, including Meridian Hill, Cliffbourne,
Holt House,
Oak Lawn, Henderson Castle, a part of Kalorama, and the horse farm of
William Thornton.
After the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, these estates were subdivided and the area slowly grew. Once the city's overall-layout plans were finalized in the 1890s, these various subdivisions, using modern construction techniques, developed more rapidly, and the area of Adams Morgan then grew into several attractive and largely upper- and middle-class neighborhoods.
In the early 20th century, the area was home to a range of people, from the very wealthy living along 16th Street, to white-collar professionals in Lanier Heights, to blue-collar residents east of 18th Street NW.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and ''
Plessy v. Ferguson'',
racial desegregation began. When D.C. was formally desegregated, some whites abruptly left the area, other whites stayed and worked to integrate the neighborhood, and some African Americans and Hispanics moved into the area. With cheaper housing, the area also became home to some artists and social activists.
In 1948,
Charles Lazarus
Charles Philip Lazarus (October 4, 1923 – March 22, 2018) was an American entrepreneur, executive, and pioneer within the retail toy industry. Lazarus founded the Toys "R" Us retail chain, which evolved from a children's furniture store he orig ...
founded
Toys "R" Us
Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loca ...
in Adams Morgan.
In the early 1950s, before desegregation, the neighborhood was considered "ritzy".
Pursuant to the 1954 ''
Bolling v. Sharpe''
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruling, district schools were desegregated in 1955. The Adams-Morgan Community Council, comprising both Adams and Morgan schools and the neighborhoods they served, formed in 1958 to implement progressively this desegregation. The boundaries of the neighborhood were drawn through four existing neighborhoods—
Washington Heights,
Lanier Heights
Lanier Heights is a small urban neighborhood located in the northwest section of Washington, D.C. It was one of the early planned subdivisions which were created inside the District of Columbia, but which lay outside of the original, officially-p ...
,
Kalorama Triangle, and Meridian Hill—naming the resulting area after both schools.
In 1955,
Herbert Haft
Herbert H. Haft (August 24, 1920 – September 1, 2004) was an American businessman who was famous first for the development of discount stores in the drug store, bookstore, and auto part businesses in Washington, D.C., and later as a corp ...
founded
Dart Drug
Dart Drug is a now-defunct chain of discount drug stores in the metropolitan Washington, DC region. It was founded in 1955, by Herbert Haft and his wife Gloria in Adams Morgan. The chain expanded to over 100 stores, and became a vehicle (as Dart ...
in Adams Morgan.
In the late 1960s, a group of residents worked with city officials to plan and construct the Marie H. Reed Recreation Center, an elementary school and recreational complex. The development was named after the minister and civic leader. It features a daycare center, tennis and basketball courts, a solar-heated swimming pool, health clinic, athletic field, and outdoor chess tables.
After the
1968 Washington, D.C., riots,
white flight
White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
continued.
In the 1960s, the neighborhood's attractions included the Avignon Freres bakery and restaurant, which furnished the White House with cakes and pastries, it was destroyed by the
1968 Washington, D.C., riots and although it reopened in 1976, it was never the same, the Café Don restaurant, the Ontario motion picture theater, and the Showboat Lounge jazz nightclub. In 1967, the
Ambassador Theater opened; it closed in 1969.
In the 1980s, Hazel Williams operated Hazel's, which featured live blues and jazz, and its
soul food
Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...
offerings made it a favorite of
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but a ...
and
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...
when they were in Washington, D.C.
The
January 20, 2005 counter-inaugural protest
On January 20, 2005, a number of counter-inaugural demonstrations were held in Washington, D.C., and other American cities to protest the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.
Rally at Malcolm X Park
The DC Anti-War Network (DAWN) s ...
included a march through Adams Morgan.
From 2010 to 2012, the city reconstructed 18th Street NW, one of the neighborhood's main commercial corridors, with wider sidewalks, more crosswalks and bicycle arrows, resulting in a more pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare.
In September 2014, the
American Planning Association
The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...
named Adams Morgan one of the nation's "great neighborhoods", citing its intact Victorian rowhouses, murals, international diversity, and pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly streetscape.
