It’s no surprise to this Hill resident, but it might be to those of you who live in relative cesspools like Logan Circle, Clarendon, Silver Spring, or “North” Cleveland Park: Eastern Market has been named one of the Nation’s ten best neighborhoods. Thank you, American Planning Association, for giving credit where it’s due.

In its first annual “Best Places” awards, the APA heralds the Eastern Market neighborhood for “its continued success in balancing the demands of growth and change, while preserving the fundamental values of the community,” retaining its “unpretentious, charming nature,” and for the residents’ “civic pride and dedication, combined with the centuries old vision for this community, [that] sustain this neighborhood’s unique characteristics.” They also laud the neighborhood’s record of activism in retaining its traditions—notably the efforts to preserve the market itself (both after this year’s fire and previously) and to prevent the Federal government from building along East Capitol Street.

Eastern Market joins neighborhoods like Pikes Place Market in Seattle, Hillcrest in San Diego, North Beach in San Francisco, Park Slope in Brooklyn, and Old West Austin in Austin as 2007 honorees. We’re confident that Eastern Market’s mix of history, walkability, amenities, and aesthetic appeal would beat out those other neighborhoods any day, but we’re just happy to be part of the team—the best team.

Photo from Hoffman