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Foggy Bottom | |
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  .jpg) .JPG) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Top:Corcoran School of Art (left) andU.S. Department of Interior (right); middle:Monroe-Adams House (left),George Washington University (center),The Octagon House (right); bottom:American Red Cross (left), andFoggy Bottom–GWU station (right) | |
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| Country | United States |
| District | Washington, D.C. |
| Quadrant | Northwest |
| Ward | 2 |
Foggy Bottom is aneighborhood ofWashington, D.C., United States, located in the city'snorthwest quadrant. It stretches west of theWhite House towards thePotomac River, north of theNational Mall, east ofGeorgetown, south of theWest End neighborhood and west ofDowntown D.C.
The neighborhood is best known for hosting the headquarters of theU.S. Department of State, for which the name "Foggy Bottom" is commonly used as ametonym. It is also home tofederal agencies and international institutions, including theFederal Reserve, theWorld Bank, and theInternational Monetary Fund; the core of the neighborhood is occupied byGeorge Washington University.
Within greater Foggy Bottom, there is a four block Historic District with modest row houses and alleys dating from as early as the 1870s and which housed working class Irish, German and African Americans during the historic period of 1860-1915.[1]
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The Foggy Bottom area was the site of one of the earliest European settlements in what is nowWashington, D.C., whenGerman settler Jacob Funk (or Funck) subdivided 130 acres (0.53 km2) near the meeting place of thePotomac River andRock Creek in 1763. The settlement officially was namedHamburgh, but colloquially was calledFunkstown. In 1765, German settlers established the town of Hamburg on what would become the area between 24th and 18th NW Street.[2] There are reportedly two more founders: Robert Peter and James Linigan.[2] The three had control of the land until 1791 when the territories were given to the city of Washington and the United States government. In the town of Hamburg, a German community was founded by many German immigrants.
In 1768, Funk sold two lots of territory to both the GermanLutheran and the GermanPresbyterian communities. The lot that was sold to the German Lutherans was located on the corner of 20th and G Street. The lot sold to the German Presbyterians was located on the southeast corner of 22nd and G Street. The Lutheran lot would not be in use until 1833 and the Presbyterian until the 1880s.[2] The lot that was sold to the German Lutheran community was turned into theConcordia German Church.
By the 19th century, Foggy Bottom became a community of laborers employed at the nearbybreweries, glass plants, and city gas works. These industrial facilities are also cited as a possible reason for the neighborhood's name, the "fog" being the smoke given off by the industries. Foggy Bottom attracted few settlers until the 1850s, when more industrial enterprises came into the area.[3] Funk also set aside land in Hamburgh for a German-speaking congregation in 1768. Concordia German Evangelical Church, located at 1920 G Street NW was finally founded in 1833. Today the congregation is the United Church, and is the oldest religious community remaining in Foggy Bottom.[4]
In 1877 themoons of Mars (Phobos and Deimos) were discovered from the oldNaval Observatory in Foggy Bottom, which was located here until 1893.
Foggy Bottom became the site of theGeorge Washington University's 42-acre (17 ha) main campus in 1912.
Foggy Bottom was also the name of a line of beer by theOlde Heurich Brewing Company, which was founded by German immigrantChristian Heurich's grandson, Gary Heurich. He tried to revive the tradition of his family's Christian Heurich Brewing Company, which had ceased production in Foggy Bottom. Christian Heurich Brewing Company's most successful products bore such local names as Senate and Old Georgetown. During the 1950s, Heurich Brewing also sponsored the city's professional baseball team, theWashington Senators. Industry consolidation led the brewery to cease operations in 1956. In 1961–1962, the brewery buildings were razed to make way for theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Heurich Jr., and his two sisters donated a portion of the brewery land to the Kennedy Center in memory of their parents, and established the Christian Heurich Family as one of the Founders of the national cultural center. Although the firm was founded in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, the modern beer was brewed inUtica,New York.
