History

You can read Vaughn and Amelia’s first journey here and second journey here.

On Sunday, November 22, after a two-month hiatus, we resumed our trek around the DC border. We stuck to the original boundary, which adheres to Article I, Section 8, Clause 12 of the U.S. Constitution, setting aside a 10 mile square for the nation’s capital (so said one of the historic marker signs, though it seems to actually be Clause 17: http://www.house.gov/house/Constitution/Constitution.html). Having already covered the NE and SE quadrants, this time we found ourselves covering the SW perimeter, technically Virginia these days. The land south of the Potomac used to belong to Virginia, became part of DC following the Revolutionary War, and was returned to Virginia by Congress in 1846.

Because the SW boundary is no longer a DC border, this was not the most “as the crow flies” walk. However, King St. functioned somewhat as our guiding road, as Eastern Ave. did for the NE border and Southern Ave. did in SE.

The trek started out on a decisive high point, as the first stone is tucked in the middle of the retaining seawall of the Jones Point Lighthouse. The stone is much more interesting than the dinky lighthouse, and can either be viewed through a round hole bored through the top of the wall, or by lying on one’s belly, hanging over the edge, and peering at the stone upside down through a gate.

What sets these ten stones apart from the other quadrants is the signage. Virginia loves to surround its boundary stones with signs. Although most of the stones were not in their original locations, had been hit by cars, and/or run over by plows, the plaques for each stone were much better preserved than on our previous two walks. Winning the title of cheesiest sign on the walk and hung next to a stone in a school parking lot, a groan-worthy saying contrasts Arlington’s old limits with its students’ boundless horizons.

Stay tuned for the final quadrant, and a special guest trekker- PoP!

Items of note:

– At a couple points throughout the walk, we saw signs for the Virginia Bird and Wildlife trails. Curiously, the signs feature a picture of a mountain, a bird, and a bear. We ask you: How many wild bears are there in NoVa? And why willingly take a stroll along a path with prominent advertisements for bears?

– Each stone is preserved by a different chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution: Mt. Vernon Chapter, Colonel John Washington Chapter, Keystone Chapter, Dr. Elisha Dick Chapter, Fairfax County Chapter, etc.

– Despite the prolific signage, SW-9 is the only stone that dons an official “National Historic Landmark” marker, although they are all federal monuments. The sign reads, “This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.” – 1980, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, United States Department of the Interior

– This quadrant proved to have the most quaint houses and neighborhoods and didn’t make us play frogger across any highways. However, we did have to walk on a sidewalk set in the median of a busy road, and one of the stones was even set in a median!

By the numbers:

Stones found: All 10!
Times children screamed “Jesus loves you!” out their car window at us: 1
VA Bird and Wildlife Trail signs (with bears on them): 2
Discarded mattresses: 0
American flags on houses: too many to count

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories. In September, he launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. Every day, People’s District presents a different Washingtonian sharing his or her insights on everything from Go Go music to homelessness to fashion to politics. You can read his previous columns here.

“I was born in France and came to the United States in 1960. I came because I had a sister in North Carolina who suffered a tragic accident. I ended up in Washington because I had a friend here. Thirty years ago, my husband and I bought the Catania Bakery. Neither my husband nor I were bakers, but Grace Caruso, the former owner, taught me everything I know. For the last thirty years, we kept the place just as they did. We still make Italian breads using Grace’s recipes and deliver them to restaurants around the District, Maryland and Virginia.

“Back in 1932 when the Catania Bakery opened, there were Italian stores all along North Capitol Street. This was an Italian neighborhood. The Carusos used a wood burning over and delivered traditional Italian breads door-to-door. Most of the community here was from Southern Italy so it was the bread they knew from home. The Caruso family came from Nicolosi, which was at the base of Mt. Etna. Catania, the name of this bakery, is the name of the province in Sicily where Nicolosi is. You know the Italians, they can’t live without their bread so this place was a staple of the neighborhood. Now, most of the Italians are no longer here, they either died or went down south, but a few of them are still around. This bakery is the last remnant of Italian life on North Capitol Street. The Italians living around here and coming by are mostly older people. The newer Italian generation is more Americanized, but they will still come in on holidays to get some of our bread because they grew up eating at this bakery. We also do events with the Knights of Columbus, the Holy Rosary, Catholic Churches, and we used to do the bread for the big Italian convention in DC.

“The neighborhood started changing after World War II and becoming less Italian. Due to a number of reasons, the neighborhood really got bad. When we first bought the place in the late 1970’s, I never came at night because the neighborhood was so dangerous. It got better, but it is still a very dangerous place. We have children, but they are not involved with the bakery. Because of this area, my husband was not keen on having our children or grandchildren come here. We’ve had a number of robberies, some of them were big time robberies. My granddaughter used to come down and spend Saturday’s here with me ever since she was three-years-old. But, she was here during a robbery and her parents wouldn’t let her come down anymore. Now, I am here by myself. Danger is still here. But, we have been here for a long time and will stay. We are resilient. The neighborhood is getting better, but that doesn’t mean the bad elements are gone. At night, you wouldn’t want to walk around by yourself, but, the neighborhood is slowly changing with new families. Because of that, on Saturday’s, I started making and selling croissants out of the bakery. That is my French addition to this old place. Otherwise, it is and will remain Italian. You know, after all of this time here, I feel more Italian than French!”

Catania Bakery is located at 1404 North Capitol Street NW.