I just moved between two neighborhoods in D.C., and I have been doing some research on the two properties. I moved from a Glover Park row home constructed in 1937, where I shared the 1,332 square feet of living space with three other people. In 2006 it will be assessed by the city at $592,050. I moved to a duplex home in Shaw, a historic neighborhood near Logan Circle. The house I am moving into was constructed in 1890, making the house 115 years old. The house has 1,202 sq. ft. of living space which I share with one roommate. In 2006 its assessed value is $330,730.
I currently live just around the corner from the Carter G. Woodson Home, where the legendary black historian lived from 1915 until his death in 1950. The home appears vacant but has a sign indicated it has been designated a national historic site. To be honest I didn’t know much about Mr. Woodson aside from having heard his name before doing some research. The wikipedia article on his life provides a good biographical sketch – he was the second African American to received a PhD in History and known as “the founder of Black History.” According to the folks at Cultural Tourism DC,
The building, built sometime between 1870 and 1874, was used as a residence and an office. It currently awaits renovation. It was declared a National Historic Landmark and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It was included in the DC Inventory of Historic Sites in 1979.
I have noticed that according to some signs the triangle park in front of my home has been designated “Carter G. Woodson” park by the city. It’s a shame that the park – located just steps from the home – is mostly paved and neglected.
The neighborhood library, now closed for renovation, is named after Watha T. Daniel. I haven’t had time to do much research on who Watha Daniel was, but if you know please leave a comment.
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Most of us in the neighborhood see this as a scam by Eleanor Holmes Norton to pay Shiloh two million dollars for two of the properties they have owned an abandoned for fifty years. It is a reward, as she stated in her speech last Saturday turning over the Woodson home to the Park Service, for staying in the neighborhood and resisting gentrification. Shiloh does not want to see the museum developed that would usurp their precious parking. However, they are over 14 million dollars in debt for the renovation of their church, so need the cash. One can expect “delays” numbering in the decades before the Park Service, destitute as it is, to ever get around to renovating the Woodson home. It’s in every way a sweet deal for Shiloh, bad for the neighborhood and the US taxpayer