Existing comment:
An East-of-the-River View
Anacostia Heritage Trail
11 Transit and Trade
The arrival of modern transportation after the Civil War transformed Anacostia. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad opened a branch line along the river here in 1874, bringing industry. Two years later businessman and developer Henry Griswold launched the Anacostia & Potomac River Railroad Co., the first streetcar east of the river. Horse-drawn cars carried passengers back and forth over the bridge from the Navy Yard to about this spot, and inspired Washingtonians with jobs across the river to settle here. Businesses opened near the streetcar stops to serve them. Griswold figured correctly that the streetcar was the key to selling property he owned. He quickly sold more than 200 lots on the hill to your right. Eventually he extended the line to Congress Heights and downtown Washington.
In 1900 speedier streetcars replaced the horsecars here, shortening the commute time to downtown and encouraging more residential development. In 1935 the Anacostia line was among the first in DC to be replaced with buses, which were considered cheaper to maintain, more flexible, and more modern. (Streetcar service was completely eliminated in Washington in 1962.) Anita F. Allen remembered when the streetcar tracks were removed. "One of the greatest events of our lives came after the new concrete was down and before traffic was allowed again. For a few days we had a gloriously big roller skating rink that all the neighborhood children enjoyed."
Union Temple Baptist Church, founded in Anacostia in 1967, moved to this block in 1990. Under activist pastor Rev. Willie Wilson, the church has fought for community improvements and sponsored the annual Unifest. |