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Foggy Bottom

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64-649: Foggy Bottom is a neighborhood of Washington, D.C. , United States , located in the city's northwest quadrant. It stretches west of the White House towards the Potomac River , north of the National Mall , east of Georgetown , south of the West End neighborhood and west of Downtown D.C . The neighborhood is best known for hosting the headquarters of the U.S. Department of State , for which

128-695: A ground ball that took another bad hop over Lindstrom's head. It was the only World Series triumph for the franchise during their 60-year tenure in Washington. The Senators repeated as American League champions in 1925 but lost the World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates . After Johnson's retirement in 1927 , the Senators endured a few losing seasons until returning to contention in 1930 , this time with Johnson as manager. But after

192-693: A German community was founded by many German immigrants. In 1768, Funk sold two lots of territory to both the German Lutheran and the German Presbyterian communities. The lot that was sold to the German Lutherans was located on the corner of 20th and G Street. The lot sold to the German Presbyterians was located on the southeast corner of 22nd and G Street. The Lutheran lot would not be in use until 1833 and

256-561: A hapless elderly D.C. fan being given a "Faustian" or "devil's bargain," selling his soul to transform the team by becoming a young powerful new Senators player (played in the movie version by heart-throb leading-man actor Tab Hunter ) and lead the lowly team to a pennant versus the Yankees. In 1954, Senators farm system director Ossie Bluege signed a 17-year-old Harmon Killebrew . Because of his $ 30,000 signing bonus, an enormous amount for that time, baseball rules required Killebrew to spend

320-420: A losing ball club. Over his 21-year Hall of Fame career, Johnson, nicknamed the "Big Train", won 417 games and struck out 3,508 batters, a major-league record that stood for more than 50 years. In 1911 , the Senators' wooden ballpark burned to the ground, and they replaced it with a modern concrete-and-steel structure on the same location. First called National Park, it later was renamed Griffith Stadium , after

384-674: A magnet high school, on the GWU campus. 38°53′54″N 77°02′56″W  /  38.89833°N 77.04889°W  / 38.89833; -77.04889 List of neighborhoods of the District of Columbia by ward Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. , the capital of the United States , are distinguished by their history, culture, architecture, demographics, and geography. The names of 131 neighborhoods are unofficially defined by

448-438: A month. These prices fluctuated often because of the available jobs and the condition of the houses. Older houses were typically cheaper than new homes, only some of which came with running water, gas heaters or cooling systems. Statistics suggest that, on average, the greater wealth arose from the majority of white residents, but also that black wealth was steadily increasing due to new job patterns. In 1856, construction began on

512-595: A new wave of lower-class workers who flocked to the alleys to set up bootleg liquor stores. During this time, the German and the Irish immigrants that had been prevalent since the 1860s began to move out. In 1934, after conditions in the alley had deteriorated, the government created the Alley Dwelling Authority , a new government entity that specifically dealt with improving Washington D.C.’s alleys. The ADA

576-904: Is DAR Constitution Hall . Foggy Bottom is also home to the original location of the United States Naval Observatory . The southern edge of Foggy Bottom is home to many federal government offices, including the State Department. The Main Interior Building (headquarters of the Department of the Interior ), the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters, and the Federal Reserve Board buildings all lie on or around Virginia Avenue . To

640-587: Is often presented as distinct from that of the national government. Washington Senators (1901-1960) The Washington Senators were a Major League Baseball team based in Washington, D.C. . It was one of the American League 's eight charter franchises, founded in 1901 . The team relocated to the Twin Cities in 1961 , becoming the Minnesota Twins . The team was officially named

704-526: Is served by: George Washington University (GWU) is located in Foggy Bottom. Public schools in Foggy Bottom are part of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) system. The neighborhood elementary and middle school located in Foggy Bottom is School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens . Residents are zoned for Cardozo Education Campus for high school. DCPS also operates School Without Walls ,

