Understand
Washington, D.C. is a pretty divided city, and Rock Creek Park is one of those major dividing lines. The many neighborhoods east of the park have a history that has diverged from those west, particularly following desegregation, when they experienced a large amount of "White Flight" to the suburbs, leaving the eastern section of the city underpopulated, overwhelmingly African-American, and much less wealthy than the Upper Northwest. This part of the city, with perhaps the sole exception of the National Shrine, is rarely seen by visitors. But there are big reasons to come here beyond the Shrineâespecially to see the National Arboretum, but also just to better know the city as its residents do.
Brookland is the old established neighborhood around Catholic University, sometimes known as the "Little Vatican" for all its major Catholic institutions, as well as the National Shrine. Spend some time talking to Catholic University students, and you'll get an earful about the lack of restaurants, shops, etc. in the area, and they tend to hop on the metro to spend their weekends in trendier neighborhoods. Petworth sits just northeast of Columbia Heights, and seems set to follow its neighbor under the forces of gentrification. It's also home to the massive Armed Forces' Retirement Home, where you'll find President Abraham Lincoln's Cottage. Takoma, dubbed the "Berkeley of the East," has good claim to be the most liberal neighborhood in the decidedly liberal D.C. Area, and has a good collection of quirky shops and ethnic restaurants. Totally out of place is the Atlas District, just south of Gallaudet University along H St NE, where a ton of new bars have emerged out of nowhere over the past five years to form one of D.C.'s biggest and densest nightlife corridors. Serving as a sort of alternative to standard D.C. nightlife, the Atlas District attracts a slightly older, more eccentric and artsy, more local, and almost certainly less drunken crowd than you'll find elsewhere in the city.
