Greenway, Washington, D.C.
| Greenway | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood | |
 Map of Washington, D.C., with the Greenway neighborhood highlighted in red |
|
| Coordinates: 38°53′0.3012″N 076°57′36.558″W / 38.883417000°N 76.96015500°W | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | Washington, D.C. |
| Constructed | 1940 |
Greenway is a residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. The neighborhood is bounded by East Capitol Street to the north, Pennsylvania Avenue SE to the south, Interstate 295 to the west, and Minnesota Avenue to the east.
The western part of the Greenway neighborhood was marshland and riverbank until a major dredging and land reclamation project by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, begun in the early 1880s, transformed the area into habitable space. The southern part of Greenway developed out of the failed 1871 East Washington Heights luxury home development project, and the far more successful 1903 North Randle Highlands middle-class housing project. The northern part of Greenway was constructed in 1940 as a massive low-income apartment housing project for defense workers. The neighborhood draws its named from this 1940 development.
As of the start of the 21st century, residents of Greenway are largely poor, and the neighborhood is characterized by multi-family homes and public housing projects.
Prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 18th century, the Anacostia River was a fast-flowing and relatively silt-free river with very few mudflats or marshes. White settlers cleared much of the surrounding forest for farmland, however, and extensive soil erosion led to a heavy load of silt and effluent in the Anacostia. The construction of the Pennsylvania Avenue, Benning, and other bridges and the diversion of inflowing streams to agricultural use also slowed the river's current, allowing much of the silt to settle and be deposited. Between 1860 and the late 1880s, large mudflats ("the Anacostia flats") formed on both banks of the Anacostia River due to this deforestation and runoff. At this time, the city allowed its sewage to pour untreated into the Anacostia. Marsh grass began growing in the flats, trapping the sewage and leading public health experts to conclude that the flats were unsanitary. Health officials also feared that the flats were a prime breeding ground for malaria- and yellow fever-carrying mosquitoes.
...
Wikipedia