The Roots of Reed-Cooke 17th street and kalorama road nw
in 1947 the large building on this corner opened as National Arena, a roller rink and bowl- ing alley.It also hosted professional wrestling, roller derbies,and rock concerts.In 1986 it became the Citadel Motion Picture Center,where portions of Gardens of Stone and other movies were filmed. In 1994mtv recorded its town hall meeting with President Bill Clinton here. Reed-Cooke’s earliest African Americans settlers moved across 16 th Street from what is now Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park.They came in the late 1880 s after Mary Foote Henderson evicted them from her property.Reed-Cooke became industrial as well as residential,with warehouses and car dealerships.The Church of the Saviour’s missions and King Emmanuel Baptist Church (originally Meridian Hill Church),on Kalorama Road,supported the community’s spiritual and social needs. Like much of this area,Reed-Cooke experienced decline in the 1950 s and 1960 s. The Adams Morgan Planning Committee called its small industrial section a “deteriorating influence,” and wanted to demolish or adapt it along with nearby houses. But residents worked to fend off urban renewal, and the Adams Morgan Organization, Jubilee Housing,Adams Morgan Community Develop- ment Corporation,King Emmanuel Baptist Church,and many others mustered funding to preserve buildings and create affordable apartments. In 1981 ANC Commissioner Edward G.Jackson, Sr., coined “Reed-Cooke” for the area between 16 th and 18 th streets,and led a community effort to make it official. The name, like Adams Morgan’s,recognizes two schools: the Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center (Champlain Street),and the H.D.Cooke Elementary School ( 17 th and Euclid).
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