Foggy Bottom Neighborhood

Foggy Bottom was one of the District’s first neighborhoods, part of the town officially named Hamburgh, but called “Funktown” by local residents, for its German developer Jacob Funk. Funk bought the land, consisting of approximately 130 acres, with two other developers; Robert Peter and James Lineman. The trio divided it into 287 lots, with Peter and Lineman taking control of the parcel now known as Foggy Bottom.

In 1791, the territories were given to the city of Washington and the United States government. Funk 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. Between 1850 and 1860, the neighborhood experienced a growth spurt when The District’s population doubled. Industrial properties such as Godey’s lime kilns, the Washington Gas and Light Company, the glass works, and the Abner/Drury and Christian Heurich breweries moved in. Poor immigrant workers followed. Around this time, the village was nicknamed “Foggy Bottom” for its location on low elevation, swampy land near the Potomac river and its fog and industrial pollution.

The mid-1800s gave rise to an alley housing boom in Foggy Bottom and across the city. Irish and German immigrants came to the neighborhood to be close to work, but there was no housing available. They were forced to move into the uninhabited alleys located in the middle of the squares. Home owners quickly realized there was a good profit to be made by building modest alley homes for rental purposes. These early alley dwellings were simple, frame construction additions with no indoor plumbing or heat. Shared water pumps, outhouses and lack of a sewerage system contributed to unhealthy alley conditions. Following the Civil War, a large influx of black Americans into the city greatly increased the number of inhabited alleys. In 1871, the Board of Health was established primarily to address the alley dwelling issue. Across the District, the Board condemned and demolished over 300 alley dwellings and hundreds more were slated for rehabilitation. The Board of Health was abolished within a decade and alley dwelling condemnations ceased. This created a second alley dwelling boom. Rental rates had no limits and the population soared as more renters shared alley dwellings. In the 1920s, prohibition enforcement began and a wave of newcomers set up bootleg operations in the alleys. In 1912, the George Washington University’s 42-acre main campus came to Foggy Bottom. In 1934, after conditions in the alleys had again deteriorated, the government created the Alley Dwelling Authority, a new government entity that specifically dealt with improving the city’s alleys. The ADA was authorized to demolish or redevelop alleys and decide whether or not they were worth saving. The ADA’s documentation was sent to legislation for approval. Individual legislators included Eleanor Roosevelt. Common reasons given for alley renovation designation were: too many people in one home; too many African Americans in and around the area; exterior paint had faded. After the ADA gained approval from legislation, gave occupants of the cited houses from two to four months to vacate. By July 1, 1944, all of the houses in Foggy Bottom had been evacuated and plans were set forward for renovation.