DC’s Hidden Places: Westminster Street

• July 8, 2015

by Tianna Mañón

Westminster Street NW, as seen from 10th Street NW.

In Hidden Places, UrbanTurf takes a look at some of the charming but lesser-known one- and two-block streets in the District. This week, we take a look at Westminster Street NW, a quiet block with a tucked-away playground.

Westminster Street is easy to miss.

Tucked between T Street NW to the north and S Street SW to the south (map), most fly right by it coming down 9th Street NW.

Despite being just two blocks from U Street, few outside of the neighborhood are familiar with the street, keeping its park and street art as “hidden gems,” despite the positive Yelp! reviews.

This lesser-known playground sits in the middle of Westminster St NW.

The gated playground is located about midway down the street. It has a small water park, slides, swings and toys for children to play with, and is maintained by local residents.

On the west side of the playground is a mural, which depicts children in a playground against a city landscape with Capitol Hill in the background. It was painted in 2002 by Anne Marchand.

Four homes on Westminster Street NW.

The street is shaded, keeping the playground and the residents’ rowhouses cool in the summer. Homes don’t often come on the market on this block, but if a pending contract for a house listed on the street ends in a sale, there will be one new lucky homeowner. 925 Westminster Street NW spent just 5 days on the market after being listed on June 19th.

Up and down the street, a handful of front gates are left open.

Cars designed to protest genetically modified organisms add even more color to the neighborhood.

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This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dcs_hidden_places_westminster_street/10093