Takoma, Washington, DC - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Takoma is a neighborhood in northern Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. It is located in Advisory Neighborhood Commission

Advisory Neighborhood Commission

thumb|right|upright|The District of Columbia is divided into 8 wards, each of which is further divided into local ANCs.Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are bodies of local government in Washington, D.C...

4B, in the District's Fourth Ward, within the northwest quadrant. Takoma and the rest of Ward 4 are represented in the Council of the District of Columbia

Council of the District of Columbia

The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the District is not part of any U.S. state and is instead overseen directly by the federal government...

by Muriel Bowser

Muriel Bowser

Muriel Bowser is a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 4.-Early life:...

.

Along Eastern Avenue, the boundary of the District of Columbia, the neighborhood borders the city of Takoma Park, Maryland

Takoma Park, Maryland

Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City," is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone...

, with which it shares its origins. Takoma shares a common identity with the neighboring city in Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, and the downtown area surrounding the Takoma Metro station

Takoma (Washington Metro)

Takoma is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C. on the Red Line. It is the last station within the District of Columbia on the eastern end of the line....

crosses the District of Columbia line. Takoma is bounded by Georgia Avenue

Georgia Avenue

Georgia Avenue is a major north-south artery in Northwest Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland. Within the District of Columbia and a short distance in Silver Spring, Maryland, Georgia Avenue is also U.S. Route 29...

to the west, somewhere between Tuckerman and Van Buren Streets to the south, and Eastern Avenue

Eastern Avenue (Washington, D.C.)

Eastern Avenue is one of three boundary streets between Washington, D.C., and the state of Maryland. It follows a northwest-to-southeast line, beginning at the intersection of 16th Street NW and Colesville Road...

to the northeast. The current site of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Walter Reed Army Medical Center

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...

on Georgia Avenue separates it from Rock Creek Park

Rock Creek Park

Rock Creek Park is a large urban natural area with public park facilities that bisects Washington, D.C. The park is administered by the National Park Service.-Rock Creek Park:The main section of the park contains , or , along the Rock Creek Valley...

.

Both neighborhoods together were noted regionally and nationally for extremely progressive politics dating from the 1960s

1960s

The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...

, when area residents (led by future Takoma Park, MD mayor Sam Abbott) rallied to prevent a 10-lane freeway

North Central Freeway (Washington, D.C.)

The North Central Freeway was a planned freeway in the District of Columbia that would have run from the Inner Loop in D.C. to the Capital Beltway at Silver Spring....

from bisecting the community, and lobbied to build the Metrorail system, on the site of the former B&O

B&O

B&O may refer to:*Baltimore and Ohio Railroad*Bang & Olufsen, an electronics company*Business and occupation tax*Bullets And Octane...

railroad station around which the community had been built. However, much of the land adjacent to the station was demolished or neglected in the wake of the freeway controversy, creating division between downtown Takoma Park, MD and the center of the Takoma community, which roughly parallels the D.C. line. Both of the remaining areas, on either side of the D.C.-Maryland line, are now protected as U.S. Historic Districts

Historic district (United States)

In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...

.

The area in between is currently experiencing a period of development, with new apartment buildings, restaurants, and bars opening. Takoma is a diverse neighborhood, populated mostly by middle class families. It has fewer apartments than adjoining areas in Maryland. Large buildings are confined to the small downtown, which is slowly being re-developed. Many of the houses in the area are historic, with some over 100 years old.

Takoma was originally developed in 1888 as part of a Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

resort village. Developer B.F. Gilbert encouraged the Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

to set up their world headquarters in neighboring Takoma Park, Maryland, and promoted the community's reputation for vegetarianism and "clean living" away from the "malarial swamps" of the city.

Takoma, D.C. was originally regarded as the commercial hub for the entire surrounding area, prior to the development of Silver Spring

Silver Spring, Maryland

Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...

, as it featured large shops and industrial buildings in the area now occupied by the Metro station. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church maintained a publishing house on the D.C. side of the line; after moving to Silver Spring, the former site of the publishing house became art lofts and rehearsal space for the Washington Opera.

The Takoma Theater, built in 1924, is located in the neighborhood. Takoma Theatre Conservancy, a nonprofit preservation group, is raising money to buy and refurbish the theater. The District of Columbia awarded a grant to the group to study how the theater would affect the residential neighborhood and how it should operate the theater if it reopened.

The Takoma Recreation Center and Public Pool is one of several major recreation centers in D.C.

Education

District of Columbia Public Schools

District of Columbia Public Schools is the traditional public school system of Washington, D.C. in the United States.- Composition and enrollment :...

operates public schools. Takoma Elementary School and Coolidge High School are located in Takoma, D.C.

District of Columbia Public Library

District of Columbia Public Library

The District of Columbia Public Library is the public library system for residents of Washington, D.C. The system includes 25 individual libraries including Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library .-History:...

operates the Takoma Park Neighborhood Library. It was the first neighborhood library in Washington, D.C. and a Carnegie library.

External links

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See also

Education

External links