Right now the businesses and residents of the neighborhood near Nationals Stadium are arguing over what that neighborhood should be called. Residents seem to prefer the more established name of Navy Yard, while the BID prefers its own name: Capitol Riverfront.
If Georgetown is any precedent, then the newer Capitol Riverfront name won’t stick, at least not forever. As Georgetown shows, while a new name might stick around for a little while, eventually people are drawn back to historic names.
Georgetown preexisted the District of Columbia by fifty years. With the formation of the District, Georgetown remained an independent city under the umbrella of the new capital.
In 1871 the charter for Georgetown was revoked and the city was merged with the city and county of Washington. Ever since there have been no independent municipalities in DC.
In 1878, Congress revoked DC’s limited democracy and imposed an appointed commissioner system that lasted until 1967. In doing so, Congress redubbed Georgetown as “West Washington”.
Despite the fact that Georgetown had existed so long as an independent city and only dissolved seven years prior, people seemed to give a genuine go at using the new name. Throughout the 1880s, the Washington Post is full of society notes not from Georgetown, but rather West Washington.
This new name was consistently used well through the 1890s and into the first decade of the 20th century. But by the teens, its usage appears to have trailed off. By the 1920s, the only place you’ll find references to “West Washington” was in the name of the Baptist church at 31st and P. Originally the Baptist Church of Georgetown, it changed its name to West Washington Baptist Church in 1899. It held on to this name all the way until 1955, well after Georgetown returned as the primary neighborhood name. The change back was probably inspired by the bicentennial of the neighborhood, when nostalgia broke out in the form of beer and preservation boards.
So it might take a while, but if Georgetown is any guide, Navy Yard will eventually win out.
The Georgetown Metropolitan 