Petworth is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is bounded to the east by the Armed Forces Retirement Home and Rock Creek Cemetery, to the west by Arkansas Avenue NW, to the south by Rock Creek Church Road NW and Spring Road NW, and to the north by Kennedy Street NW.
The neighborhood is primarily residential, with a mix of terraced houses and single-family homes. It is accessible via the Georgia Avenue–Petworth station on the Green Line and Yellow Line of the Washington Metro. Petworth borders two expanses of historic green space, Rock Creek Cemetery, and President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home.
History
Petworth was the name of the 205-acre country estate of John Tayloe III, likely named for the ancient town of Petworth in West Sussex, England. The estate, located at the northeast corner of 7th Street Pike (later known as Brightwood Avenue, now Georgia Avenue) and Rock Creek Church Road, was bequeathed to his son Benjamin Ogle Tayloe. In 1887, it was sold by Tayloe’s heirs to developers for $107,000. In 1889, developers registered “Petworth” with the district surveyor as a 387-acre plat of subdivision containing the former Tayloe estate and the Marshal Brown estate. In 1893, additional real estate deals formed “West Petworth,” from west of Brightwood Avenue, including the Ruppert Farm, which was sold for $142,680, the 20-acre Burnaby tract, and a 14-acre property known as Poor Tom’s Last Shaft. In 1900, Henry J. Ruppert sold an additional 31.7 acres west of Brightwood and Iowa Avenues and south of Utica Street (now Allison Street) to the district for a proposed municipal hospital.
In the early 1900s, expanding a streetcar line along Georgia Avenue to the border of Silver Spring, Maryland, made Petworth more accessible.
Many of the neighborhood’s thousands of similar brick row houses were constructed by Morris Cafritz and by D.J. Dunigan Company in the 1920s–1930s. Dunigan donated the land that became the site for St. Gabriel’s Church and School next to Grant Circle. EZ DC Junk Removal
Community
Finding a neighborhood with a strong sense of community like Petworth is difficult. Petworth has what is known as a porch culture where residents stroll down streets and shout hello to their neighbors. It’s a community where residents support one another, whether borrowing sugar from your next-door neighbor or attending the free Petworth Jazz Project or the Celebrate Petworth Festival. In this event, it’s difficult to tell if the residents are neighbors or family.
Petworth Community Market is a popular social hub. Residents gather to support local farmers and artisans each Saturday from May to November while stocking up on weekly groceries. Live music is played while neighbors visit, eat, and shop.
Check out different neighborhoods like Woodley Park