Glover Park - Washington, DC Area Guide

Glover Park is named after Charles Carroll Glover, an influential late-19th and early-20th century Washingtonian banker and philanthropist. He is credited with the creation of a few of the city's famous landmarks, including the Rock Creek Park system, Embassy Row, the National Zoo and Rock Creek Parkway. Another one of his namesakes, Glover Archbold Park wraps around the neighborhood's west and south borders, creating a small enclave for this little community.

While there are no museums within Glover Park, there are numerous national museums just a stone's throw away all throughout the District. This close-knit community gets together officially every year for Glover Park Day, held in June at the Guy Mason Recreation Center on Wisconsin Avenue. This festive event features great food from local restaurants, live music, local crafters, a flea market and activities for the kids.

All the restaurants and nightlife of Glover Park are located on Wisconsin Avenue, and all are within a half mile of each other. Rocklands Barbeque serves up the best BBQ in town. The no-frills approach to good ol' home cooking manifests itself on the paper plates that struggle to support your mountain of pulled pork, collard greens, and mac and cheese. Check it out on a Monday or Wednesday when your DC Brau order comes with a pork slider or chicken wings, respectively.

For more sophisticated dining, head to Old Europe, where they've been serving up delicious German cuisine for over 60 years. The old-world decor, antique steins, fine oil paintings and original works of art that adorn the walls make the experience that much better. If you're feeling extra hungry, go for the Old Europe sausage combo: bratwurst, bauernwurst and weisswurst, all made in house. Of course, you can never go wrong with the wiener schnitzel. Grab your stein, fill it with one of Old Europe's revolving German draught beers, and give your dirndl-clad waitress a prost.

Wisconsin Avenue isn't all about restaurants though; there are also a decent selection of bars. Chief among them is the whimsical Breadsoda. Make your pick between pool, shuffleboard and ping pong, and enjoy the night with friends sipping on sangria or the local favorite.

If Glover Park gets a bad rap for anything, it's the perceived difficulty of getting to and from other areas of DC. While there is no Metro stop in Glover Park, this perception is not entirely true, as the WMATA Metro Bus system has multiple lines that service this neighborhood, making transpiration within and around the city quite easy. The D1 and D2 bus lines transport people east and west, including to popular neighborhoods such as Dupont Circle, Chinatown and the National Mall. The 31, 32 and 36 bus lines all run through Glover Park as well, moving north and south.

The Metro Rail and Metro Bus (just called the metro and bus, respectively) are both very convenient for getting around the city. A one-way trip on the bus is $1.75, while the metro is slightly more, ranging between $1.75 and $5.90 depending on the time of day and how far you go. To get the best rates and most convenience on both systems, purchase a reloadable SmarTrip card. These cards can also be used on the cheaper bus system, the Circulator, that starts it route on the Glover Park/Georgetown border. These buses only charge $1 per ride.

Hailing a cab in Glover Park is difficult anywhere except Wisconsin Avenue. Cabs prefer not to drive into the residential neighborhood unless they are dropping someone off. No matter where you are in Glover Park though, the walk to Wisconsin is a short one. Uber is also available and is quickly supplanting regular cabs in DC.

If you own a car, driving in DC is not too bad. Glover Park, especially, is very residential, making driving relatively hassle-free. There is also ample street parking in the neighborhood, something not every neighborhood in DC can say. Purchase an annual parking pass from the city, and enjoy a number of open streets for your parking convenience.

Within the neighborhood though, there's no need to drive or use public transportation, as everything is well within walking distance. Many people bike in DC, but the traffic and street parking can make it dangerous.

Guy Mason Recreation Center and Park, where the annual Glover Park Day is held, is the primary neighborhood park. It's both dog- and kid-friendly, with play areas for both. The baseball diamond is used by local youth baseball teams on the weekends and by many others for pickup soccer and kickball games.

Glover Park's prized elementary school, Stoddard Elementary, also has a big open field with a baseball diamond that is often occupied by picnicking families and locals playing games of touch football.

Glover-Archbold Park is a forested area with running and biking trails. It is used by many for afternoon jogs and dog walks. A huge perk of DC living is that most community and public areas, including these parks, are free.

The peacefulness and amenities of Glover Park come at a price. The average price for a one-bedroom apartment in Glover Park is $1,700 a month, 42 percent higher than the DC average of $1,200.

Other things, such as gas and food, are on par with the rest of DC, but both of those are still higher than the national average. Gas in DC is 12 percent higher than the national average, while a restaurant meal rarely runs under $12 and a beer at a bar no less than $5.

Neighborhood residents benefit from the amazing shopping just south of them in Georgetown, primarily along Wisconsin Avenue and M Street. Most of the shops are high-end stores, such as Jonathan Adler for home furnishings or Tory Burch for women's apparel. There are also a number of less expensive options, such as Gap, H&M and Urban Outfitters. The Apple Store in Georgetown is also hugely popular and always crowded.

Back up Wisconsin in Glover Park, there are a couple of little stores the neighborhood prides itself on, including Everard’s Clothing, a small boutique with plenty of charm.

Whole Foods is the primary grocery provider of Glover Park, while at the Georgetown Safeway (known as the "social Safeway"), just a few blocks down the street, is also a popular option. The farmers market at Hardy Middle School provides fresh produce to many neighborhood residents from May to November as well. Open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the warmer months, locals come to mingle as well as grocery shop.