![The plot thickens!
I had always assumed that the neighborhood names “Old City #1” and “Old City #2” that show up in the MLS were just vague realtorisms, but it turns out that they are, in fact, actual DC tax (aka Real Property) neighborhoods. That they are unknown as city neighborhoods is just one of those strange things about the District. The gubmint here defines tax neighborhoods and neighborhood clusters [PDF] with actual boundaries, but usually appears just to handwave over the outlines of the specific neighborhoods themselves.
In some neighborhoods it just doesn’t matter, but in others there can be virtual fisticuffs about what’s what. I’ve been curious, though, about what neighborhood the new apartment is in. Going by the original plats it’s not actually in Petworth (which was bounded by Georgia Ave); it’s not in Columbia Heights the way I know it; the land wasn’t ever part of Pleasant Plains (everything I’ve found indicates that the Holmead property that became Pleasant Plains, Park View, Columbia Heights, and Mt. Pleasant was bounded on the north by Spring Rd). In local use, however, the immediate location is known as “Petworth” if for no other reason than the fact that the Georgia Ave/Petworth Metro station is located there — despite the fact that it’s on the opposite side of Georgia Ave from Petworth. Until the Metro station opened, however, the realtorism might have been Columbia Heights, but it might also have been Park View, or 16th Street Heights. It depends on the whim of the realtor.
Today I found, however, that the tax neighborhood of 16th Street Heights (distinct from the realtorism) is bordered on the south by Upshur St NW, which sent me looking again. And this is where things get really weird. The DC Citizen Atlas Real Property search (not to be confused with the “Where You Live” search - and whatever you do, don’t just try the Citizen Atlas home page, because the web server isn’t set up right and thus there isn’t one) says that the new address is in the Columbia Heights tax neighborhood (despite that address being outside the land that became Columbia Heights in the first place), and in the Petworth city neighborhood (despite being across Georgia Ave from historic Petworth).
I think I need to lie down now.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/BreHFBZApqgjcn89GXrT7x5Wo1_500.png)
The plot thickens!
I had always assumed that the neighborhood names “Old City #1” and “Old City #2” that show up in the MLS were just vague realtorisms, but it turns out that they are, in fact, actual DC tax (aka Real Property) neighborhoods. That they are unknown as city neighborhoods is just one of those strange things about the District. The gubmint here defines tax neighborhoods and neighborhood clusters [PDF] with actual boundaries, but usually appears just to handwave over the outlines of the specific neighborhoods themselves.
In some neighborhoods it just doesn’t matter, but in others there can be virtual fisticuffs about what’s what. I’ve been curious, though, about what neighborhood the new apartment is in. Going by the original plats it’s not actually in Petworth (which was bounded by Georgia Ave); it’s not in Columbia Heights the way I know it; the land wasn’t ever part of Pleasant Plains (everything I’ve found indicates that the Holmead property that became Pleasant Plains, Park View, Columbia Heights, and Mt. Pleasant was bounded on the north by Spring Rd). In local use, however, the immediate location is known as “Petworth” if for no other reason than the fact that the Georgia Ave/Petworth Metro station is located there — despite the fact that it’s on the opposite side of Georgia Ave from Petworth. Until the Metro station opened, however, the realtorism might have been Columbia Heights, but it might also have been Park View, or 16th Street Heights. It depends on the whim of the realtor.
Today I found, however, that the tax neighborhood of 16th Street Heights (distinct from the realtorism) is bordered on the south by Upshur St NW, which sent me looking again. And this is where things get really weird. The DC Citizen Atlas Real Property search (not to be confused with the “Where You Live” search - and whatever you do, don’t just try the Citizen Atlas home page, because the web server isn’t set up right and thus there isn’t one) says that the new address is in the Columbia Heights tax neighborhood (despite that address being outside the land that became Columbia Heights in the first place), and in the Petworth city neighborhood (despite being across Georgia Ave from historic Petworth).
I think I need to lie down now.
