Foggy Bottom
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Map of Washington, D.C., with Foggy Bottom highlighted in red |
Foggy Bottom is one of
Washington, DC's oldest 19th century
neighborhoods, thought to have been named because, as a low-lying area,
fog (widespread in the swamps of early Washington) tended to concentrate there. (Ironically, this setting was the original location for The
United States Naval Observatory.) It is located to the west of downtown DC in the
Northwest quadrant, bounded roughly by 17th Street to the east,
Rock Creek Park to the west,
Constitution Avenue to the south, and
Pennsylvania Avenue to the north.
"Foggy Bottom" is often used as a
metonym for the
United States Department of State, whose headquarters is located in the neighborhood. The main
campus of
George Washington University is also located here, as well as the infamous
Watergate Hotel and the
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The University has grown significantly over the past decade and now covers much of the neighborhood.
Foggy Bottom was once a community of
Irish,
German, and
African-American laborers employed at the nearby
breweries, glass plants, and the city gas works. These industrial facilities are also cited as a possible reason for the neighborhood's name, the "fog" being the smoke given off by the industries. The historic neighborhood is preserved and listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
The Foggy Bottom area was the site of one of the earliest settlements in what is now DC, when Joseph Funk subdivided 130 acres near the meeting place of the
Potomac River and
Rock Creek in 1763. The settlement was officially named Hamburg, but was colloquially known as Funkstown, and attracted few settlers until the 1850s when more industrial enterprises came into the area.
1Foggy Bottom is served by the eponymous
Foggy Bottom-GWU Washington Metro station.
"Foggy Bottom" is also the name of a line of beer by the Olde Heurich Brewing Company. The firm was founded in the neighborhood, but the modern beer is actually brewed in
Utica, New York. This company presents another possible source of the neighborhood's name, as the air pollution from the factory is rumored to have cast a layer of smog over the surrounding area.
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Explore DC Foggy Bottom page*
Foggy Bottom Historical District*
Foggy Bottom Historic District brochure (PDF)*
Olde Heurich Brewing Company, brewers of "Foggy Bottom" beer
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Pat Robertson's suggestion to "nuke" Foggy Bottom: The evangelist said..., he thought, "If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that's the answer..."
