What’s in a name? For a park, a lot: Everything from local history and geography to even a sense of ownership for the neighborhood that surrounds it, especially in one of the District’s rapidly growing and changing NoMa neighborhood.
That’s why the NoMa Parks Foundation wants public input on what to call a new park it’s building at the corner of Third and L streets NE. The 5,400 square foot space goes by the unimaginative title “Swampoodle II,” borrowing from its sibling Swampoodle Park across L Street. The park, which was designed by local landscape architecture firm Lee and Associates, will include a boxcar — fitting for its location several blocks from Union Station — and a grassy oval where kids could play or residents can do yoga.
“The community has always generated great ideas for names,” Robin-Eve Jasper, president of the parks foundation and the former president of NoMa BID, tells DCist/WAMU. “Probably better ideas than I would come up with,” she added jokingly.
The name of the original Swampoodle Park comes from a nickname given the area by Irish immigrants in the 1800s. The nearby Tiber Creek frequently flooded the surrounding area,and residents combined the words “swamp” and “puddle” in a reference to the soggy ground. The name Swampoodle Park was selected by residents in 2017 from several options that also included Old City Corner — “Old City” being another former name for the neighborhood — and 3rd and L Park.
A similar public process was used for Alethia Tanner Park that opened in 2020 adjacent to the Metropolitan Branch Trail just north of the New York Avenue bridge. The name pays homage to Tanner, a formerly enslaved woman who helped open the District’s first school for Black children in 1807.
NoMa has set up a website for people to learn more about Swampoodle II, and the history of the surrounding neighborhood. This, Jasper hopes, will help inspire a name that the community can embrace for the new park.
“Names can inspire us,” she says. “The naming process engages the community in an ownership fashion that, I think, has value.”
NoMa will take submissions through February 14, and plans to unveil a shortlist of preferred names — avoiding any “Boaty McBoatface” situations — on February 22. The public will then be able to vote for their preferred name until March 8. After that, the foundation will submit the final selection to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has the final say. Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, whose district includes the new park, has agreed to sponsor the legislation needed to officially establish the name.
“As we build a community for the future, it is absolutely critical we are creating outdoor spaces that are welcoming and beautiful as an essential part of great quality of life,” Allen said in a statement. He added that he looks forward to seeing what name the neighborhood comes up with for the park.
Construction on the park is set to begin as soon as mid-February pending final permitting, Jasper says. And the space could open this summer barring any unforeseen delays, such as the national supply chain issues that have many D.C. businesses struggling to fill their shelves. Both Swampoodle and Tanner parks opened later than initially forecast due to various reasons.
The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation owns the park, along with Swampoodle and Tanner.
NoMa bought the land for Swampoodle II for $3.4 million in September 2019. The deal was the latest in several acquisitions it has made since the D.C. Council committed $50 million to park development in the area in 2013.
