Washington DC
Anacostia

Anacostia in Southeast Washington, D.C., situated on the eastern shore of the Anacostia River, is one of Washington’s oldest neighborhoods and the only historic district east of the river. In the 1800s, employees from the Navy Yard, just across the 11th Street Bridge, began to settle there, as did Anacostia’s most famous resident, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, whose home has been designated a National Historic Site. After World War II, Anacostia saw an influx of Black former residents of the Southwest Waterfront area displaced by that area’s redevelopment, many of whom were resettled in poorly built public housing that has now vanished. For decades, the neighborhood suffered from disinvestment and isolation, but in recent years, government agencies, community groups and developers have made a concerted effort to bring new development to the area, while ensuring that existing residents benefit. Anacostia’s architectural styles vary from A-frames to cottage-style homes and brick row houses, most with front porches, that reflect the area’s 19th-century working-class origins.