Urban Turf: The Two Options for Re-Imagining One of DC’s Most Notorious Intersections

Two concepts have been presented to re-envision what is one of DC’s most notorious intersections. A year after the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) shared the city’s plans to redesign “Dave Thomas Circle,” more detailed proposals are on the table for the open space around the Florida and New York Avenue NE (map) intersection.

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The NoMa Parks Foundation wants opinions for the potential designs of three new public spaces that will appear at the intersection of New York Avenue NE and Florida Avenue NE, also commonly referred to as “Dave Thomas Circle.” READ MORE

… Along with outdoor outfitter REI, Red Bear is housed in a renovated 1940s ice arena. Outside the building, sidewalks provide “signing space”—room to walk and sign—and benches that face each other, allowing for “conversation circles,” both ASL design terms. A block away, the recently opened Swampoodle Park has “open sight lines,” says its designer Jeff Lee. The benches around the park are curved, another nod to the deaf community. READ MORE

Swampoodle Park: Adrienne McCray, ASLA, a landscape architect at Lee and Associates spoke about the challenge of meeting the needs of the different groups who shaped Swampoodle Park, which is named after a vanished 19th century neighborhood in Northeast D.C. Community outreach is an important aspect of the mission of the NoMa Parks Foundation, which financed the projectis high on the list. READ MORE

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NoMa Parks Foundation to Open Swampoodle Park on November 17

8,000-Square-Foot Space at 3rd and L Streets NE, the Neighborhood’s First New Park, Combines a Dedicated Dog Area, a Play Structure for Children, and Public Seating

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Calling all kids and their canine friends! The NoMa Parks Foundation will celebrate the completion of Swampoodle Park with an inaugural Wallholla climb and dog procession on the morning of Saturday, November 17, at 11:00 a.m. Located at the intersection of 3rd and L streets NE, the 8,000-plus-square-foot park — previously a vacant lot for which condominiums were once planned — offers a play structure for children, a dedicated space for dogs, and public seating, as well as trees and other plantings. Swampoodle Park was designed by District landscape architecture firm Lee and Associates, with substantial input from the NoMa community provided through multiple public meetings and surveys. (more…)