Downtown Displaced

When you envision downtown DC, what do you picture? What sounds do you hear? Who is passing you on the street? Visiting downtown this summer, you will encounter Apple’s East Coast flagship store in the historic Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square.  Located at the intersection of Massachusetts and New York Avenues, Apple becomes the newest corporate entity in Mount Vernon Square and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Since 1840, DC’s downtown communities endured a pattern of displacement initiated by real estate developers, corporations, and government officials’ efforts to “renew,” aka gentrify the area. As you explore the ways Mount Vernon Square changed over almost two centuries, consider your own experience with the neighborhood.