By Loreil Rivera De Castro, M.A. ‘25, Museum Studies
Washington, D.C. has changed significantly over time and this 1895 map by Rand, McNally, and Co. helps us see how. Made to detail D.C.’s transportation routes, the map also labels local neighborhoods. But some of today’s residential communities do not appear. The city’s immigration history, especially the formation of D.C.’s robust, multicultural Latinx communities, reveals what’s missing and why.
Originally published in a world atlas, the map captures the streets and neighborhoods of late 19th-century Washington. Railroad lines, horse-drawn streetcar lines, cable car lines, carriage routes and electric car lines crisscross the capital’s landscape. Developing neighborhoods, including Mount Pleasant and Ivy City, reach out towards D.C.’s sparsely populated boundaries, which the map does not fully depict.
Immigrants filled these spaces in the decades since the map’s publication. Today, the Washington metropolitan area has emerged as a significant immigration hub and a showcase of urban and suburban diversity. For example, approximately one million Latinos reside in the region, with more than half being foreign-born. Most originate from Central and South America. Salvadorans, in particular, make up 35 percent of D.C.’s Latinx population. Overall, Latinos account for almost 15 percent of the population of the capital city and its surrounding suburbs.
D.C.’s Latinx communities have a long history. In the early 1900s, new embassies and international organizations came to Washington. Many Latinos found employment at Latin American embassies, establishing roots locally and creating a community for socializing and cultural exchange.
However, in the late 1960s the city’s Latinx presence surged as immigrants from various parts of Latin America arrived seeking better economic and political conditions. D.C.’s Latinx communities include immigrants and exiles from different regions of Latin America, along with U.S. Latinos and Puerto Ricans who moved to D.C. for government positions.
Communities became politically active, with a coalition of various Latino groups advocating for equitable access to education, healthcare and housing. They also pursued new forms of cultural expression, such as festivals and parades, murals, concerts and street theater.
Concurrently, Latino-owned markets and small businesses, along with Spanish-language church services, began to emerge, showcasing the expanding Latinx presence in neighborhoods like Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights. The latter two are illustrated in Rand, McNally, and Co.’s map. Notably, during the late 19th century, Adams Morgan was not yet known by that name; the area was initially called Lanier Heights until the mid-20th century.
D.C. is always changing — from the ways people get around town to the neighborhoods they live in. Demographic shifts have shaped the city’s sense of self, revealing the cultural influence of Latinx communities, among others. With its identity perpetually in flux, the nation’s capital has become a culturally rich and diverse city.
Note: I use the terms Latinx and Latino interchangeably as identity labels, with Latinx referring broadly to the community and Latino discussing individuals.
About the Author
Loreil Rivera De Castro is a graduate student in museum studies at GW. She received her bachelor’s degree in art history and modern languages from the University of Puerto Rico. Specializing in collections management, she is a curatorial assistant at the Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies.
Header Image: Rand, McNally and Co’s Indexed Atlas of the World; Map of Washington, D.C., 1895. Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection AS 282.