Kenilworth, Washington, D.C.



Kenilworth, also known as Parkside, is a residential neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., on the southeastern edge of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.

Kenilworth is bounded by Eastern Avenue to the north, Nash Street to the south, Anacostia Avenue to the west, and the tracks of the Washington Metro to the east. Famous singer/songwriter Marvin Gaye grew up nearby. (Also see article on Anacostia.)

Kenilworth gained national attention in 1988, when its largest housing development, Kenilworth-Parkside, became the first public-housing project to be sold to its residents in an initiative championed by D.C. mayor Marion Barry, President Ronald Reagan, and U.S. Representative Jack Kemp.

The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, a city-chartered corporation charged with developing the area along the Anacostia River, has plans to revitalize the Kenilworth neighborhood as a mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhood, including 2,000 new residential units and 500000 sqft of commercial space. AWC also intends to work extensively on making the area more pedestrian-friendly, building walkways to the Anacostia Riverwalk and Marvin Gaye Park and a pedestrian bridge to the Minnesota Avenue station, the closest Metro station to Kenilworth. AWC plans to present the final plan to the D.C. Council in 2007.