Washington D.C.'s Southwest Waterfront is a study in contrasts—the neighborhood retains some of the most historic architecture in the federal capital and boasts one of the largest private development projects in the city, the District Wharf. Laid out by the Carroll family in the 1770s and originally known as Carrollsburg, the waterfront is home to the oldest continuously operating fish market in the country, three of the earliest row homes in the District, and a "honeymoon house" built for Martha Washington's granddaughter.
By the 1830s the banks of the Potomac in Southwest teemed with commercial activity, followed by a massive military operation during the American Civil War. However, the postwar waterfront slipped into decline, cut off from the rest of the city by the Washington Canal, railroad tracks, and eventually a six-lane highway.
During the urban renewal movement of the mid-20th century, huge swaths of Southwest Washington were demolished, with over 23,000 mostly Black and Jewish residents displaced. Today, a new wave of development is once again changing the fabric of Southwest. Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, explores the long and tumultuous planning history of the Southwest Waterfront and some of its architectural highlights, including residential buildings by I.M. Pei and Chloethiel Woodard Smith.
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