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768-485: Is thought to have received its name due to an atmospheric quirk of its low lying, marshy riverside location, which made it susceptible to concentrations of fog , and later, industrial smoke. The United States Department of State gained the metonym "Foggy Bottom" when it moved its headquarters to the Harry S Truman Building in 1947. Late into the 20th century, Foggy Bottom witnessed a drastic change in demographics. There

832-693: The Devil and becomes slugger Joe Hardy, the "long ball hitter the Senators need that he'd sell his soul for" (as spoken by him in a throwaway line near the beginning of the drama). His hitting prowess enables the Senators to win the American League pennant over the then-dominant Yankees. One of the songs from the musical, "Heart", is frequently played at baseball games. The (expansion) Washington Senators were mentioned several times in Tom Clancy's book Without Remorse . As they performed even worse than

896-1134: The International Monetary Fund , the Office of Personnel Management , DAR Constitution Hall of the Daughters of the American Revolution , the American Pharmacists Association , the American Red Cross National Headquarters , the Pan American Health Organization , and the Organization of American States are all located in the neighborhood. In addition, the Mexican and Spanish embassies are located in Foggy Bottom, both on Pennsylvania Avenue . Foggy Bottom, along with

960-473: The National Baseball Hall of Fame . When the American League declared itself a major league in 1901 , the new league moved the previous minor Western League 's Kansas City Blues franchise to Washington, a city that had been abandoned by the older National League a year earlier. The new Washington club, like the old one, was called the "Senators" (the second of three franchises to hold

1024-612: The moons of Mars (Phobos and Deimos) were discovered from the old Naval Observatory in Foggy Bottom, which was located here until 1893. Foggy Bottom became the site of the George Washington University 's 42-acre (17 ha) main campus in 1912. Foggy Bottom was also the name of a line of beer by the Olde Heurich Brewing Company , which was founded by German immigrant Christian Heurich 's grandson, Gary Heurich. He tried to revive

1088-473: The "Birds") of the International League where they had been consistent champions since the 1910s. The additional competition in the same League for Maryland and Virginia area baseball fans added to the complexion around the nation's capital for the rest of the 1950s as the new " Baltimore Orioles " swiftly built their team prospects with astute trades and farm system output during the rest of

1152-474: The "Senators" during 1901 – 1904 , the Nationals during 1905 – 1955 and the Senators again during 1956 – 1960 , but nonetheless was commonly referred to as the Senators throughout its history (and unofficially as the "Grifs" during Clark Griffith 's tenure as manager during 1912 – 1920 ). The name "Nationals" appeared on the uniforms for only two seasons, and then was replaced with the "W" logo. However,

1216-406: The 1870s and housed working class Irish, German and African Americans during the historic period of 1860-1915. The Foggy Bottom area was the site of one of the earliest European settlements in what is now Washington, D.C. , when German settler Jacob Funk (or Funck) subdivided 130 acres (0.53 km) near the meeting place of the Potomac River and Rock Creek in 1763. The settlement officially

1280-576: The 36-year-old Johnson, the Senators captured their first American League pennant, two games ahead of Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees. The Senators faced John McGraw 's heavily favored New York Giants in the 1924 World Series . Despite Johnson losing both of his starts, the Senators kept pace to tie the Series at three games apiece and force Game 7. The Senators trailed the Giants 3–1 in

1344-497: The D.C. Office of Planning. Neighborhoods can be defined by the boundaries of wards, historic districts, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions , civic associations, and business improvement districts (BIDs); these boundaries will overlap. The eight wards each elect a member to the Council of the District of Columbia and are redistricted every ten years. As the nation's capital Washington, D.C.'s local neighborhood history and culture

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1408-876: The Foggy Bottom neighborhood is preserved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Just south of the Watergate complex, on the Potomac River , lies the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts , home of the National Symphony Orchestra and numerous other theatrical and musical exhibitions. On Virginia Avenue is the Simon Bolivar Memorial. George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium and Smith Center are frequently home to major concerts, as

