Woodley Park, D.C.

Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, DC. It is bounded on the north by Woodley and Klingle Roads, on the east by the National Zoo and Rock Creek Park, on the south by Calvert Street, on the southwest by Cleveland Avenue, and on the west by 34th Street.

Adjoining neighborhoods are Cleveland Park to the north, Mount Pleasant and Adams Morgan to the east, Kalorama to the south, Woodland-Normanstone Terrace to the southwest, and Massachusetts Heights to the west.

Woodley Park is served by the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro station, between Dupont Circle and Cleveland Park on the Red Line.

Straddling Connecticut Avenue south of the National Zoo is a neighborhood of fine early 20th-century row houses, a throwback to the days more than a century ago when developers hoped that this wide avenue that runs northward to the Maryland border would be a boulevard lined with elegant homes. Modern-day Connecticut Avenue north of the small Woodley Park historic district, however, is now mostly filled with high rise apartment houses — although the city's height limitation restricts them to no more than eight stories, they are considered high-rise by Washington standards. To the east, the neighborhood's curved streets overhang Rock Creek Park. On the west, they bend on the slope leading to the heights of Mt. Saint Albans, the site of Washington National Cathedral. The stately rows of meticulously designed houses are preserved intact, presenting streetscapes that have changed little for nearly a century. Though busy Connecticut Avenue is always just around the corner, the residential streets are leafy, green and serene.

On Connecticut Avenue, the row houses are now used as restaurants, offices and shops that serve residents and cater to throngs of Zoo visitors and travelers and conventioneers staying in the two large hotels on Calvert Street (the Omni Shoreham hotel) and Woodley Road (the Marriott Wardman Park hotel, the largest hotel in D.C.) on the edges of the historic district. At night, the place is a hive of activity, particularly since a shuttle bus (WMATA Metrobus No. 98) now runs between the Metro stop (Woodley Park/Adams Morgan) to the heart of Adams Morgan and the U Street Corridor. Shops and restaurants lining Connecticut Ave include many chains (such as a Baskin-Robbins, a Chipotle, a McDonald's, and a CVS), but also many fine local restaurants and shops.

The Woodley Park Community Association was established to support the in-town neighborhood quality of life in Woodley Park. It has several hundred members and works on issues of general neighborhood interest. Its web site provides information about the neighborhood and its history.