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National Harbor, Maryland
Census-designated place in Maryland, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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National Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located along the Potomac River near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and just south of Washington, D.C. It originated as a 300-acre (1.2 km2) multi-use waterfront development. The population was 5,509 at the 2020 census.[3]
The developer, Peterson Companies, says National Harbor draws 12 million visitors annually, as of 2025.[4]
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History
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Land use and rezoning
The land developed for National Harbor was previously Salubria Plantation,[5] built in 1827 by Dr. John H. Bayne. The plantation house burned down in 1981 and was offered for sale along with the surrounding land. The land was sold in 1984 and in 1994 was rezoned for mixed-use development.[citation needed] In the fall of 1997, the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Army Corps of Engineers approved new developer permits, granted for the PortAmerica project in 1988.[6]
The National Harbor proposal drew criticism for degrading the surrounding environment. In 1999, the Sierra Club said the project would "prevent forever the completion of the Potomac Heritage Trail".[7]
In 2006, Peterson Companies withdrew plans to build a Target department store where the remaining plantation building, the slave quarters, still stand.[5]
Development
The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor opened on April 1, 2008[8] in what was then Oxon Hill, Maryland.[9] Within months of its opening, the site discharged hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River.[10]
The site aound the Gaylord hotel was developed by Milton Peterson's Peterson Companies. The original plan was to spend over $2 billion and to build from 2007 to late 2014.[11] As of April 2016 construction was continuing and the cost was set at $4 billion.[12]
In 2010, the development was designated as its own census-designated place separate from Oxon Hill.[1]
The Walt Disney Company had announced that it would build a new resort hotel at National Harbor, but backed out of the project in November 2011.[13]
In 2011, Bonnie Bick, a member of the Campaign to Reinvest in the Heart of Oxon Hill suggested preserving the remaining plantation building, and making it a part of a proposed historical loop of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, as a draw for the development.[5]
The National Children's Museum opened in National Harbor in December 2012. Just over two years later, the museum announced that it would move back to Washington, D.C., and close the Mayland facility.[14]
On November 29, 2012, ground was broken for a Tanger Outlets shopping facility a mile east of the National Harbor waterfront, which opened in November 2013.[15] The Capital Wheel ferris wheel opened in the mid-year of 2014.[16]
An MGM-branded casino, called MGM National Harbor, opened at National Harbor on December 8, 2016, four years after voters approved the expansion of gambling in the state.[17] It was built on the south side of the Beltway, about a mile northeast of the National Harbor waterfront.
On January 12, 2015, Peterson Companies announced that Local Motors planned to open a showroom in National Harbor.[18] On June 17, 2016, it opened to the public and debuted a new vehicle named Olli.[19] Housed in the former site of the children's museum, the showroom includes interactive STEM labs for children and a shop that sells company merchandise.
On October 21, 2023, Titanic: The Exhibition, a museum in National Harbor, was opened to the public. It features sculptures, models, and artifacts from the RMS Titanic.[20]
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Facilities
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The site has a convention center, six hotels, restaurants, shops, and condominiums.[16] National Harbor hosted Cirque du Soleil in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014 and also features outdoor activities such as a culinary festival and outdoor concerts by military bands, an outdoor movie screen facing the river, an annual ice sculpture exhibition, and a Peeps Day with a Peeps eating contest. The national spelling bee competition is held there. The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, with 2,000 rooms, is the largest hotel between New Jersey and Florida, and the largest in the Washington area. The site includes a beachfront walking path and a connection to a bike trail on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that crosses into Alexandria, Virginia.[21][22] Amusements include a children's carousel, and the Capital Wheel,[16] a 175-foot Ferris wheel on a pier that extends into the Potomac River. There is a fast food restaurant and a gas station among the northern ramps that provide the only ways in or out of National Harbor.
In December 2016, MGM Resorts opened MGM National Harbor, a 300-room hotel as well as a 135,000-square-foot (12,500 m2) casino, stores, a spa, restaurants, a 1,200-seat theater, a 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) convention area, and a 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) parking garage.[23]
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Demographics
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Melwood first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census[25] formed from part of the Fort Washington CDP.[25]
2020 census
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 3,788 people, 1,598 households, and 868 families residing in the census-designated place.[28] In 2016, prior to the opening of the MGM Casino, an estimated 7,000 staff worked at National Harbor.[29]
Geography
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, National Harbor has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.8 km2), of which 1.4 square miles (3.7 km2) is land and 0.39 square miles (1.0 km2), or 21.7% (consisting of the Potomac River), is water; 300 acres are in the actual development itself.
Access
The only routes in or out of National Harbor are ramps north of the area that link it to Interstate 95/495 (the Capital Beltway), Interstate 295 (Anacostia Freeway), and Oxon Hill Road. Commuters traveling on Indian Head Highway can reach National Harbor using the Oxon Hill Road exits.[30] In 2007, the state spent more than $500 million (~$727 million in 2024) to improve roads for the 10,000 cars that were expected to commute daily to National Harbor.[30]
A water taxi line run by the Potomac Riverboat Company connects National Harbor to Alexandria, Virginia. The City of Alexandria also runs shuttles from the water taxi terminal to King Street–Old Town station at an annual cost of about $800,000.[31]
National Harbor with the Potomac River and Alexandria, Virginia in the background
Start of construction for National Harbor (lower left) at the junction of the Capital Beltway and the southern terminus of the Anacostia Freeway; the Woodrow Wilson Bridge is just off the picture to the left.
A water taxi from National Harbor to Alexandria, Virginia
Proposals for Metrorail service
During planning, critics said National Harbor would be too remote from the Washington Metro, the Washington area's rapid transit system. Local civic groups sued National Harbor's developer, then settled in 2004 for promises of investment in the surrounding community and better access to mass transit.[32]
The Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which forms part of the Capital Beltway near National Harbor, was built to handle the addition of a Washington Metro line.[33] No such plans exist. The state of Maryland pays the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority $312,000 annually to operate the NH1 bus line to National Harbor from the Southern Avenue Metro station. In June 2008, the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center asked the state to fund additional transit service because employees found it difficult to reach National Harbor.[34] In 2011, Metro began considering a rail extension to National Harbor off the Green Line as part of its long-term plan.[35]
The NH2 bus line started running across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in 2016, connecting with the King Street–Old Town station.[36]
In September 2021, a report on the Blue/Orange/Silver lines recommended converting the Blue Line into a circle line, extending it to National Harbor and Alexandria.[37] In 2022, a NBC4 Washington report suggested the loop might alleviate crowding at the Rosslyn station.[38]
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Education
National Harbor is part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district.[39]
Schools serving National Harbor include Fort Foote Elementary School,[40] Oxon Hill Middle School,[41] and Oxon Hill High School.[42]
Gallery
The Awakening, an unusual sculpture in National Harbor
Capital Wheel at night
Peeps store
A Christmas Tree in National Harbor in 2011
National Harbor stores and restaurants
Aerial view of the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center
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Panorama
See also
References
External links
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