1472-605: The Presbyterian until the 1880s. The lot that was sold to the German Lutheran community was turned into the Concordia German Church . By the 19th century, Foggy Bottom became a community of laborers employed at the nearby breweries , glass plants, and 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

1536-406: The Senators finished third in 1931 and 1932 , behind powerful Philadelphia and New York, Griffith fired Johnson, a victim of high expectations. For his new manager in 1933 , Griffith returned to the formula that worked for him in 1924, and 26-year-old shortstop Joe Cronin became player-manager. The change worked, as Washington posted a 99–53 record and swept to the pennant seven games ahead of

1600-683: The Washington Hall of Stars display at Nationals Park (previously they were listed at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium ). So are Ossie Bluege , George Case , Joe Judge , George Selkirk , Roy Sievers , Cecil Travis , Mickey Vernon and Eddie Yost . The Senators did not retire any numbers during their tenure in Washington D.C., though have had two players who played for the franchise in both Washington and Minnesota retired, that being Harmon Killebrew's #3, who played in Washington for seven seasons and Jim Kaat's #36, who played in Washington for two seasons. The longtime competitive struggles of

1664-561: The West Station Works attracted laborers to the area, most of them unskilled. By 1860, the unskilled population in Foggy Bottom was at 42%, compared to 9% in 1850. The influx of people spurred development in the area, and 40 years after the works were completed, the area fit the description of a proper city. In 1948, the area of land occupied by the West Station Works was purchased by the Watergate Project. The plant

1728-546: The West Station Works, a plant owned and operated by the Washington Gas Light corporation, at the intersections of 26th and G St. NW. The construction began the development of the area now occupied by the Watergate complex and throughout broader Foggy Bottom. The location was chosen for its proximity to the Potomac River , which made it convenient to unload barges of coal for the plant. The daily operation of

1792-662: The Yankees. But the Senators lost the World Series to the Giants in five games, and after that, the city would not host another World Series until 2019 , when the Washington Nationals , its current National League team, defeated the Houston Astros . The Senators sank all the way to seventh in 1934 . Attendance plunged as well, and after the season Griffith traded Cronin to the Red Sox for journeyman shortstop Lyn Lary and $ 225,000 in cash (even though Cronin

1856-491: The authority to legislation for approval. Individual legislators included, but not exclusively, Eleanor Roosevelt . Common reasons given for why an area was in need of renovation were: too many people in one home; too many African Americans in and around the area; or that the exterior paint had faded. After the ADA gained approval from legislation, it would then give the occupants of the houses anywhere from two to four months to vacate

1920-401: The bottom of the 12th inning, Muddy Ruel hit a high foul ball near home plate . The Giants' catcher, Hank Gowdy , dropped his protective face mask to field the ball but, failing to toss the mask aside, stumbled over it and dropped the ball, thus giving Ruel another chance to bat. On the next pitch , Ruel hit a double and, then proceeded to score the winning run when Earl McNeely hit

1984-601: The brewery buildings were razed to make way for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts . Heurich Jr., and his two sisters donated a portion of the brewery land to the Kennedy Center in memory of their parents, and established the Christian Heurich Family as one of the Founders of the national cultural center. Although the firm was founded in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, the modern beer

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2048-405: The building. By July 1, 1944, all of the houses in Foggy Bottom had been evacuated and plans were set forward for renovation. This act sought to produce larger living spaces for individuals with better conditions so that the owners could charge more for rent. Higher rent prices were acceptable at the time because of a boom in hiring. Rents usually ranged anywhere from seventeen to thirty-seven dollars

2112-617: The city of Washington and leased it back, leading to speculation that the team was planning to move, as the Boston Braves , St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Athletics had done in the early 1950s, and the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers would do later in the decade. After an early flirtation with San Francisco (with a "Triple A" Pacific Coast League team, the San Francisco Seals ), by 1957 Griffith

