Upper Northwest Washington, D.C. - Washington DC Off the Beaten Path

Preview: The Upper Northwest covers a lot of territory, extending in a broad outer arc that starts along the Potomac just north of Georgetown and swings around above Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, and Shaw, and ends at North Capitol Street, which divides Northwest from Northeast. Along the way it encompasses many of residential Washington’s most agreeable neighborhoods, including Shepherd Park, the leafy area between16th Street and Georgia Avenue, and Palisades, whose main street, MacArthur Boulevard, parallels the Potomac River. In Cleveland Park, an early twentieth-century enclave near the cathedral, media figures, senators, and lawyers live in spacious Victorian houses; their cars sport bumper stickers urging SAVE THE WHALES or even (says a reliable Washington source) DUKAKIS FOR PRESIDENT. Upper Northwest is also home to off-the-beaten-path treasures like Rock Creek Park, the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen’s Home, and the Kreeger Museum. Since this sprawling area is not all that well served by Metrorail, you’ll need to take the city’s Metrobus system to some of the places you want to go. In view of the distances involved, taxis or your own car are good alternatives for getting around. The Washington National Cathedral or, more formally, The Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, is far from being an off-the-beaten- path location. Every year 800,000 visitors go to Washington’s highest point to explore one of America’s great churches, a magnificent fourteenth-century-style cathedral begun when Teddy Roosevelt laid the cornerstone in 1907; it was completed in 1990. It would take a book like this just to adequately cover the cathedral’s architectural detail and its highlights, including the exquisite stone carvings. The cathedral is best reached by bus, using one of the “30” series lines north from Georgetown and downtown or by taking the Metro to the Tenleytown station (red line) and taking one of the 30 buses south about 11/2 miles to the cathedral. While you’re on the cathedral’s sprawling fifty-seven-acre close, there are several eminently visitable places that are definitely off the beaten path and are not to be missed. To see them, walk down South Road, to the right of the main doors, and walk down to the Herb Cottage. The cottage was once the cathedral baptistry, but today it’s one of Washington’s top gift shops, with a nice selection of decorative china and porcelain, colorful trays and teapots, and nifty flowerpots, along with the obligatory jams and scents. There’s a great selection of herbs too. The above description is an excerpt from "Washington, D.C.: Off the Beaten Path." Whether you're a visitor or a local looking for something different, this chapter from the Off the Beaten Path series will help you take the "road less traveled" and discover hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales that most tourists miss.
© Copyright William B. Whitman published by Insiders' Guide all rights reserved.


This travel guide comes from:
Washington, D.C. Off the Beaten Path Guide Book