A M E R I C A N P L A N N I N G A S S O C I A T I O N
News Release
For immediate release October 2, 2007
Contact: Anita Harris, DC Office of Planning, 202-442-7635; anita.hariston@dc.gov
Donna Scheeder, Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee,
202-744-0818; dsch@loc.gov
Denny Johnson, APA, 202-349-1006; djohnson@planning.org
Eastern Market Selected as One of 10 Great Neighborhoods in America
Civic Activism an Enduring Staple in This DC Neighborhood
Washington, DC — The American Planning Association (APA) announced today that the Eastern Market Neighborhood, located in Washington, DC, has been designated as one of 10 Great Neighborhoods for 2007 through APA’s Great Places in America program. APA Great Places exemplify exceptional character and highlight the role planners and planning play in creating communities of lasting value.
“Eastern Market is the heart and soul of Capitol Hill,” said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “While the historic market hall was severely damaged by fire this spring, this community’s spirit and commitment to rebuild never wavered. Eastern Market is a as vibrant a place as it has ever been and that it is a testament to just how important this place is to the citizens of the District,” he said.
During a ceremony Tuesday morning at Eastern Market, APA presented Mayor Fenty with a Great Places certificate for the Eastern Market neighborhood.
“The Eastern Market neighborhood stands out not only as a jewel of Washington, D.C.,” said APA Executive Director Paul Farmer, FAICP, “but it shines as an example of the good that happens when residents care about where they live and take time to be involved.”
APA selected Eastern Market one of 10 Great Neighborhoods because it is a thriving testament to the spirit and commitment of its residents. Their civic pride and dedication, combined with the centuries-old vision for their neighborhood, sustain the community’s unique characteristics.
APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live. They are enjoyable, safe, and desirable. They are places where people want to be – not only to visit, but to live and work there everyday. America’s truly great neighborhoods are defined by many unique criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement. Through Great Places in America, APA recognizes the unique and authentic attributes of essential building blocks of great communities – streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces.
The Eastern Market neighborhood was included as part of the original design of 1791 by the visionary planner, Pierre L’Enfant. While it retains the street pattern and much of the open space visualized by L’Enfant, the neighborhood is fully developed with buildings from the early 1800s to the present time — simple frame dwellings and alley houses, large and ornate Victorian-era homes, porch-front homes from the World War I as well as churches from every era. Its tree-lined residential streets open out into pulsating commercial districts with their own eclectic mix of locally-owned businesses and some franchises.
The Eastern Market neighborhood also has some of the city’s oldest buildings. One of the more important structures of the neighborhood is Eastern Market itself, which has been in continuous operation since 1873. The Market serves a diverse and broad cross-section of people; promotes community involvement and operates as a hub for social activity.
Further, the neighborhood easily accommodates the transportation needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, transit users; and it meets the needs of its community for a local market. Barracks Row, which runs from Pennsylvania Avenue south to the Navy Yard, has emerged as a prime shopping and dining destination. This nascent business area is the result of the Barracks Row Main Street program, an economic revitalization effort that seeks to restore small businesses and make the neighborhood more self-supporting.
Eastern Market neighborhood residents have been vital to the long-term strength of the community. Their civic activism has sustained the neighborhood by defeating numerous development proposals that would compromise its unique characteristics, including the neighborhood’s famed marketplace. Most recently, citizens demonstrated their commitment and tenacity by pressing city officials and others to finalize a plan for permanently restoring the 134-year-old Eastern Market after it was destroyed by a fire in April 2007.
The nine other APA Great Neighborhoods for 2007 are: Chatham Village, Pittsburgh, PA;
Elmwood Village, Buffalo, NY; The First Addition Neighborhood, Lake Oswego, OR; Hillcrest, San Diego, CA; North Beach, San Francisco, CA; Old West Austin, Austin, TX; Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY; Pike Place Market Neighborhood, Seattle, WA; and West Urbana, Urbana, IL. For more information about these neighborhoods, and the list of APA’s 10 Great Streets for 2007, visit www.planning.org/greatplaces.
This year’s 10 Great Streets and 10 Great Neighborhoods will be celebrated as part of APA’s National Community Planning Month, in October 2007, designed to recognize and celebrate the many residents, leaders, officials, and professionals who contribute to making great communities. For more about National Community Planning Month, visit www.planning.org/ncpm.
The American Planning Association and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, are dedicated to advancing the art, science and profession of good planning — physical, economic and social — so as to create communities that offer better choices for where and how people work and live. Members of APA help create communities of lasting value and encourage civic leaders, business interests and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people’s lives. APA has offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Ill. For more information, visit its website at www.planning.org.
D.C. United Media Relations