Festa Italiana Comes to Penn Quarter This Sunday!

The intersection of 3rd and F NW is about all that’s left of DC’s Little Italy.

Soon, that’s all Chinatown will be..the intersection of 7th and H NW.

Actually, I’ve lived in DC for 15 years, am Italian, and had no idea DC ever had a “Little Italy”.

Some of the area’s history can be gleaned from the three Catholic churches on 3rd, 5th, and 10th Streets. Those churches were built for the Italian, German, and Irish congregations (respectively) that lived in the immediate areas. I believe the Irish population was originally near to Union Station, but at some point moved closer to 10th Street. Also, both the German Catholic church on 5th and the Baptist church on 8th predate the time when the Chinese population moved from the Pennsylvania Ave area into what became “Chinatown”.

Actually, calling it a “Little Italy” might be a stretch. Irish, Scottish and Germans were the first to found immigrant communities downtown. These were followed by Jews (orignally from Germany and later from Eastern Europe), Italians and Greeks. The church at 3rd and F and AV’s are the last vestiges of the Italian presence downtown. The Irish Catholic Church on 10th St is the oldest Catholic Church in what was the city of Washington (I’m excluding Georgetown) and was started for those working on the construction Capitol and the White House. The Irish community later coalesed around Union Station in what was called Swampoodle. Gonzaga High School sits in this area and the church there ministered to this community. Chinese didn’t move into the area until the 1930′s when they were forced out of Federal Triangle.

Chris

The Mother of God Roman Catholic Church at 5th and H St. NW is the only Church that i know of that offers an entire mass in Latin and another in Catonese.

What it was, was a great deal of fun!

they packed up early and ran out of food. bummer.

Yeah, Anon at 5:01, I don’t know what you’re talking about. It looked pretty lame to me. They ran out of all food except for cannolis (for which I don’t particularly care, and for which there was a long line) and there were only a handful of merchants and other attractions.

I miss Philly’s Italian Market. D.C. will never be like Philly, Chicago, New York, Boston, etc. with rich cultural neighborhoods.

Hi Scott from Anon 5:01
They had fried risotto downstairs in the church and great gellato until very late. It’s just one church’s street fair it’s not a permanent market like phila’s. (Only NY pizza is better then phila)Everyone knows DC is not famous for good ethnic food such as Italian, Greek, Cuban-Chinese, etc. Considering it is DC and in our neighborhood it is very friendly and festive.