Columbia Heights
Columbia Heights Information
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Columbia Heights is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C. Located in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., Columbia Heights borders the neighborhoods of Shaw, Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, Petworth, Park View, Pleasant Plains, and Le Droit Park. To the east is Howard University. The streets defining the neighborhood’s boundaries are 16th Street to the west; Spring Road to the north; Georgia Avenue to the east; and Florida Avenue and Barry Place to the south. It is served by an eponymous stop on the Washington Metro green line.
In 1999, however, the city announced a revitalization initiative for the neighborhood focused around the Columbia Heights Metro station that opened that year. The opening of the Metro station served as a catalyst for the return of economic development and residents. Within five years, it had gentrified considerably, with a number of businesses (including a Giant Food supermarket and Tivoli Square, a commercial and entertainment complex) and middle-class residents settling in the neighborhood. However, unlike some gentrified neighborhoods in the city, it had not become homogenous: as of 2006, Columbia Heights is arguably Washington’s most ethnically and economically diverse neighborhood, composed of high-priced condominiums and townhouses as well as public and middle-income housing.
In October 2004, the Target Corporation announced a deal to purchase property in Columbia Heights to build their first retail store in Washington, D.C. It is expected to open in 2008.
In January 2005, the neighborhood became the first permanent home of the GALA Hispanic Theatre which moved into the newly refurbished Tivoli Theatre, a former movie theater built in 1924 that had been vacant since 1976. GALA is a theater company dedicated to performing Spanish-language plays.
In November of 2006, the Dance Institute of Washington opened a new 12,000 square foot facility across the street from the Tivoli Theater.
The neighborhood is also home to the Greater Washington Urban League, the local affiliate of the National Urban League. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the economic development of minorities.
Columbia Heights is home to the Ecuadoran embassy on 15th Street and the Mexican Cultural Institute on 16th Street. The official residence of the Ambassador of Spain is also on 16th Street in Columbia Heights.