West End, Washington, D.C.

The West End is a small region of the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue to the south, P Street to the north, Rock Creek Park to the west, and 22nd Street to the east. The West End is so named because it was the westernmost part of the original Pierre L'Enfant plan for the city of Washington, before the annexation of Georgetown. It is home to the embassies of Qatar and Spain. George Washington University Medical Center is on the edge of the West End, at Washington Circle.

The West End has long been defined by the fact that it was "not" any of the adjacent, more prominent neighborhoods: Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, and Georgetown. However, with the development of the Washington Metro rail system, the West End is now most often spoken of as being part of the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. Its prominent landmarks include a Ritz Carlton hotel and residences, a few other upscale hotels, several large office buildings, and the West End branch of the D.C. Public Library.

History

Historically, West End was a predominantly African-American community with brick Victorian rowhouses and warehouses. In the 1950s and 1960s, real estate developers bought up the rowhouses, demolished them, and built new office and apartment buildings throughout the neighborhood. cite news|title=Building Boom Hits West End With a Sour Note;West End's Black Residents Pressed by Redevelopment |author=Bowman, LaBarbara |publisher=The Washington Post |date=1977, March 27]

Recent developments

The West End is currently a hotbed of development, with hundreds of new luxury condominiums either under construction or in the planning phase. [http://www.dclofts.com/newcondosdirectory.html#West%20End] Controversy is brewing over the last remaining "underdeveloped" parcel of land, known as Square 37. Bordered by 23rd Street, 24th Street, L Street, and an alleyway, this anomaly, composed of low-rise buildings from the 1800s to the 1960s, stands out amid a sea of new luxury highrises. Square 37 is home to the Tiverton, the last remaining rent-controlled apartment building in the West End. The Tiverton tenants have gained some degree of local celebrity for successfully battling two upzoning attempts by developers in an effort to maintain the square as-is. Trader Joe's grocery store opened in the neighborhood September 1st, 2006. [http://www.dcist.com/archives/2006/07/25/west_end_trader.php]

The DC Council passed controversial emergency legislation on July 10, 2007 to sell the West End public library branch, the DC Special Operations Police Station (both on Square 37), and a firehouse (on neighboring Square 50) to the developer Eastbanc. [cite news|title= Rushing Development to the ER |author=Jenkins, Mark |publisher=Washington City Paper|date=2007, July 12|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/index.php/category/neighborhoods/west-end/]

References