Washington: Foggy Bottom

This is the first in a series of posts on the various neighborhoods and regions of Washington, D.C.  While Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle are two of the early posts planned, I intend to focus on areas of the city that are less explored, such as the H Street N.E. corridor and the Eastern Market area of Capitol Hill.  A fuller look at what I intend with the project can be found in a previous post.

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Overview

Perhaps the best known region of D.C. beyond the National Mall, Foggy Bottom often invokes images of secretive diplomats among those who have not spent much time in the District. Or maybe it brings to mind that it’s only a few blocks from the White House and the Lincoln Memorial.  Either way, the area was originally right on the banks of the Potomac River (more on that below), and became known as Foggy Bottom because of the fog that rolled off the water.  “Foggy Bottom” is also a metonymy for the United States Department of State (ergo the diplomats), which moved its headquarters to the area in 1947.  Even today, some news outlets will still refer to the State Department as “Foggy Bottom.”  But these facts are fairly well known.

Washington: The District’s Best

This year, the New York Times named Washington, D.C., as one of its 52 places to go in 2016, something that just reaffirms what many of us who live here already know.  As I wrote in a recent post, I will be moving out of the District at the end of May after spending most of the last six years here.  While I am very excited about traveling through Italy in July and then starting at Cambridge in the fall, I am also sad about having to leave this incredible city and the wonderful friends I have met here.  While many people think Washington is either too snobby, too boring, or both, I have come to have a deep appreciation for the city.

After spending some time roaming D.C. recently, I found that there were many little things across the District that were relatively unknown, even to those of us who have been here for some time.  The New York Times article highlights the new improvements to the city, including the National Museum of African-American History and Culture and the CityCenterDC complex.  But there are many other developments across town that are worth nothing as well–including many that are neither on the National Mall nor cost a pretty penny to enjoy.  I also have many favorite places, restaurants, bars, and experiences in Washington that I want to share.

I have decided, therefore, to create a series of posts on different neighborhoods in the city to discuss these things.  There are 131 officially designated neighborhoods grouped into 39 neighborhood clusters, which would be rather impractical to cover in individually.  I will use the term “neighborhood” loosely, then, and will include large swaths of the city in each post that may not necessarily comport to the official boundaries of each but that, when you live in D.C., make sense together.

The first post will be on my old stomping grounds of Foggy Bottom, while the second will be on the Dupont Circle area.  I spent much time in both neighborhoods during law school and got to know them well.  The third post will be on Capitol Hill, with a focus on the Eastern Market area where I live now.  Later posts will highlight the region that includes Judiciary Square, the West End, Chinatown, and parts of Downtown; the H Street N.E. corridor; and the National Mall.  Adams Morgan, the U Street N.W. corridor, Woodley Park,  Georgetown, and Columbia Heights may also make appearances if time allows.  So make sure to tune in!  And follow me on Instagram (linked to the blog) for frequent pictures of my walks around the city.