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As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, learn more below about how the Office of Planning (OP) is elevating and honoring DC’s Hispanic Heritage with our work on a historic context study of Latino communities. Also, check out the Commemorative Work Corner below featuring the Don Quixote Sculpture on the Kennedy Center Grounds.
In DC, September is also 202 Creates Month; when we recognize and celebrate the important contributions of the arts in the District. Our Data Corner below profiles DC’s creative economy. Close out 202 Creates Month at Art All Night on September 29th and 30th. With activations in all 8 wards, there is more to explore than ever before.
Lastly, be sure to follow OP on Twitter and Instagram where we will be celebrating Community Planning Month throughout October.
Sincerely,
Anita Cozart
Director, DC Office of Planning
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OP is partnering with the DC Preservation League to produce a historic context study on the District of Columbia’s Latino community. This project, funded by a grant from the National Park Services’ Underrepresented Communities Grant Program, will result in new landmark nominations and an amended nomination for the Mount Pleasant Historic District to the DC Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places. The existing Mount Pleasant Historic District nomination will be updated to include Latino, specifically Salvadoran, history.
The legacy of the District of Columbia’s Latino community can be seen in businesses, organizations, and public spaces across the city, especially in the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia Heights. This community’s history in DC dates back to the early 1940s when Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans arrived in the capital to obtain work in the expanding federal government and fill in labor shortages in other trades during World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, Latin American diplomats brought embassy staff to Adams Morgan, moving in alongside an influx of Dominicans and Cubans entering America for economic opportunity and an escape from political conflict in their home countries. By the 1970s, the city even considered rebranding Adams Morgan as “The Latin Quarter” due to the prolific number of Spanish-speaking and Latin-owned businesses, restaurants, and shops. The growing Latin-American community continued its expansion into Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights through Salvadoran and Central American immigration in the 1970s and 1980s, as civil war and domestic unrest unfolded in various nations. This influx of immigrants throughout the years was not entirely without strife, most obviously demonstrated by the Mount Pleasant Uprisings of 1991, but the impact of the Latino community on the District is undeniable.
Today, the Hispanic and Latino populations combined make up 11.3% of DC residents. Yet only five entries in the DC Inventory of Historic Sites represent this community in any way. The nomination for the Mount Pleasant Historic District, written in 1986, makes no mention of the neighborhood’s substantial population of Salvadorans (DC’s largest immigrant population) or the historic uprisings of 1991. The context study will provide a clear framework to evaluate resources and develop historic landmark nominations, in addition to providing a baseline to evaluate sites already listed on DC Inventory and National Register to also include Latino history.
Research for The History of Latino Communities in Washington, DC Historic Context Study will begin later this year with opportunities for community participation and feedback in the Spring and Summer of 2024.
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1971 Latino Festival, August 1, 1971. DC Public Library, Star Collection.
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Adams Morgan Children, 1980, Out My Window, Nancy Shia’s 40-year photo history of 18th Street and Columbia Road.
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Saturday dance party in Community Park West. Dancing to music of Maria y Los Magnificos. Out My Window: Nancy Shia’s 40-year photo history of 18th Street and Columbia Road.
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Interns are an integral part of OP’s team that bring enthusiasm and new perspectives to our work. They gain real-world experience well beyond what is taught in the classroom. Juliet Brown, a graduate student studying Archaeology at American University, recently wrapped up a four-month summer internship with OP through the District Leadership Program. She shared reflections on her time as an archaeology intern with our Historic Preservation Office, and how the experience supports her career goals.
“I am incredibly grateful for my time as an archaeology intern at OP. My academic and professional background has been in linguistics, and I have been working as an educator for eight years prior to my time at OP. Although it may seem like a career switch from linguistics to archaeology, they are connected and expand my perspective on…well, everything. I think it is important to stay curious and seek knowledge, and education is an avenue to do that; therefore, it should be available to everyone. Archaeology informs stories from the past while providing a connection to communities now. It is my hope that archaeology will foster community engagement and encourage people to tell their stories. I learned several skills such as GIS mapping, collections management, and artifact analysis during my time here at HPO, but the most impactful thing I gained from my experience is a sense of the pressing responsibility that we have to respond to the past, care for the present, and change the future. The drive and passion of the people in the OP office to be mindful, open to learn, and considerate about every aspect of their work and the people in DC, has been inspiring and gives me hope.”
