Telling the Story of Black Broad Branch and Belmont

The Friendship Heights neighborhood, which straddles the line between DC and Maryland, has become a bit of a ghost town with big retail failing during the pandemic, emptying out two indoor shopping spaces -- Mazza Gallerie and Chevy Chase Pavilion -- plus countless other smaller spaces. A business improvement district (BID), the Friendship Heights Alliance, has been formed to spur redevelopment and what they called "placemaking" on both sides of the District line, but it's going to be awhile before the area is vibrant again.

Say what you will about BIDs, one positive step by this one has been activation of the streetscape of a PEPCO substation along the west side of Wisconsin Avenue between Harrison and the south entrance of the Metro station, with exhibits focused on neighborhood history. Last year, local historians worked with students at Jackson-Reed High School to tell the story of the taking of the Fort Reno from Black residents who lived there after the Civil War and into the early 20th century. And this week, a new exhibit opened to tell two additional stories of the area's shameful past: the forced relocation of Black families living along Broad Branch Road to create a school and park serving White families, and the actions of the Chevy Chase Land Company to prevent development of Belmont, a subdivision on the Maryland side of Chevy Chase that was the brain child of Black developers. The last panel brings us out of the past to the present, suggesting opportunities for repair and reparations. 

The project, a collaboration of independent historians, the DC History Center, and the University of District of Columbia, will likely be up for awhile so you have time to wander over to absorb it all.