Swampoodle Park
A community park at the corner of L and 3rd Streets NE perfect for play.
About
This 8,000-square-foot parcel — named for the vanished 19th-century neighborhood it sits near — includes a dog space with an agility structure, a Wallholla for children to climb on, and public seating.
LOCATION
325 L Street NE, the southwest corner of 3rd Street and L Street NE
ACQUIRED
October 2015
GROUNDBREAKING
August 2017
OPENING
November 2018
SIZE
8,200 SF
Park features
Park features include:
- Children’s play structure known as Wallholla
- Dog space with an agility structure managed by Friends of NoMa Dogs (FOND)
- Public seating
Park Partners
Swampoodle Park is owned by the city and managed by the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation.
To report a maintenance issue, please contact DC 311.
The dog park is maintained by Friends of NoMa Dogs.
Park History
Swampoodle Park is the first park that the NoMa Parks Foundation (NPF) delivered to the neighborhood. While the park’s siting was not part of a master plan and was based on an opportunistic sale, it has turned out to be one of NoMa’s greatest success stories.
In 2015, an affiliate of Cohen Siegel Investors advised the Foundation that their 5,295 SF parcel at the southwest corner of 3rd and L Streets NE was available for purchase, and NPF moved quickly to consider the site. It determined that the site was consistent with the NoMa Public Realm Design Plan’s goal of having a variety of park spaces throughout the neighborhood, including the southeast area of NoMa. Critically, NPF determined that the site could be combined with adjacent “public parking” open space, which was possible only because the District would be the ultimate owner of the site. Because of this, the acquisition could yield an 8,200 SF park.
To learn more about the park’s history, including the site design, community engagement, and naming process, download the Imagine NoMa Parks Report.