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Every September, Mayor Bowser hosts 202 Creates Month; a month-long celebration of the District's creative economy. The creative economy, which includes industries like advertising, architecture, arts, design, fashion, performing arts, and publishing, is vital to the District’s economy and an important part of the DC Comeback Plan. This month’s Data Corner profiles the District’s creative economy.
Visit the OP Demographic Data Hub for reliable, up-to-date demographic data on all residents of the District of Columbia.
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Washington, DC is the nation’s capital and a city of neighborhoods and residents with a local history of people, places and events deserving of honor and remembrance. DC is home to many Commemorative Works honoring individuals and events of both national and local significance. This month, we are featuring a sculpture of Don Quixote.
Photo Credit: Wally Gobetz
The sculpture of Don Quixote, the eponymous protagonist of the Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes, is located on the grounds of the Kennedy Center where it greets visitors arriving via New Hampshire Avenue.
The novel's plot is based on the adventures of Quixote, who reads so many chivalric romances that he loses his mind and embarks on a mission to revive chivalry under the name of Don Quixote de la Mancha. The novel is often labeled the first modern novel, one of the most-translated books in the world, and one of the best-selling novels of all time. The book has had major influences on the literary community and the English language, originating phrases such as “the pot calling the kettle black” and “tilting at windmills”, and the adjective “quixotic.” It inspired the 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote and the 1965 musical Man of La Mancha. The musical's principal song The Impossible Dream is a show-tune standard. The sculpture’s location at the Kennedy Center is fitting for the character and novel’s influence on arts and culture.
Sculpted by Aurelio Teno in 1976, the work depicts Quixote on his horse Rocinante emerging from a jagged piece of stone. The work is a gift from Spain to the United States for the nation’s bicentennial.
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OP is committed to supporting the next generation of designers and planners that reflect the rich culture and diversity of the District. We visit DC schools to allow students to step into the shoes of a planner or designer. We'll be at Woodson, Ron Brown and Dunbar High School in October and November. If you are interested in having OP present to a class or youth program, or know of students who would like to connect with OP staff to discuss careers in planning, design and preservation, please contact us at planning@dc.gov or call us at 202-442-7600.
As we plan how DC can grow and change in ways that serve all residents, we want to hear from DC kids and teens about their favorite places in their neighborhoods and what they would like to have in their neighborhoods.
Take our DC Planning Survey for Kids and Teens.
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The Draft Wisconsin Avenue Development Framework is available for public review and comment through Wednesday, November 15. You can download the draft Wisconsin Avenue Development Framework and submit written comments using the online form at publicinput.com/rcw-wisconsin. The Wisconsin Avenue Development Framework was produced through a robust year-long engagement process and provides guidance for zoning changes consistent with the District’s Comprehensive Plan to implement Mayor Bowser’s housing goals.
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Learn more and get involved in our community planning projects:
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Join us at the following events where OP staff will be available to answer questions and share information about OP’s work:
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OP’s Archaeology team conducting shovel testing at the historic Brooks Mansion in Brookland, NE, August 29, 2023.
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New street barrier demonstration at Adams Morgan Day sponsored by OP’s Streets for People program, September 10, 2023.
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Nannie Helen Burroughs Small Area Plan Back to School Fest at Marvin Gaye Park, August 26, 2023.
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OP Staff at the Beyond Granite exhibition on the National Mall, August 30, 2023.
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Lotus Festival in Chinatown Park, sponsored by OP’s Streets for People program, September 17, 2023.
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NoMa in Color festival, sponsored by OP’s Streets for People program, September 9 - October 19, 2023.
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Downtown Public Realm Plan Working Group Meeting, September 20, 2023.
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OP is looking to hire a Community Planner and an Urban Designer to join our team. Learn more about these positions and apply today!
Community Planner (Closing Date: 09/29/2023)
Urban Designer (Closing Date: 09/29/2023)
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