Palisades
The Palisades is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River, running roughly from the edge of the Georgetown University campus (at Foxhall Road) all the way to the D.C.-Maryland boundary (near Delacarlia Treatment Plant). Conduit Road, now called MacArthur Boulevard is the main thoroughfare that passes through The Palisades.
Also encompassed within The Palisades is the neighborhood of Potomac Heights which is bounded by Loughboro Road at the north end, Arizona Avenue at the south end and MacArthur Boulevard and the Potomac River.
The Palisades is part of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D in Ward 3, the far northwest corner of the Northwest Quadrant just north of Georgetown. The current Palisades Citizens Association (PCA) was started as the Conduit Road Citizens Association in 1916.
The Palisades is one of the lesser-known neighborhoods in Washington, with a mixture of detached houses, townhomes and apartments. The homes along the bluff on Potomac Avenue offer a broad view of the Potomac River and the Virginia riverfront, with often impressive sunset views.
Since 1928, the Palisades has been served by the Francis Scott Key Elementary School, which is part of the DC Public Schools. Extensive capital improvement of Key Elementary was completed in fall 2003. The renovated and expanded school currently enrolls 285 students and will gradually increase to approximately 300.
The current Palisades Library was dedicated in November 1969 replacing the former library in the Conduit Road Schoolhouse.
Battery Kemble, the battery was located at an elevation on Ridge Road (now Nebraska Avenue). The battery held two 100-pounder Parrott rifles, placed in such a way as to sweep Chain Bridge and Virginia beyond. The site is located within Battery Kemble Park, bounded by Chain Bridge Road, MacArthur Boulevard, 49th Street, and Nebraska Avenue, NW.
Fletcher’s Boat House is located on the Potomac River and the C & O Canal National Historical Park, between Chain and Key Bridges. Fletcher’s has been in this location since the 1850’s, and is renowned as a superb fishing and recreational area. The nearby Abner Cloud House is the oldest building on the canal, dating back to 1802. After 145 years of business, the fourth generation of Fletchers retired in 2004 and Guest Services Incorporated, a National Park Service concessionaire, assumed responsibility for the operation of the concessions. The area surrounding the boat house was then officially named – Fletchers Cove, though most people still call it Fletcher’s Boat House.
Other notable landmarks making The Palisades unique are the old Conduit Road Schoolhouse on MacArthur Boulevard, Palisades Community Church (1923), Palisades playground, The Lab School of Washington (1967) (formerly the Florence Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers), the German Embassy, St. David’s Episcopal Church (1940), Sibley Hospital (1961) and Gen. Montgomery C. Meig’s Washington Aqueduct/ Delcarlia Filtration/ Water Treatment Plant (1853).
Remnants are everywhere of the old Capitol Transit # 20 trolley (Union Station to Cabin John) that was a very popular ride though the Palisades out to the Glen Echo Amusement Park (1898-1968).
Designed by John J. Zink, the MacArthur Theater, originally a single 1,000 seater that was tri-plexed in 1982, was in use from December 1946 through March 1997.
This Palisades neighborhood is also the home for a variety of popular restaurants such as Figs, Bamboo, Listrani’s, Black Salt, Palisades Pizza and Clam Bar, Bon Appetito, DC Boathouse and the Kemble Park Tavern.
A high point of the year for many in the neighborhood is the annual July 4 parade, featuring local bands, fire engines and children on highly decorated tricycles and bicycles.
Current notable residents include Alan Greenspan and Karl Rove. Other notable locals with decades of residency include John Splaun, the Davis family, Marion Mack, Harold Gray, Chuck Hill, Western High’s pitching Gould brothers, Marion Quick, Tom Binsted, The Hechinger family, Joanne Doyle, and the H.D. Johnson family.