Foggy Bottom Historic District | |
 Aerial view of Foggy Bottom. TheWatergate Complex is in the foreground. | |
| Location | Bounded by 17th St., Rock Creek Parkway, Constitution Ave., Pennsylvania Ave., NW,Washington, D.C. |
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| NRHP reference No. | 87001269 |
| Added to NRHP | October 14, 1987 |
Points of interest in Foggy Bottom include theKennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Friendship LodgeOdd Fellows Hall, and theWatergate complex, site of theWatergate scandal's burglaries that led to PresidentRichard Nixon'sresignation.George Washington University has grown significantly over the past decades and now covers much of the neighborhood, which has many historic old homes and numerous mid-rise apartment buildings. The historic portion of the Foggy Bottom neighborhood is preserved and listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. Just south of the Watergate complex, on thePotomac River, lies theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, home of theNational Symphony Orchestra and numerous other theatrical and musical exhibitions. OnVirginia Avenue is theSimon Bolivar Memorial. George Washington University'sLisner Auditorium andSmith Center are frequently home to major concerts, as isDAR Constitution Hall. Foggy Bottom is also home to theoriginal location of theUnited States Naval Observatory.
The southern edge of Foggy Bottom is home to many federal government offices, including the State Department.[5][6] TheMain Interior Building (headquarters of theDepartment of the Interior), theBureau of Indian Affairs headquarters, and theFederal Reserve Board buildings all lie on or aroundVirginia Avenue. To the east lies theEisenhower Executive Office Building, home to theExecutive Office of the President of the United States and theOffice of the Vice President of the United States. On the other side of the office is theWhite House, outside of the neighborhood.
Foggy Bottom is also home to numerous international and American organizations. TheWorld Bank buildings, theInternational Finance Corporation, theInternational Monetary Fund, theOffice of Personnel Management,DAR Constitution Hall of theDaughters of the American Revolution, theAmerican Pharmacists Association, theAmerican Red Cross National Headquarters, thePan American Health Organization, and theOrganization of American States are all located in the neighborhood. In addition,the Mexican andSpanish embassies are located in Foggy Bottom, both onPennsylvania Avenue.
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Foggy Bottom, along with the rest of Washington D.C, was designed using theL'Enfant Plan, which created squares of housing with open space left in the middle. Foggy Bottom'salley life issue emerged during the 1860s when an influx ofIrish andGerman immigrants attempted to move into Foggy Bottom.[7] This influx was a result of the large number of industrial buildings that were located in Foggy Bottom.[7] There were no immediate houses available for these new immigrants, so they were forced to move into the uninhabited alleys that were located in the middle of the squares. The situation became worse after the Civil War when a wave of newly freed Black Americans moved to Washington and began populating the alleys.
Construction of the alleys continued until 1892 because the government needed to reduce overcrowding in residential areas.[8] For the next decade, the government largely left the alleys untouched. However, at the turn of the 20th century, the government began relegating more responsibilities and authority to the Health Department, which began demolishing the alleys because of the copious amounts of crime and disease. The living conditions of the inhabitants were quite abysmal, with half of the population sharing or having no toilet facilities[9] Furthermore, crime was a major problem; a section of Foggy Bottom was nicknamed "Round Tops" because of a well-known gang that was active in the area.
