Adams Morgan

[ChevyChaseDC]

The Adams Morgan section of Washington is where the city's white, black, and latino communities intersect, creating one of the most dynamic urban districts in the entire country. People can be found out and about at all times of the day. Pictures are from Beyond DC

The residential parts of the area feature blocks of stately rowhouses of varying architectural style.









Enterprising builders cater to yuppie tastes with residential projects such as these.



Columbia Road









18th Street

[ablarc]

Adams Morgan is funky. It reminds me of one of the outlying boroughs of London: small-scale, moody, atmospheric, ethnic and a little unkempt. I wish it had better subway service.

[The Fringe]

Great pictures. I agree with the above comment, Adams Morgan is still a bit unkept and not as yuppie-ish as other DC neighborhoods, yet. Didnt Adams Morgan also cope with a crime wave just a few months ago? I remember it still not being one of Northwest's safest neighborhoods lately either; but it has some excellent ethnic restaurants/bars, and is a popular neighborhood among college students. The Dupont Metro stop is a walk away, but there are shuttle buses. I believe in a few years this neighborhood will be more on par with Dupont Circle and Georgetown as more investment, gentrification, and yuppies infiltrate the area.

[rmulrew]

Originally posted by The Fringe

Great pictures. I agree with the above comment, Adams Morgan is still a bit unkept and not as yuppie-ish as other DC neighborhoods, yet.

Same argument was made ten years ago, and ten years before that. It was, however, yuppier than the Logan Circle area for a number of years, but investment in that neighborhood has picked up dramatically over the past five years and it is now much more upscale than Adams Morgan. One trend I've watched in Adams Morgan is the Columbia Road commercial area becoming more Latino over the past decade. Upper 18th Street has always been (since the 70s, I think) the bohemian retail/restaurant row of DC. With a new substantial loft development on 18th the neighborhood continues to attract yuppies.

[pete-rock]

I've only gone through Adams-Morgan once or twice, but the pics and the comments remind me of Wicker Park and Bucktown here in Chicago. It's artsy, eclectic, multi-ethnic, unkempt and full of energy.

[oulevin]

Bunked at a hostel in Adams Morgan a couple of years back. The 18th and Columbia intersection is one of the liveliest I've seen. Terrific ethnic dining and nightlife, with attractive townhouses and funky public art (Marilyn Monroe, Madam's Organ). One of the best examples of a commericial district being the living room of a neighborhood. And actually, the Woodley Park Metro station is not very far way, just across the bridge on Calvert.

[PlannerGirl]

I would agree AM has some wonderful places to eat but I have found myself going there less and less as it seems street crime has gone up in the last year or so. Every time I go I see cars with busted in glass and some poor owner bitching about his radio. A friend lives there and after having her car broken into 3 times she now has a sign on the windshield "no radio". Ive seen a number of muggings and one nasty knife attack-all right along the main drag. For now this woman will be staying out of AM. Hopefuly it was just a blip in the crime numbers and not a trend.

[ChevyChaseDC]

Originally posted by PlannerGirl

I would agree AM has some wonderful places to eat but I have found myself going there less and less as it seems street crime has gone up in the last year or so. Every time I go I see cars with busted in glass and some poor owner bitching about his radio. A friend lives there and after having her car broken into 3 times she now has a sign on the windshield "no radio". Ive seen a number of muggings and one nasty knife attack-all right along the main drag. For now this woman will be staying out of AM. Hopefuly it was just a blip in the crime numbers and not a trend.

Wrong. Crime has actually decreased in Adams Morgan. The 'main drag' of 18th street is the type of lively and peopled street that is inherantly resistant to crime. Though I don't doubt your anecdotes, I have never seen any of the broken-into cars or violent attacks or other slum-like attributes you mentioned. My friends who live in the area swear by it.

Adams Morgan is one of those areas which Jane Jacobs would refer to as "un-slumming." Though a slum in previous decades, Its urban design naturally lends itself to constant improvement. (the presence of a Starbucks Coffee, at Columbia and 18th, says a lot about the relative distress and stability of an area!)

My impressions of Adams Morgan are positive, though I take it for what it is. Lively urban neighborhoods will never have the crime-free sterility, homogeneity, and ample parking of the suburbs.

[PlannerGirl]

OK I might not agree that AM is the best place, but lets not resort to invalidating others perceptions with "wrong." I stated what I personally have seen, why I personally am in no hurry to go there though I do agree with you on some of its appeals with resturants etc.

I in no way called AM a slum, it is an area undergoing positive change and has a funky sort of mix to it that appeals to some folks. If I were younger, single and more interested in bar hopping I might have a different view.

I've not been to AM in a year now, that I think on it. I did read some where in the Post I guess last fall that the Police were trying to have a higher presence in the area after a recent rash of crime (about the time there was some gang action I am thinking, that always gets the headlines and more MPD interest).

[ChevyChaseDC]

Originally posted by PlannerGirl

lets not resort to invalidating others perceptions with "wrong."

Sorry to offend you, but I think it's important in a forum such as this to challenge what I see as misperceptions.

If I were younger, single and more interested in bar hopping I might have a different view.

Sure. But part of what I'm trying to show in presenting this neighborhood is that it isn't just about bar-hopping, but a real working urban district with hundreds of businesses and thousands of people who call the place home. It is far more complex and dynamic than the socially and economically homogenized streets of Georgetown, another 'bar-hopping' area.

[rmulrew]

Originally posted by ChevyChaseDC

Though a slum in previous decades, Its urban design naturally lends itself to constant improvement. (the presence of a Starbucks Coffee, at Columbia and 18th, says a lot about the relative distress and stability of an area!)

It was never a slum, and it is in fact adjacent to the very wealthy Kalorama neighborhood. In terms of demographics, I believe the neighborghood was mostly white until the early 60s, when blacks started to move in. Shortly after that it became a bohemian area, attracting all types of people. Hispanics moved in in the 80s. In fact, DC has very few if any slums.

[ChevyChaseDC]

Originally posted by rmulrew

It was never a slum

Slum is a harsh word to use. But, Adams Morgan did have pockets of concentrated poverty, high crime, and distress in the 70's and 80's.

The area between Columbia Road to the west and North, U Street to the south, and 16th Street to the east has gotten exponentially more stable since most of the nuisance liquor stores closed and abandoned houses and buildings have been rehabbed.
West of Columbia Road, to Connecticut Avenue, lie numerious upscale residential buildings with an economically homogenious population. You're right, that part never was a slum - it's essentially part of Kalorama, not Adams Morgan.

In fact, DC has very few if any slums.

I disagree. There still a handful of distressed areas of the District of Columbia, in all four quadrants of the city.

[Big Easy King]

I visit DC as often as possible, especially since my sister resides in nearby Silver Spring, MD. The Adams Morgan section is one of my favorites because of its diversity of people.

[The One]

ALL of you are WRONG!!!!

Ha ha ha just kidding.....couldn't resist.....

[rmulrew]

Originally posted by ChevyChaseDC

I disagree. There still a handful of distressed areas of the District of Columbia, in all four quadrants of the city.

But they don't look like slums.

When I think "slum," I imagine parts of Chicago, Newark, West Baltimore and West Philadelphia: high-rise housing projects, lots of abandoned homes, vacant lots, and dilapidated buildings along with a high level of crime and poverty. The only neighborhood that "looked" like a slum in DC that I can think of was Columbia Heights West a few years ago. Also many of the scattered housing projects could qualify as slums. But most of DC's neighborhoods, even those in high-crime areas appear generally well maintained. I just don't use the word slum unless it really looks like a slum.