In 2021, many local businesses attempted to disband the local
business improvement district. However, they were unsuccessful.
Demographics
Along with neighboring Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan long has been a gateway community for immigrants. Since the 1960s, the predominant international presence in both communities has been Latino, with the majority of immigrants coming from
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
and other
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
n countries. It also has attracted immigrants from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
.
Since 1980, the population of the neighborhood increased marginally from 15,352 to 15,630, while average real annual household income more than doubled from $72,753 to $172,249 and the white non-hispanic population increased from 51% to 68%.
Local institutions
Adams Morgan Day is a multicultural street celebration with live music and food and crafts booths.
The Adams Morgan
farmers' market operates, weather permitting, every Saturday from June to December. Local growers sell fresh, organically grown produce and herbs, baked and canned goods, cheeses, cold-pressed apple juice, and fresh flowers.
The Adams Morgan Partnership
Business Improvement District (AMPBID) has been active in the community since 2005; its stated mission is to promote a clean, friendly and safe Adams Morgan. It sponsors local events such as summer concerts and holiday decorations, and provides information to residents.
Transportation
Adams Morgan is not directly served by the
Washington Metro system. The station nearest to Adams Morgan,
Woodley Park station
Woodley Park station (also known as Woodley Park–Zoo / Adams Morgan) is an underground station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro. Located at 24th Street and Connecticut Avenue Northwest, it serves the neighborhoods of Woodley P ...
, is in the
Woodley Park neighborhood, but was renamed "Woodley Park–Zoo/Adams Morgan" in 1999 to reflect the station's proximity to Adams Morgan. The station was renamed "Woodley Park" with "Zoo/Adams Morgan" as a subtitle in 2011. The southernmost parts of the neighborhood near Rock Creek Park are closer to the
Dupont Circle station, while the northeastern parts of the neighborhood are closer to the
Columbia Heights Station. In March 2009, the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States C ...
(WMATA) began operating a
DC Circulator bus route connecting the center of Adams Morgan with both Metro stations. The area is also served by several WMATA Metrobus lines, including the 42, 43, 90, 92, 96, H1, L2, S2, and S9.
Education
The
District of Columbia Public Schools
The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for the District of Columbia, in the United States.
It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter ...
is the public school system.
Adams, Reed, and H.D. Cooke elementary schools all have international populations, with children from over 30 nations in attendance. Latino and African-American children comprise the majority of students in the public schools.
Oyster Adams Bilingual School, the neighborhood
K-8 school, was formed in 2007 by the merger of John Quincy Adams Elementary School in Adams Morgan and James F. Oyster Bilingual Elementary School in
Woodley Park. The Adams campus serves grades 4-8 and the Oyster campus serves grades Pre-Kindergarten through 3.
The Marie Reed Elementary School, with its Learning Center, built in 1977, was extensively remodeled and reopened in 2017.
H.D. Cooke Elementary School is at 2525 17th Street; it was renovated in 2009 as an
environmentally friendly
Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that cl ...
green building.
Part of the neighborhood is assigned to Oyster-Adams K-8, part is assigned to Marie Reed Elementary and Columbia Heights Education Campus, and part is assigned to H.D. Cooke Elementary and Columbia Heights Education Campus. The entire neighborhood is assigned to
Jackson-Reed High School.
City politics
Adams Morgan is a part of Ward 1, and is in the service area of
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C, the Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission. The ANC covers the area between Harvard Street and Rock Creek to the north, Florida Avenue and U Street to the south, 16th Street NW to the east, and Connecticut Avenue to the west.
Notable residents and former residents
*
Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey
*
Vernon Orlando Bailey
*
William Bankhead
William Brockman Bankhead (April 12, 1874 – September 15, 1940) was an American politician who served as the 42nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940, representing Alabama's 10th and later 7th congressiona ...
*
Carl Bernstein and Nora Ephron - lived in the Ontario Apartments for many years after the
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...
