Washington has over 500 reservations, many of which were photographed and documented by the National Park Service between 1926 and 1936. The term reservation refers to the small park areas originally “reserved” for use by the city of Washington and primarily located on or near intersections of major avenues or streets. These intersections often created wedge-shaped parcels that were difficult to use in any other manner.

Reservation at New York Ave., O Street, and 1st Street, NEReservation at New York Ave, O and 1st Streets (11/8/2009)

The reservation at the intersection of New York Avenue, 1st and O Streets, NE, was photographed by the NPS on March 16, 1927. In visiting the same area today, the entire block minus the reservation is now a surface parking lot.

Tagged: dc, eckington, history

Kent Boese posts items of historic interest, primarily within the District. He’s worked in libraries since 1994, both federal and law, and currently works on K Street. He’s been an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner serving the northern Columbia Heights and Park View neighborhoods since 2011 (ANC 1A), and served as the Commission’s Chair since 2013. He has a MS in Design from Arizona State University with strong interests in preservation, planning, and zoning. Kent is also the force behind the blog Park View, DC.