After the Hard Times 14TH and MONROE STREETS NW
When the smo ke cleared after the civil disturbances of April 1 968, Columbia Heights lay devastated. Many residents and businesses simply left. Others remained to pick up the pieces. But who would help rebuild? Citizen groups, church leaders, and the federal government—which controlled the city’s purse- strings—initially answered the call. The Cardozo Heights Association for Neighborhood Growth and Enrichment (ch ange), Inc., also responded with housing programs, a health clinic, a “street academy,” and other assistance. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development bought, or took by eminent domain, hundreds of properties, giving some to the city for public housing. Some damaged buildings, and many rowhouses that were simply old, were razed. Soon, on this block, only the Tivoli Theater remained. In 1 976–77 change came. All Souls Housing Corp. built the Columbia Heights Village complex along 1 4th Street. However most of the land between Irving and Monroe Streets sat vacant for decades as city officials and community groups argued, and inves-tors looked elsewhere. Though damaged, the grand Riggs-Tompkins Building escaped demolition, thanks to neighbor- hood preservationists. The Kelsey Temple Devel- opment Corp. added apartments for seniors above the original building. The largest enterprise to survive the disturbances was the Giant Food store, then located at 346 0 1 4th Street. It had opened in 1 966 as a model facility after citizens complained that “inner-city neighbor- hoods” had inferior stores. In the difficult days after the riots, Giant joined Sacred Heart Church and St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church in distributing needed provisions.
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