Brightwood Neighborhood Guide

A practical guide to Brightwood today. For the full story behind these places, see the history and Notable Places.

Getting there

Brightwood runs along Georgia Avenue NW in upper Northwest, between Petworth and the Maryland line. Metrobus routes run the length of Georgia Avenue, and the Takoma and Fort Totten Metro stations (Red Line; Fort Totten also Green/Yellow) sit just to the east. The neighborhood is bordered by Rock Creek Park to the west and Takoma, Shepherd Park, Manor Park, and Petworth nearby.

The commercial corridor

Georgia Avenue is the spine of the neighborhood — a working main street of locally owned restaurants, cafés, groceries, and services that reflect Brightwood's Latino, Caribbean, and East African communities. Browse the current listings in Local Businesses and the Dining Guide.

What to see

• Fort Stevens — the restored earthwork fort where Union troops repelled a Confederate attack in July 1864 and President Lincoln came under fire.
• Battleground National Cemetery — one of the nation's smallest national cemeteries, holding the Union soldiers who fell at Fort Stevens.
• Military Road School — the surviving schoolhouse tied to the neighborhood's African American community.
• The Parks at Walter Reed — the redeveloped former Army medical campus, now a mixed-use community.

See them mapped on the Explore the Map page, and find schools, houses of worship, and public services in the Community listings.

Nearby

Brightwood sits among the upper-Georgia-Avenue neighborhoods of Ward 4 — Takoma, Shepherd Park, Manor Park, and Petworth. Just south, Petworth's history shares the streetcar story; to the north lies the Maryland line at Takoma Park.