*
Gary Condit - California Representative suspected at one point in the murder of
Chandra Levy; lived on Adams Mill Road in Adams Morgan while he was a congressman and during his affair with Levy
*
John L. DeWitt
*
Dwight D. Eisenhower
*
Mamie Eisenhower
*
Nora Ephron and Carl Bernstein - lived in the Ontario Apartments for many years after the
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...
; Ephron wrote her book ''Heartburn'' about their time as a married couple in the building
*
Father's Children - funk band formed in Adams Morgan
*
Thomas Gore
*
Jim Graham
*
Alexander Campbell King
Alexander Campbell King (December 7, 1856 – July 25, 1926) was the 16th Solicitor General of the United States and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. King was a founding partner of the inte ...
*
Jane Tunstall Lingo
*
Josephine Diebitsch Peary
Josephine Cecilia Diebitsch Peary (May 22, 1863 – December 19, 1955) was an American author and arctic explorer. She was the wife of Robert Peary, who claimed to be the first to have reached the geographic North Pole.
Early life
Josephine ...
*
Robert Peary
*
Nora Pouillon
Nora Pouillon (born October 26, 1943) is an Austrian chef, restaurateur, and author. She was the owner of Restaurant Nora in Washington, D.C., famous for its status as America's first certified organic restaurant.
Biography
Early life
Pouillo ...
*
Robert Maxwell Pringle
*
José Ribalta
José Manuel Ribalta (born March 31, 1963) is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1982 to 1999. He is best known for his fight against Mike Tyson in 1986.
Early years
Ribalta's family fled Cuba by wa ...
*
Robert F. Rockwell
*
Wendell Phillips Stafford - in addition to living in Adams Morgan, an apartment building on Lanier Place was named for him
*
Josiah Alexander Van Orsdel
*
Paul Zukerberg
*
Saagar Enjeti
Saagar Enjeti (born April 21, 1992) is a journalist, podcast host, and political commentator currently hosting the American political news and opinion series '' Breaking Points''.
Early life and education
Enjeti born on April 21, 1992 to an imm ...
In popular culture
Film and television
The neighborhood's competing "
jumbo slice
A jumbo slice is an oversized New York-style pizza sold by the slice to go, especially popular in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. A circular pizza pie from which jumbo slices are cut may be up to in diameter, and individual s ...
" pizza establishments were covered in an episode of the
Travel Channel's ''
Food Wars''.
In the
Showtime Network
Showtime is an American premium television network owned by Paramount Media Networks, and is the flagship property of the namesake parent company, Showtime Networks, a part of Paramount Media Networks. Showtime's programming primarily includes t ...
series ''
Homeland'' Season 3,
Episode 4 ("Game On"), the main character
Carrie Mathison
Carrie Anne Mathison, played by actress Claire Danes, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television drama/thriller series ''Homeland'' on Showtime, created by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon. Carrie is a CIA officer who, ...
states that she lives in Adams Morgan.
Scenes from the 2010 movie ''
How Do You Know
''How Do You Know'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed, written and produced by James L. Brooks, and starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson in his final film role. It was the third film to feature W ...
'' featuring
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
and
Reese Witherspoon were filmed in Adams Morgan.
In the Netflix series ''Taken'', the neighborhood is mentioned in Season 1, Episode 8, as the location where a car bomb explodes.
In the 1993 feature film "In the Line of Fire," Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) lives in Adams Morgan, likely at the corner of 18th St NW and Belmont Rd NW. The film features several locations in Washington, and Adams Morgan in particular.
See also
*
List of restaurant districts and streets in the United States
*
Architecture of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, has a unique and diverse architectural history. Encompassing government, monumental, commercial, and residential buildings, D.C. is home to some of the country's most famous and popular structur ...
References
External links
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1CAdams Morgan Heritage Trail Cultural Tourism DC
Cultural Tourism DC is an independent non-profit coalition of more than 230 culture, heritage, and community-based organizations in Washington, DC. Cultural Tourism DC and its members develop and present programs in Washington for area residents ...
Oyster Adams Bilingual SchoolMarie Reed Elementary School
{{Authority control
Neighborhoods in Northwest (Washington, D.C.)
Restaurant districts and streets in the United States
Entertainment districts in the United States