Brigadier General James Monroe Williams

"NoMa" is a moniker for the area north of Massachusetts Avenue located north and east of Union Station in Washington, D.C. NoMa includes the neighborhoods of Sursum Corda, Eckington, and Near Northeast and includes a section historically known as Swampoodle.

NoMa includes:^[1]

• A core area consisting of all the blocks bounded by North Capitol Street on the west, Q Street NE on the north, the Amtrak/MARC railroad on the east and K Street NE on the south,
• To the south of the core area, one to two blocks west of the railroad tracks/Union Station from K Street south to Massachusetts Avenue,
• To the northeast of the core area, one to two blocks east of the railroad tracks from K Street north to Florida Avenue, and
• To the north of the core area, the blocks between First Street NE and the railroad tracks from Q to R streets

NoMa's southern tip at Union Station/Columbus Circle is a half-mile north of the U.S. Capitol. According to the NoMa Business Improvement District, the neighborhood was home to 13,000 residents as of January 2023, with a total of 50,000 employees working in the area.^[2]

History

After much planning for the area in the late 1990s, the 2004 opening of the New York Ave–Florida Ave Metro, now NoMa-Gallaudet U station, sparked development in the neighborhood. By 2016, NoMa had turned a corner and become one of the most up-and-coming neighborhoods in D.C., according to a report in The New York Times. REI opened one of its outdoor supply big box stores in the renovated Washington Coliseum, where the N.B.A.’s Capitols had played in the 1940s.^[3] 2020 Census data showed that Ward 6 which includes parts of NoMa, Navy Yard and Southwest, was responsible for a third of D.C.'s 15% population growth over the previous decade.^[4]

A longstanding homeless encampment under the K Street underpass was cleared in 2020, with similar encampments under the L Street and M Street underpasses cleared in 2021. Most of the unhoused people agreed to move into apartments as part of a city program. The underpasses had previously been cleared around 100 times, but people returned soon thereafter. The city's removal of the encampments drew criticism after a bulldozer operator accidentally began to clear a tent with a man inside, and who was hospitalized as a result.^[5][6]

Landmarks

NoMa includes several historic structures:

• the Woodward & Lothrop Service Warehouse (on the National Register of Historic Places)
• the Uline Arena
• St. Aloysius Church
• Gonzaga College High School
• the Government Printing Office building
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives^[7]

Union Market borders NoMa on the east and has a gourmet food hall, retail non-food stalls and a rooftop with bar, picnic tables and event stage.

Transportation

The area is served by many modes of transportation, including:

• Washington Metro Rail, with stations at NoMa-Gallaudet U station and Union Station both on the Red Line
• MARC commuter trains to Maryland and West Virginia at Union Station
• VRE commuter trains to Virginia at Union Station
• Amtrak long-distance trains, and Northeast Corridor trains including Acela, at Union Station
• bus, including local (WMATA), suburban, and intercity services
• bicycle, including the Metropolitan Branch Trail, bicycle lanes and Capital Bikeshare stations
• on foot: according to WalkScore, NoMa received a score of 93, indicating good walkability^[8]

Education

Eighteen schools serve the NoMa neighborhood, from pre-K to university.

References

External links

• NoMa Business Improvement District
• "History of NoMa", NoMa Business Improvement District

38°54′23.4″N 77°0′17.7″W / 38.906500°N 77.004917°W / 38.906500; -77.004917