Day: April 15, 2008

From page 2 from the memo NCPC File No. UR-07 “Resolution Modifying the Boundaries and Urban Renewal Plan for the Shaw School Urban Renewal Area”; File UR 07 Modification #6 NDP 2; Records Relating to Urban Renewal; National Capital Planning Commission (1952-), Record Group 328; National Archives Building Washington, DC:

BE IT RESOLVED, that pursuant to Section 6(b) and 12 of the Redevelopment Act, the Commission adopts modified boundaries for the Project Area described as follows:
Beginning at the southwest corner of the intersection of Fifteenth Street, N.W., and “N” Street, N.W., thence along the south line of “N” Street, N.W., the the southwest corner of Thirteenth Street, N.W., and “N” Street, N.W., thence southerly along the west line of Thirteenth Street, N.W., to the southwest corner of “M” Street, N.W., and Thirteenth Street, N.W., thence along the south line of “M” Street, N.W., to its intersection with the north line of New York Avenue, N.W., to the east line of North Capitol Street, thence along the east line of North Capitol Street to the northeast corner of North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue, N.W., thence along the northeasterly and north lines of Florida Avenue, N.W., to the northeast corner of Florida Avenue, N.W., and Georgia Avenue, N.W., thence along the east line of Georgia Avenue, N.W., to the north line of “V” Street, N.W., extended to the east line of Georgia Avenue, N.W., thence along the north line of “V” Street, N.W., extended to intersect the east line of Florida Avenue, N.W., at Ninth Street, N.W., thence in a northwesterly direction along the east line of Florida Avenue, N.W., to the east line of Sherman Avenue, N.W., thence northernly on the east line of Sherman Avenue, N.W., to its intersection with the north line of Barry Place, N.W., thence westerly on the north line of Barry Place, N.W., to its intersection with the north line of Florida Avenue, N.W., thence along the north line of Florida Avenue, N.W., to the intersection of Florida Avenue, N.W., New Hampshire Avenue, and Fifteenth Street, N.W., to the point of beginning.

Good Lord, that is the most confusing piece of geo-legal-gaaaaah I’ve ever transcribed.

I have a laundry list of 1/2 done projects. At work there is the ‘paper that should have written itself,’ but noticeably didn’t. At home there is the 1900-1930 census project, which at the pace I’m going will be done in time for the 1940 census to be rolled out. And way down on the list is correct that damned Wikipedia page on Shaw. Because I want to actually cite sources, the problem is trying to figure out the coding (which I know shouldn’t be that hard) to cite the sources to prove that most of the history written there is a load of horse manure. I’m reminded of this everytime the question of where the borders of Shaw are comes up, like with DCist .
Maybe I’m too timid when it comes to over writing something that someone else wrote. But then again, I have to ask ‘prove it’. The other problem is that I’m a bit shaky and not particularly sure on a comment I wish to make saying that the neighborhood wasn’t called Shaw prior to 1950. Okay I actually want to say 1960. However there was a school boundary but as a neighborhood in general I haven’t come across any pre-1950 lit saying otherwise. But just because I haven’t come across it doesn’t mean it such evidence doesn’t exist, and that’s what concerns me.
So in my mind, the TC is part of Shaw, as it was a federal agency and the DC government that came up with the borders. Yet, people keep doubting and throwing out ideas with no proof or anything to back it up.
Correcting the damned page just moved up again.