THE
DISTRICT
WHARF
NEIGHBORHOOD
SPOTLIGHT
BY JENNY PETERS
Newcomers to our nation’s capital naturally
migrate toward the National Mall, where
the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington
Monument anchor the west end, the
Smithsonian Institution’s world-class
museums fill the center section and the United
States Capitol sits resplendent to the east.
It’s a must-do D.C. ritual (and one that can be
repeated on every visit, with new experiences
each time) but once you’ve made your way
through everything the Mall has to offer, it’s
time to discover The District Wharf.
That’s D.C.’s hottest spot right now, an
easy stroll of just a few blocks from the
Mall to the Potomac riverfront in the city’s
Southwest neighborhood. One of the oldest
neighborhoods in Washington, it began as a
Native American settlement, was taken over
by European farmers, then transformed into
The Wharf
Credit: Courtesy of washington.org
FLYWASHINGTON.COM 48 SPRING 2018
a major seaport under D.C. architect Pierre
L’Enfant’s city plan in 1791. In 1805, the Maine
Avenue Fish Market opened here; today it’s
the oldest open-air fish market in America.
These days, that much-changed