Stronghold residents take pride in our community’s name, unique among DC neighborhoods. It sounds different, reflects our culture, and the community itself is responsible for naming the neighborhood.
There has been some debate about the origins of Stronghold's name. Fortunately, one of the gentlemen present at the time of Stronghold’s naming still lives in the neighborhood and can tell our story.
Mr. Malcolm Taylor, Jr. returned home after serving in the United States Air Force from 1956-1959 to begin working at the Library of Congress. In the evenings after work he noticed some neighborhood boys playing football in the alleys between Bryant and Channing Streets. He wondered, if they can play that well in an alley, how good might they be on an actual field?
With Malcolm’s involvement, and the leadership of some of those boys, the neighborhood formed a football team, the Midget Coats. The team brought an already tight-knit community closer together, especially the younger generation. The team became a source of pride in the community as they played against other teams from River Terrace, Greenleaf, South West, Marshall Heights, Benning Heights, Parkside, Berry Farms, and Lincoln Heights.
There has been some debate about the origins of Stronghold's name. Fortunately, one of the gentlemen present at the time of Stronghold’s naming still lives in the neighborhood and can tell our story.
Mr. Malcolm Taylor, Jr. returned home after serving in the United States Air Force from 1956-1959 to begin working at the Library of Congress. In the evenings after work he noticed some neighborhood boys playing football in the alleys between Bryant and Channing Streets. He wondered, if they can play that well in an alley, how good might they be on an actual field?
With Malcolm’s involvement, and the leadership of some of those boys, the neighborhood formed a football team, the Midget Coats. The team brought an already tight-knit community closer together, especially the younger generation. The team became a source of pride in the community as they played against other teams from River Terrace, Greenleaf, South West, Marshall Heights, Benning Heights, Parkside, Berry Farms, and Lincoln Heights.
Team huddle, 1960
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Cheerleaders, 1960
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One evening, some of the boys from the football team saw the movie Broken Arrow at the Sylvan Theater on Rhode Island Avenue, NW. They were struck by the way the Native American characters referred to their secret village as their stronghold and adopted the name for their neighborhood. The phrase stuck and whenever the boys were outside their neighborhood they would say 'I'm going back to the stronghold' on their way home.
“There were several gangs throughout the city back in 1960. However, because of the unique layout of the Stronghold neighborhood—one way in/one way out—none of the gangs of the day would dare venture into the neighborhood. Everybody protected their turf,” Malcolm said.
And so a neighborhood was named.
“There were several gangs throughout the city back in 1960. However, because of the unique layout of the Stronghold neighborhood—one way in/one way out—none of the gangs of the day would dare venture into the neighborhood. Everybody protected their turf,” Malcolm said.
And so a neighborhood was named.
The Sylvan Theatre, back in the day
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1974 Stronghold Softball team @ Banneker! 1st row: Neil, Teeth (RIP), Stump, Tweet (RIP), Gay, & Cee (RIP), 2nd row: Spoon, Paul (RIP), Scott, & Mason, 3rd row: Prink, Gene, Zip, Charlie, Sherman, Pin, Greg (RIP), & Donn. A very young Wydell in the background!
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In subsequent years, the Stronghold name was adopted by the local baseball team and the Stronghold Concerned Citizen’s Group, which was formed in 1991 to help the community cope with the city’s crime challenges, and was eventually renamed the Stronghold Civic Association.
Most importantly, the Stronghold name lives on in our small and tight-knit community meaning that we take care of our neighborhood and each other. As Malcolm recalls, “If you asked anybody from the community where they lived, they would say “I’m from the Stronghold,” with pride in their eyes!”
Most importantly, the Stronghold name lives on in our small and tight-knit community meaning that we take care of our neighborhood and each other. As Malcolm recalls, “If you asked anybody from the community where they lived, they would say “I’m from the Stronghold,” with pride in their eyes!”
This story was adapted from two interviews with Malcolm. A more detailed written interview is available in a special edition Stronghold Newsflash from 2012. More excerpts from Coach Taylor's audio interview with Block2Block are available on Soundcloud.
Coach Taylor (wearing white hat), 1960
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Coach Taylor, 2022
(Image Courtesy of the DAP Project)
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Stronghold’s history informs our present. As gentrification forces change across the city, longtime residents maintain our culture and community across generations. Some of Stronghold's stories and connections were captured by the DAP Project, featuring our annual block party, and lifelong Stronghold residents Tee McCray and India Luckett.
Community runs deep and often behind the scenes. But members of the Stronghold community still gather on Channing, along the Evarts alley wall, and on rare occasions The Office still opens for business.
Community runs deep and often behind the scenes. But members of the Stronghold community still gather on Channing, along the Evarts alley wall, and on rare occasions The Office still opens for business.
Tee McCray and his sister, Monique, 2022
(Image courtesy of the DAP Project)
