Poll: Is ‘North End Shaw’ a Valid Neighborhood Name?

(Updated at 12:29 p.m.) Have you heard the news? Shaw isn’t just Shaw anymore.

Earlier this week, “a healthy mix of journalists, tastemakers and culture vultures” gathered atop the newly opened Atlantic Plumbing Company building at 8th and V streets NW to raise their glasses and toast the official unveiling of a new neighborhood, “North End of Shaw.”

But what is North End Shaw, anyway — besides a hashtag and an unused Twitter account? Much like its ever-growing older brother Shaw, the area seems to have loosely defined edges.

If you’re Atlantic Plumbing, North End Shaw is a “bustling epicenter of creativity” and a neighborhood that’s “transforming into one of Washington D.C.’s hottest destinations.”

If you’re Washingtonian, it’s “a made-up neighborhood name that [developers are] using to distinguish their new development.” (Which is kind of the norm around here, points out Topher Mathews, who runs Georgetown Metropolitan.)

So, let’s put it up to a vote. What do you think? Is “North End Shaw” a valid neighborhood name? Do you think it should be called something else? Weigh in by voting in the poll and telling us what you think in the comments.

Photo via JGB