2176-574: The decade, finally becoming pennant contenders by 1960 . They continued their winning ways as one of the most dominant teams in professional baseball for the next two decades overpowering even the hapless third Senators franchise in 1961–1971. The Senators were also the butt of many nationwide jokes during the 1950s, with the debut and running of a Broadway musical play in 1955 in New York City called " Damn Yankees " (based on an earlier best-selling novel and later movie in 1958), which followed

2240-851: The east lies the Eisenhower Executive Office Building , home to the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the Office of the Vice President of the United States . On the other side of the office is the White House , outside of the neighborhood. Foggy Bottom is also home to numerous international and American organizations. The World Bank buildings, the International Finance Corporation ,

2304-490: The eighth inning of Game 7, when Bucky Harris hit a routine ground ball to third which hit a pebble and took a bad hop over Giants third baseman Freddie Lindstrom . Two runners scored on the play, tying the score at three. In the ninth inning with the game tied, 3–3, Harris brought in an aging Johnson to pitch on just one day of rest – he had been the losing pitcher in Game 5. Johnson held the Giants scoreless into extra innings. In

2368-574: The greatest players and pitchers of all time, Walter Johnson . But the Senators are remembered more for their many years of mediocrity and futility, including six last-place finishes in the 1940s and 1950s. Joe Judge , Cecil Travis , Buddy Myer , Roy Sievers and Eddie Yost were other notable Senators players whose careers were spent in obscurity due to the team's lack of success. The Washington Senators had an overall win–loss record of 4,223–4,864–101 (.465) during their 60 years in Washington, D.C.. Six former Washington Senators players were elected to

2432-408: The hearts of his countrymen". The 1904 Senators lost 113 games, and the next season the team's owners, trying for a fresh start, changed the team's name to the "Nationals" (and occasionally nicknamed the "Nats"). However, the "Senators" name remained widely used by fans and journalists — in fact, the two names were used interchangeably — although "Nats" remained the team's nickname. The Senators name

2496-535: The industries. Foggy Bottom attracted few settlers until the 1850s, when more industrial enterprises came into the area. Funk also set aside land in Hamburgh for a German-speaking congregation in 1768. Concordia German Evangelical Church, located at 1920 G Street NW was finally founded in 1833. Today the congregation is the United Church, and is the oldest religious community remaining in Foggy Bottom. In 1877

2560-594: The man who was named Washington manager in 1912 and whose name became almost synonymous with the ball club: Clark Griffith . A star pitcher with the National League's Chicago Colts in the 1890s, Griffith jumped to the AL in 1901 and became a successful manager with the Chicago White Sox and New York Highlanders . Walter Johnson blossomed in 1911 with 25 victories, although the Senators still finished

2624-546: The name "Foggy Bottom" is commonly used as a metonym . It is also home to federal agencies and international institutions, including the Federal Reserve , the World Bank , and the International Monetary Fund ; the core of the neighborhood is occupied by George Washington University . Within greater Foggy Bottom, there is a four block Historic District with modest row houses and alleys dating from as early as

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2688-586: The name). Jim Manning moved with the Kansas City club to manage the first Senators team. The Senators began their history as a consistently losing team, at times so inept that San Francisco Chronicle columnist Charley Dryden famously joked, "Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League," a play on the famous line in Henry Lee III 's eulogy for President George Washington as "First in war, first in peace, and first in

2752-647: The names "Senators," "Nationals" and shorter "Nats" were used interchangeably by fans and media throughout the team's history; in 2005 , the latter two names were revived for the current National League franchise that had previously played in Montreal . For a time, from 1911 to 1933, the Senators were one of the more successful franchises in Major League Baseball . The team's rosters included Baseball Hall of Fame members Goose Goslin , Sam Rice , Joe Cronin , Bucky Harris , Heinie Manush and one of

