Gwyndolyn Reece Interview, September 12, 2021

Can you state your name?

Yes, Gwyndolyn Reece.

Okay, great. So, what is your relationship to Adams Morgan?

I moved here in about 2000. I have moved out of the neighborhood twice very briefly have been completely miserable because this is home and have moved back.

What makes this home for you?

It's, it just feels like home, part of it as having been here longer than I've been in any other place in my life, but it's also I really love the way in which the neighborhood is just an incredible vibrant mix of people.

So is there a space that's particularly meaningful to you?

Yeah, linear street. So I lived on linear for 14 years and then I lived right off linear and just there's something about walking up and down, linear, and then going to this part Kalorama Park, and also, there's a couple of other parks around these outside areas.

So, reflecting on Adams Morgan in general, has -- what significant changes have been made in this area?

It is so much more expensive than it was when I moved here. I'm not clearly, Far and Away is the biggest difference, you know, when I moved and it was a pretty reasonable place to live. I lived in a studio apartment for a long time and the rent now is extraordinary. And unfortunately, I do think that we're seeing less diversity and variety of people as than we were when I first moved in probably as a result just because of how expensive it is, but I still love it here.

How would you define the Adams Morgan community now?

I think it's still pretty vibrant. You know, it's part of Interest -- what's kind of interesting to me is that when I moved in I was like the normal age of people. So it was a younger community in a lot of ways. And, you know, now I'm in my 50s and so it has been interesting to see. I think we do have more people who are staying longer-- being partially because of how expensive it is -- but still, there's a lot of the younger people that I don't know if they live here or they just come in here. Especially like on 18th so, but I still really love it.

So, looking to the future. How do you think Adams Morgan's going to continue to change?

I think it really has to do with whether or not the city is that all successful in dealing with the affordable housing problem, you know. If not, then we're definitely on a path to becoming gentrified to the point where it would drive a lot of the people out that makes this neighborhood, this neighborhood. So, you know, I think that's really a question. So I'm hopeful that we'll be Be able to do something more about affordable housing.

Okay, and so that was our final question. Do you have anything you want to say, reflect upon as we finish this interview?

I just one of the things that I think is really wonderful about this particular areas. On the one hand. It feels like a big city, very vibrant, you know, and in this neighborhood in particular, there's just a lot of restaurants and cultural things going on and at the same time we're so close to very important nature, you know, we can walk straight down to the zoo. You can go into Rock Creek. There's quite a few areas that are these lovely green spaces and to me, that's a huge part of why this is so important. Here, I'm part of a nature reverencing religion. And so, to me, the ability to both be in a city as incredibly important to me, but in a neighborhood in, which I can so quickly, get into what is really very wild nature in Rock Creek is just essential. So I think that's the other piece that maybe people don't talk about as much.