The following decades showed an improvement in the overall living conditions in the alleys of Foggy Bottom. The Health Department's effort to reduce crime and overcrowding largely succeeded until the 1920s, when prohibition began being enforced. Because breweries were a major source of income for the inhabitants of Foggy Bottom, prohibition created a new wave of lower-class workers who flocked to the alleys to set up bootleg liquor stores.[9] During this time, the German and the Irish immigrants that had been prevalent since the 1860s began to move out.[9] In 1934, after conditions in the alley had deteriorated, the government created theAlley Dwelling Authority, a new government entity that specifically dealt with improving Washington D.C.’s alleys. The ADA was authorized to demolish or redevelop any alley if it was deemed to be worth saving or not. The addition of the ADA and the arrival of the Department of State began to improve the living conditions in the alleys over time.[9]
The ADA was given the task of evaluating homes and streets to see if they met proper living conditions. Specific documentation would state the reasons why the area needed to be renovated. This documentation would then be sent from the authority to legislation for approval. Individual legislators included, but not exclusively,Eleanor Roosevelt. Common reasons given for why an area was in need of renovation were: too many people in one home; too many African Americans in and around the area; or that the exterior paint had faded. After the ADA gained approval from legislation, it would then give the occupants of the houses anywhere from two to four months to vacate the building. By July 1, 1944, all of the houses in Foggy Bottom had been evacuated and plans were set forward for renovation. This act sought to produce larger living spaces for individuals with better conditions so that the owners could charge more for rent. Higher rent prices were acceptable at the time because of a boom in hiring. Rents usually ranged anywhere from seventeen to thirty-seven dollars a month. These prices fluctuated often because of the available jobs and the condition of the houses. Older houses were typically cheaper than new homes, only some of which came with running water, gas heaters or cooling systems. Statistics suggest that, on average, the greater wealth arose from the majority of white residents, but also that black wealth was steadily increasing due to new job patterns.[10]
In 1856, construction began on the West Station Works, a plant owned and operated by theWashington Gas Light corporation, at the intersections of 26th and G St. NW.[11] The construction began the development of the area now occupied by theWatergate complex and throughout broader Foggy Bottom. The location was chosen for its proximity to thePotomac River, which made it convenient to unload barges ofcoal for the plant.[12][13] The daily operation of the West Station Works attracted laborers to the area, most of them unskilled.
By 1860, the unskilled population in Foggy Bottom was at 42%, compared to 9% in 1850.[14] The influx of people spurred development in the area, and 40 years after the works were completed, the area fit the description of a proper city. In 1948, the area of land occupied by the West Station Works was purchased by the Watergate Project.[15] The plant was demolished, and theWatergate complex was constructed on the same plot of land. Today, there is no physical remnant of the plant. It is a historical location today.
It is bounded roughly by 17th Street NW to the east, thePotomac River andRock Creek Parkway to the west,Constitution Avenue and theNational Mall to the south, andPennsylvania Avenue NW to the north.
Foggy Bottom is thought to have received its name due to an atmospheric quirk of its low lying, marshy riverside location, which made it susceptible to concentrations offog, and later, industrial smoke. TheUnited States Department of State gained themetonym "Foggy Bottom"[16] when it moved its headquarters to theHarry S Truman Building in 1947.[5][6]
Late into the 20th century, Foggy Bottom witnessed a drastic change in demographics. There was a racial transformation within the area, as a white revival emerged. Many different factors forced out the black population, including the Foggy Bottom Taxpayers Protective Association opposing federal intervention. The renovations enacted by the Alley Dwelling Authority rendered the former inhabitants displaced. Similarly, the West End witnessed the same changes.[17] Another factor of the change in demographics was orchestrated by Democratic SenatorTheodore G. Bilbo, who called for an "Alley Moving Day" forcing the black population out of the alleys.
The neighborhood is predominately white and has a large number of off-campus university student residents that affect demographics on income, age and race. As of the2010 United States census, there are 14,642 residents, of whom 78.3% are white.[18]
The Foggy Bottom neighborhood is served by:
George Washington University (GWU) is located in Foggy Bottom.
Public schools in Foggy Bottom are part of theDistrict of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) system. The neighborhood elementary and middle school located in Foggy Bottom isSchool Without Walls at Francis-Stevens.[19] Residents are zoned forCardozo Education Campus for high school. DCPS also operatesSchool Without Walls, a magnet high school, on the GWU campus.[20]
Places adjacent to Foggy Bottom | |
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38°53′54″N77°02′56″W / 38.89833°N 77.04889°W /38.89833; -77.04889
