Sacred Places
Old Market House Square
A 1913 park in the Anacostia Historic District, restored by a coalition of nine.
WHERE
Washington, DC
SETTING
Neighborhood
PARTNER INSTITUTION
St. Philip's Church
Visit
Where it is
2001 14th Street SE, Washington, DC 20020
What happens here
Residents match wits on the built-in chess tables, read to children on colorful mushroom-shaped seats, and reflect quietly on the bench. The community stage makes the square a dynamic public space, and the kiosk carries community information for people passing through.
HOW IT CAME TO BE
Seven years to break ground.
Drag to see the transformation.
01
The Need
Old Market House Square Park was built in 1913 and is a centerpiece of the Anacostia Historic District. Almost a century later it needed revitalization.
02
The Vision
St. Philip's Church held a vision of community revitalization pursued through the revitalization of a neighborhood park, and spent seven years working with an array of organizations to reach it. When the groundbreaking came in Spring 2011 it was celebrated by all of them: the Anacostia Garden Club, Casey Trees, the DC Commission on the Arts, Councilman Marion Barry, the District Department of Transportation, Green Spaces for DC, Main Street Anacostia, and Father Lewis of St. Philip's with the Friends of Old Market House Square Park. Preserving some of the park's unique historic attributes was understood as important throughout.
03
The Transformation
The square now holds a meditation and reading area, a kiosk with community information, a welcome sign for the Anacostia Historic District, specially commissioned public art, and a community stage. New lighting, benches, paths, handicap ramps, grass, and trees were added, and DDOT installed new sidewalks and curbs and repaved the surrounding streets. The bench here is distinctive even within the network, made from recycled 200-year-old pickle barrel wood.
WHO TENDS IT
