Ghosts of DC

Try an address, a neighborhood, a name or a year, like “14th and U” or “1968.”

Not sure where to start?
The Best OfThe stories readers come back to If Walls Could TalkWho lived in that house? Why Is It Named…?How DC places got their names This Day in HistoryWhat happened on today’s date
GoDCers Love Maps

DC Had Its Own Harlem: The Neighborhood West of Georgetown

Discover the history of the neighborhood of Harlem in Washington, DC, located west of Georgetown. Learn how this area was developed in the early 1880s and why it was named after the town in the Netherlands.

1 min read
Harlem, DC
Harlem, DC

That’s right. At one point, D.C. had it’s own Harlem.

Harlem, DC
Harlem, DC

The plot of land between Conduit Road (now MacArthur Boulevard)  and Foxhall Road was developed in the early 1880s and named Harlem, after the town in the Netherlands (i.e., Haarlem). The neighborhood is west of Georgetown and was on the Great Falls Electric Railroad.

Most of today’s Foxhall was developed in the 1920s, but for a while, it maintained its original name.

March 5th, 1928
March 5th, 1928 – Washington Post

Take a look at the full map below.

1903 Baist real estate atlas
1903 Baist real estate atlas

Some of our stories are researched and written with help from AI, and checked by a person before they run. Here’s how we use AI.

Filed underGoDCers Love Maps

Topics1880s · Foxhall · Georgetown

Like what you found here?

Get new Ghosts of DC stories by email.

More from the 1880s

Six-story neoclassical 1912 Army and Navy Club building seen from the corner, with early automobiles parked along the curbThe Army and Navy Club at 17th and IMay 21Where is the Original Dupont Circle Statue?Jan 20, 20231887 rendering of the Grant Memorial Bridge showing the full profile and elevation of the proposed medieval-style bridge across the Potomac140 Years of Fighting Over Memorial BridgeMay 3