By SABRINA M. PARKER
Sabrina Parker speaks with Eastern Market locals Jamie Kaplan and Russell Green. Audio by Sabrina Parker.

Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty congratulated Eastern Market merchants, residents and leaders this morning on being selected as one of the 10 Great Neighborhoods in America.

Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty congratulates a crowd of residents, merchants and local leaders at Eastern Market. It’s the first area to be announced as one of the country’s 10 great neighborhoods.
Photos by Sabrina Parker

“Anytime you’re named one of the top-10 neighborhoods in America, boy, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Fenty said as a round of applause erupted from the small crowd. “I think the people around here thought this was a top-10 neighborhood for a long time. And people in the District of Columbia know that this is one of the top-10 D.C. neighborhoods.”

The American Planning Association chose the Capitol Hill-area neighborhood, which is centered by an eclectic market place, because it is a great place to live, work and visit.

The recognition takes on a special meaning now because one of the oldest buildings in the city, which has housed Eastern Market businesses since 1873, was nearly destroyed by a fire last April. Since the fire, residents have applied constant pressure to city officials and planners overseeing the restoration of the 134-year-old building.

“Even if this had been a normal year in the Eastern Market community, I think you would have seen an immense amount of civic pride just in coming to the market,” Fenty said adding that the fire exposed the fabric of the community.

Two Eastern Market residents who attended the announcement said that they purchase produce at the year-round market and their friends and family members have grown accustomed to walking to the market before they return to their own neighborhoods.

Vendors selling fresh-cut flowers, meat, cheese and baked goods are in place all week, but the market is at its best on weekends. Independent merchants set up shop along the large sidewalks surrounding the historical building and on a tennis court across the road. Tables and booths are filled with everything from handmade jewelry, handbags and vintage posters to antique furniture and fresh tomatoes sliced for sampling.

Washington’s Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells said that the honor is an acknowledgement of the merchants, business owners and leaders who have kept the Eastern Market area thriving.

Crowd members laughed as they were reminded that property listings didn’t always say “steps to Eastern Market. It used to be different from that,” Wells said.

Other neighborhoods on the top-10 list include Pittsburgh’s Chatham Village, Old West Austin in Austin, Texas, San Francisco’s North Beach and Park Slope in Brooklyn, N.Y.