City preview · WASHINGTON DC

Washington marked two grand axes with a stone you could step over

Northwest of the Washington Monument, a low stone marks where the White House’s north–south line crossed the Capitol’s east–west line; soil conditions pushed the obelisk aside. Constitution Avenue covers the old course of Tiber Creek. Chuck Brown Memorial Park holds a stage for go-go’s unbroken percussion. Along 9th Street, restaurants and coffeehouses gave Little Ethiopia a name without an official boundary.

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Jefferson Pier Stone · Editorial illustration, not a historical photo

From the survey stone to a neighborhood named over dinner

A low stone, a buried creek, go-go drums, and Little Ethiopia

Four complete stories and their public sources are shown here; the rest of the collection is in the app.

01 · Jefferson Pier Stone

The monument missed the crossing

The axes meet here. The monument stands elsewhere.

Early surveyors needed to put the White House's north-south axis and the Capitol's east-west axis onto actual ground. The site of Jefferson Pier served as that reference point; today's stone was erected later. Ground conditions put the Washington Monument off to one side instead of directly on the intersection. The thing standing at the crossing is a low stone you could almost step over.

Source: nps.gov

02 · Constitution Avenue NW & 17th Street NW

An avenue over a creek

This broad avenue follows a vanished watercourse.

Tiber Creek once flowed from the Capitol area toward the Potomac. Parts became the Washington City Canal, intended for transport and drainage, but silting, sewage, and maintenance remained persistent problems. From the late 19th into the 20th century, the low ground was gradually filled and water was directed into underground drainage. Constitution Avenue covered the creek's name. The low-lying ground still suggests its course.

Source: nps.gov Source: home.nps.gov

03 · Chuck Brown Memorial Park

The beat outlasted the song

In go-go, the next song never needs silence.

As Chuck Brown developed go-go, congas, cowbells, and other percussion linked the spaces between songs. Audience calls joined the rhythm. One number did not have to stop completely before another began; the band could hold a groove through the night. His memorial park includes more than his likeness. It leaves room for people to gather and for another performance to begin.

Source: nmaahc.si.edu Source: si.edu

04 · 9th Street NW and U Street NW

Customers gave the neighborhood its name

The restaurants arrived before the name Little Ethiopia.

In the late 20th century, Ethiopian-owned restaurants, groceries, and cafes clustered around 9th Street. Customers came for injera and coffee, and Little Ethiopia became a recognizable, unofficial place-name. No government drew its boundaries. The name grew through people returning for another meal.

Source: planning.dc.gov

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