Anacostia in the context of "Southeast (Washington, D.C.)"

⭐ In the context of Southeast Washington, D.C., Anacostia is considered…

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⭐ Core Definition: Anacostia

Anacostia /ænəˈkɒstiə/ is a historic neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. in the United States. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Marion Barry Avenue (formerly Good Hope Road) SE and Martin Luther King Jr Avenue SE. Originally known as "Uniontown" the neighborhood contains commercial and government buildings, mid-rise mixed development, city-sanctioned art murals and galleries (under the "Art to Go Go" initiative), a performing arts center, a playhouse theater, the local landmark, "The Big Chair," Frederick Douglass's Home (a museum and historic site) and is adjacent to the Fort Stanton Park neighborhood which hosts the Smithsonian affiliated Anacostia Community Museum. Anacostia is located directly east of and along the Anacostia River, after which the neighborhood is named. The community's population is more than 90 percent African American.

Bounded by the Southeast Freeway to the north and northwest, the Suitland Parkway to the south and southwest as well as Fort Stanton and Ricketts Park to the east, Anacostia includes all of the Anacostia Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site preserves the famous 19th century civil rights leader's home. The Anacostia Community Museum is part of the Smithsonian. Often the name "Anacostia" is used to refer to the entire portion of the city that is southeast of the Anacostia River. The Anacostia Business Improvement District is responsible for the development of the area.

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👉 Anacostia in the context of Southeast (Washington, D.C.)

Southeast (SE or S.E.) is the southeastern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of East Capitol Street and east of South Capitol Street. It includes the Capitol Hill, Hill East, and Anacostia neighborhoods, the Navy Yard, the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), the U.S. Marine Barracks, the Anacostia River waterfront, Eastern Market, the remains of several Civil War-era forts, historic St. Elizabeths Hospital, RFK Stadium, Nationals Park, and the Congressional Cemetery. It also contains a landmark known as "The Big Chair," located on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The quadrant is split by the Anacostia River, with the portion that is west of the river sometimes referred to as "Near Southeast". Geographically, it is the second-smallest quadrant of the city.

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Anacostia in the context of Chair (sculpture)

Chair, also known as the Big Chair, is a public artwork designed as an advertisement by Bassett Furniture, located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Avenue and V Street S.E., in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. Chair was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1994. It was once considered the world's largest chair, but has been overtaken by works like Broken Chair in Geneva and the temporary The Writer on Hampstead Heath in London.

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Anacostia in the context of Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, administered by the National Park Service, is located at 1411 W Street, SE, in Anacostia, a neighborhood east of the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, D.C. United States. Established in 1988 as a National Historic Site, the site preserves the home and estate of Frederick Douglass, one of the most prominent African Americans of the 19th century. Douglass lived in this house, which he named Cedar Hill, from 1877–1878 until his death in 1895. Perched on a hilltop, the site offers a sweeping view of the U.S. Capitol and the Washington, D.C., skyline.

In 2017 the site was used to represent Washington, D.C., on its America the Beautiful quarter.

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Anacostia in the context of Fort Stanton Park

Fort Stanton was a Civil War-era fortification constructed in the hills above Anacostia in the District of Columbia, USA, and was intended to prevent Confederate artillery from threatening the Washington Navy Yard. It also guarded the approach to the bridge that connected Anacostia (then known as Uniontown) with Washington. Built in 1861, the fort was expanded throughout the war and was joined by two subsidiary forts: Fort Ricketts and Fort Snyder. Following the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, it was dismantled and the land returned to its original owner. It never saw combat. Abandoned after the war, the site of the fort was planned to be part of a grand "Fort Circle" park system encircling the city of Washington. Though this system of interconnected parks never was fully implemented, the site of the fort is today a park maintained by the National Park Service, and a historical marker stands near the fort's original location.

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Anacostia in the context of Anacostia Community Museum

The Anacostia Community Museum (known colloquially as the ACM) is a community museum in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is one of twenty museums under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution and was the first federally funded community museum in the United States. The museum, founded in 1967, was created with the intention to bring aspects of the Smithsonian museums, located on the National Mall, to the Anacostia neighborhood, with the hope that community members from the neighborhood would visit the main Smithsonian museums. It became federally funded in 1970 and focuses on the community in and around Anacostia in its exhibitions. This museum also houses a library.

The federal government has discontinued federal funding for the Anacostia Community Museum as part of the 2026 budget proposal. The amount represented 60% of the museum's total budget and its withdrawal threatens the continuity of the institution.

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Anacostia in the context of Interstate 295 (Maryland-District of Columbia)

Interstate 295 (I-295) also known as the Anacostia Freeway, is a six-mile (9.7 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Maryland and in Washington, D.C. It connects I-95/I-495 and Maryland Route 210 (MD 210; Indian Head Highway) near the Potomac River (just outside DC's boundary with Maryland) to I-695 and District of Columbia Route 295 (DC 295) in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

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