Washington, D.C./Adams Morgan-Columbia Heights

Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia Heights are three bordering neighborhoods in Washington DC, each with a different character, but united in an unmistakable sense of dynamism, diversity, youth, and nightlife. There are plenty of great ethnic restaurants, most often offering a better value for your money than in Dupont Circle, downtown, or Georgetown. These neighborhoods are good places to see the city at its most dynamic; people from all walks of life, culture, race, sexual orientation, immigrants, natives, transplants, etc. all converge here to have a good time.

Understand


Adams Morgan is north of Dupont Circle and the U St Corridor. It is best known for the nightlife district on 18th St between Florida and Columbia Rd, which after midnight on weekends gets so packed full of revelers that it's hard to move down the sidewalk. It's more than that, though—it's a lovely, historic, culturally vibrant neighborhood, full of eccentric shopping, outdoor markets, great restaurants, and community murals! The name "Adams Morgan" is derived from the names of two formerly segregated area elementary schools — the all-black now-defunct Thomas P. Morgan Elementary School and the all-white John Quincy Adams Elementary School.

Mount Pleasant, with a population of approximately 11,000 people, is more of a small town in the city. Mount Pleasant Street is full of small shops, bars, and restaurants, primarily serving Latin American food. Although 50% white, the population here is 25% Hispanic and is the cultural center of the city's Salvadoran population, although the vast majority of the area's enormous Salvadoran population lives outside the city proper. It is nice for a Saturday stroll to soak up the Latin vibes, see some chanchona bands, and delve into one of the city's famous pupuserías.

Columbia Heights, like much of the city, was devastated by the 1968 riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The neighborhood includes the Tivoli Theatre, home of the GALA Hispanic Theatre, and the DCUSA shopping mall, which includes several major chain retailers including Target, Best Buy, Marshall's, and Bed Bath & Beyond. There are many restaurants, bars, and hipster hangouts, lending to a vibe as close to that of New York's Williamsburg.

Columbia Heights is marked dramatically on its southern border by a geological formation known as the Fall Line, which runs along Florida Avenue. This steep escarpment divides America's Piedmont Plateau from the Tidewater region of Virginia. If you are looking for a good view of the city, head to the hill on 13th St just north of Florida near Cardozo High School. This natural formation is also responsible for the dramatic terraces and fountains of Meridian Hill aka Malcolm X Park which, aside from restaurants and bars, is the major point of interest in the neighborhood.

By Metrorail
For more information on riding the Metrorail in Washington DC, see Washington DC.

The closest stop to Adams Morgan is the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stop on the Red Line, which is actually a 10 minute walk from Adams Morgan's bars on 18th street. The Columbia Heights metro station on the Green Line is located at the main commercial intersection of Columbia Heights and is a few blocks from Mount Pleasant.

By bus
The following are the main bus routes operating in these neighborhoods, along with links to timetables and route maps. For more information on riding buses in Washington DC, see Washington DC.


 * #52, #53, and #54 operate north-south along 14th St from the East End through Shaw to the Columbia Heights metro station, and then north to the Takoma metro station in Takoma.
 * #H2, #H3, and #H4 run east-west from the Cleveland Park Metro station on the Red Line Upper Northwest through Mount Pleasant, past the Columbia Heights metro station, the Washington Hospital Center, and on to Catholic University in Brookland.
 * #L2 runs north from West End through Dupont Circle, then straight up 18th St in Adams Morgan before veering west to the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro station in Upper Northwest and continuing past the National Zoo.
 * 42 connects DC's downtown West End with the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Like the L2, it begins at Farragut Square and travels north on Connecticut Ave, with stops in DuPont Circle, before turning right onto Columbia. The 42 has a handful of stops in Adams Morgan on Columbia Road before turning north into Mount Pleasant.
 * D.C. Circulator's Woodley Park-Adams Morgan-McPherson Square Green Line stops at the intersection of 18th St & Columbia Road, then the Columbia Heights metro stop, and then goes west to the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro station in Upper Northwest, and then south along 14th street through Shaw, and on to the West End.

By car
The main streets for driving north-south are 16th St and Georgia Ave, although 14th St can be a surprisingly quick route north of U St. Major east-west routes are fewer and more confusing: Columbia Rd is the best route to go between Connecticut Ave in Dupont Circle and the Washington Hospital Center and Catholic University and points in Brookland.

Parking & safety considerations
It's not very hard to find street parking on side streets in Columbia Heights and to a lesser extent Mount Pleasant. Adams Morgan, on the other hand, is packed. Since these neighborhoods have an above-average frequency of muggings, be careful when walking back to your car at night by yourself.

