At the ripe old age of 150, Ivy City was looking good at its birthday party last week. Dozens of current and former neighborhood residents, as well as friends from around the District, turned out to celebrate with music, games, food and activism at a festival held on the grounds of the historic Alexander Crummell School.
Sharon Edwards, a grandmother of five who now lives in nearby Brentwood, was one of many people who attended Crummell for elementary school. She was in Crummell’s last fifth-grade class before the school shut down in the 1970s.
“You know, we had a birthday party every weekend back then,” Edwards said. “Just a tight-knit community — close, close, close. You can tell by [how] the kids [are] coming back as adults, in their 50s, 60s, 70s.”
Ivy City community members have fought a long battle with the District to revitalize Crummell School, a historic site that remained empty for decades, for use as a community center. The city agreed to do so in 2020, and the project is scheduled to be completed by 2025. For now, though, the beautiful brick building remains boarded up behind the newly painted basketball courts on its grounds.
Many former Crummell students, some of whom are now grandparents, came to see each other and enjoy the festivities on Oct. 21.
Rita Lofty, 73, recalled many other celebrations from three decades living in Ivy City, such as wrapping the maypole in the spring with the rest of the Crummell student body.
“There was a school luncheon, we all brought our chairs out — we made a circle and each class had a different activity to do,” Lofty said. “I’m just glad to come back and enjoy myself, and I try to always come back just to see the activities because I love Ivy City.”
The activities Lofty came out to join included everything from free family portraits by artist Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg to pumpkin painting to foosball games, as well as live music and a cookout. Kids — sporting superhero masks and butterflies from a face-painting booth — chased after rubber balls, which rolled across the court because of the day’s high winds. Party attendees could pick up bouquets of fresh flowers arranged by artists Adele Kenworthy, Ariana Arenius and Batya Feldman, some of which were donated by nonprofit Plants and Blooms Reimagined.
“There’s just so, so much to be thankful for,” Edwards said of growing up in Ivy City. “It was just a fun time. I mean, nobody would ever believe how close-knit our community was — it was like a fairy tale.”