2816-755: The new Minnesota Twins ; the expansion Senators would become the Texas Rangers in 1972 , and baseball would not return to the city until 2005 , when the former Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals . Stan Coveleski Joe Cronin Ed Delahanty Rick Ferrell Lefty Gomez Goose Goslin * Clark Griffith * Bucky Harris * Whitey Herzog Walter Johnson * Heinie Manush * Sam Rice * Al Simmons George Sisler Tris Speaker Early Wynn Cronin, Goslin, Griffith, Harris, Johnson, Killebrew and Wynn are listed on

2880-581: The perennially cellar-dwelling St. Louis Browns from controversial but enterprising owner Bill Veeck and moving them 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Washington to the Chesapeake Bay port city. In the spring of 1954 , the Browns moved to a newly renovated and modernized Memorial Stadium on the site of their former northeastern city collegiate football bowl, and replacing the earlier minor league level "Triple A" "Orioles" (also sometimes nicknamed

2944-432: The rest of 1954 with the Senators as a "bonus baby." Killebrew bounced between the Senators and the minor leagues for the next few years. He became the Senators' regular third baseman in 1959 , leading the League with 42 home runs and earning a starting spot on the American League All-Star team. Clark Griffith died in 1955 , and his nephew and adopted son Calvin took over the team presidency. He sold Griffith Stadium to

3008-484: The rest of Washington D.C, was designed using the L'Enfant Plan , which created squares of housing with open space left in the middle. Foggy Bottom's alley life issue emerged during the 1860s when an influx of Irish and German immigrants attempted to move into Foggy Bottom. This influx was a result of the large number of industrial buildings that were located in Foggy Bottom. There were no immediate houses available for these new immigrants, so they were forced to move into

3072-428: The season in seventh place. In 1912 , the Senators improved dramatically, as their pitching staff led the league in team earned run average and in strikeouts . Johnson won 33 games while teammate Bob Groom added another 24 wins to help the Senators finish the season in second place behind the Boston Red Sox . The Senators continued to perform respectably in 1913 with Johnson posting a career-high 35 victories, as

3136-406: The team once again finished in second place, this time to the Philadelphia Athletics . Starting in 1916 , the Senators settled back into mediocrity. Griffith, frustrated with the owners' penny-pinching, bought a controlling interest in the team in 1920 and stepped down as field manager a year later to focus on his duties as team president. The minority interest was owned by William Richardson, who

3200-430: The team were fictionalized in the 1954 book The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant , which became the 1955 Broadway musical Damn Yankees and the 1958 film starring then "heart-throb" leading-man actor Tab Hunter . The plot centers on Joe Boyd, a middle-aged real estate salesman and long-suffering fan of the Washington Senators baseball club. In this musical comedy-drama of the Faust legend , Boyd sells his soul to

3264-419: The tradition of his family's Christian Heurich Brewing Company, which had ceased production in Foggy Bottom. Christian Heurich Brewing Company's most successful products bore such local names as Senate and Old Georgetown. During the 1950s, Heurich Brewing also sponsored the city's professional baseball team, the Washington Senators . Industry consolidation led the brewery to cease operations in 1956. In 1961–1962,

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3328-405: The turn of the 20th century, the government began relegating more responsibilities and authority to the Health Department, which began demolishing the alleys because of the copious amounts of crime and disease. The living conditions of the inhabitants were quite abysmal, with half of the population sharing or having no toilet facilities Furthermore, crime was a major problem; a section of Foggy Bottom

3392-421: The uninhabited alleys that were located in the middle of the squares. The situation became worse after the Civil War when a wave of newly freed Black Americans moved to Washington and began populating the alleys. Construction of the alleys continued until 1892 because the government needed to reduce overcrowding in residential areas. For the next decade, the government largely left the alleys untouched. However, at

3456-415: Was a racial transformation within the area, as a white revival emerged. Many different factors forced out the black population, including the Foggy Bottom Taxpayers Protective Association opposing federal intervention. The renovations enacted by the Alley Dwelling Authority rendered the former inhabitants displaced. Similarly, the West End witnessed the same changes. Another factor of the change in demographics