By taxi
Taxis are easy to catch on the main drags in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant, and pretty much anywhere within Adams Morgan.

See




The Adams Morgan Heritage Trail is a 2-hour self-guided walking tour around the neighborhood. The tour will take you to 18 poster-sized street signs that include historical information, pictures, and maps. Important sites on the trails are marked by large poster-sized signs attached to lampposts. Each of Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, and Adams Morgan have a separate Neighborhood Heritage Trail.



Murals


This part of the city has plenty of colorful neighborhood murals, worth seeking out if you like public art, and worth noticing even if you couldn't care less!



Buy
Columbia Heights is the location of the DCUSA Shopping Mall, the largest retail development within the city limits, which includes the large discount chains of Best Buy, Target, Marshall's, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Fashion




Farmers' markets
These outdoor markets, held on Saturday mornings year-round except winter, are extremely popular places to buy locally produced goods from farmers and bakers.



Eat
Jumbo Slice Pizza is the food specialty of Adams Morgan. Various take out stores along the 18th St nightlife strip, between Columbia Rd and Florida Ave, serve enormous, greasy slices of pizza for around $8 per slice to hungry drunks until 4AM. There are different opinions about which of the jumbo slice pizza places is best, but the truth is that it's never good pizza --- but it can be very satisfying late at night if you need a quick fill, especially after drinking at the adjacent bars. The three most well-known pizza stores are Pizza Mart (2445 18th St NW), Jumbo Pizza (2341 18th St NW), and Pizza Boli's (1511 U St NW), a DC-area chain with a location in Shaw.



Salvadoran Cuisine, provided by the area's enormous Salvadoran community, is the food specialty of Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant. There is one word that you will know after a visit, and that is pupusa. Pupusas are thick corn maize tortillas stuffed with soft cheese, cheese + loroco (a Salvadoran flower), squash, pork, refried beans, or all sorts of other things, then topped with pickled cabbage (curtido) and tangy red sauce. They generally cost $1.50-2.00 each, but you will need at least a few if you are hungry. Pupusas revueltas include more than one filling, such as bacon and cheese - a local favorite. They are delicious. Pupusas in D.C. are serious business; they are always cooked to order, and will take at least ten minutes to prepare. Someone will almost always speak some English, but it's a good idea to keep a little Spanish in your pocket (dos pupusas de loroco con queso, por favor). Aside from pupusas, look for Salvadoran soups and delicious atoles. An atol is somewhere between porridge, hot chocolate, and a milkshake, made from corn meal, most of the spices you'd expect in pumpkin pie, and occasionally chocolate.

Beware Mexican food served in the Salvadoran restaurants, or anywhere in D.C., as there is virtually no Mexican immigrant community. With the exception of Taquería Distrito Federal and Super Tacos and Bakery, the Mexican dishes are inauthentic rubbish. Stick to the Salvadoran entrees. The Salvadoreños do Peruvian food quite well, though, so you'll find good lomo saltado everywhere, and occasionally some incredible pollo a la brasa.

Drink
You have plenty of choices for drinking in Adams Morgan - you'd be well-served to do your own reconnaissance by walking up and down 18th St. Several bars and clubs have sidewalk or rooftop patios that are open during the warmer months. Bars serve anything from cheap pitchers of beer to expensive cocktails.

Be aware that on Friday and Saturday nights, the crowd is young and drunk and the whole thing can look a bit like the capital's take on Mardi Gras. That's either a plus or a minus depending on your view, but you can escape this crowd if you choose your bar carefully. Regardless of your tastes, you should be sure to stop by the legendary New Orleans themed Madam's Organ, which offers live music every night of the week.

Budget




Crime
Muggings are a serious problem in Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. Muggings happen more often on quiet side streets, so simply restricting your walks to the main streets and traveling in groups of three or more will lower your odds of a problem.

Pickpocketing is rampant on 18th St on weekend nights. Immense crowds of drunk people bumping into each other makes for a pickpocketing bonanza.

Connect
In addition to the cafes/coffeeshops above, the Mt Pleasant Branch Library is a great place to surf the web on the public terminals or the free Wifi:

Go next

 * Dupont Circle - a wealthier neighborhood to the south.
 * Shaw - a nightlife destination to the south.
 * Brookland-Petworth-Takoma - the neighborhoods east of Columbia Heights.
 * Upper Northwest - the Zoo and parts of this neighborhood are in easy walking distance, just across the Duke Ellington Bridge along Calvert St. from Adams Morgan.
 * Wheaton - the location of more fantastic ethnic dining options in nearby Maryland.