3520-457: Was authorized to demolish or redevelop any alley if it was deemed to be worth saving or not. The addition of the ADA and the arrival of the Department of State began to improve the living conditions in the alleys over time. The ADA was given the task of evaluating homes and streets to see if they met proper living conditions. Specific documentation would state the reasons why the area needed to be renovated. This documentation would then be sent from

3584-510: Was brewed in Utica , New York . Points of interest in Foggy Bottom include the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts , Friendship Lodge Odd Fellows Hall, and the Watergate complex , site of the Watergate scandal 's burglaries that led to President Richard Nixon 's resignation . George Washington University has grown significantly over the past decades and now covers much of the neighborhood, which has many historic old homes and numerous mid-rise apartment buildings. The historic portion of

3648-412: Was content to remain in the background. The shares passed to his twin brother George on his death in 1942, and then to George's son William Richardson II in 1948. William Richardson II sold his shares to an unrelated party in 1949. In 1924 , Griffith named 27-year-old second baseman Bucky Harris player-manager. Led by the hitting of Goose Goslin and Sam Rice , and a solid pitching staff headlined by

3712-473: Was courting Minneapolis–St. Paul in the Upper Midwest state of Minnesota , a prolonged process that resulted in his rejecting the Twin Cities' first offer before agreeing to relocate. The American League opposed the move at first, but in 1960 , in the face of the Continental League 's proposed Minnesota franchise, a deal was reached. The Senators moved and were replaced with an expansion Washington Senators team for 1961 . The old Washington Senators became

3776-401: Was demolished, and the Watergate complex was constructed on the same plot of land. Today, there is no physical remnant of the plant. It is a historical location today. It is bounded roughly by 17th Street NW to the east, the Potomac River and Rock Creek Parkway to the west, Constitution Avenue and the National Mall to the south, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW to the north. Foggy Bottom

3840-490: Was married to Griffith's niece, Mildred). Despite the return of Harris as manager in 1935–42 and 1950–54, Washington remained mostly a losing ball club for the next 25 years, contending for the pennant only in the talent-thin war years of 1943 and 1945 . In the fall of 1953 , the second major baseball franchise shift of the mid-20th century took place (after the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1952), with long suffering Baltimore civic and business interests purchasing

3904-415: Was named Hamburgh , but colloquially was called Funkstown . In 1765, German settlers established the town of Hamburg on what would become the area between 24th and 18th NW Street. There are reportedly two more founders: Robert Peter and James Linigan. The three had control of the land until 1791 when the territories were given to the city of Washington and the United States government. In the town of Hamburg,

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3968-437: Was nicknamed "Round Tops" because of a well-known gang that was active in the area. The following decades showed an improvement in the overall living conditions in the alleys of Foggy Bottom. The Health Department's effort to reduce crime and overcrowding largely succeeded until the 1920s, when prohibition began being enforced. Because breweries were a major source of income for the inhabitants of Foggy Bottom, prohibition created

4032-462: Was officially restored in 1956 . The club continued to lose, despite the addition of a talented 19-year-old pitcher named Walter Johnson in 1907 . Raised in rural Kansas , Johnson was a tall, lanky man with long arms who, using a leisurely windup and unusual sidearm delivery, threw the ball faster than anyone had ever seen. Johnson's breakout year was 1910 , when he struck out 313 batters, posted an earned-run average of 1.36 and won 25 games for

4096-426: Was orchestrated by Democratic Senator Theodore G. Bilbo , who called for an "Alley Moving Day" forcing the black population out of the alleys. The neighborhood is predominately white and has a large number of off-campus university student residents that affect demographics on income, age and race. As of the 2010 United States Census , there are 14,642 residents, of whom 78.3% are white. The Foggy Bottom neighborhood

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