Walking along Newton Street in Mount Pleasant this fall, you may have found yourself standing in front of a home whose front yard had sprung witty headstones overnight. Ornately decorated handmade gravestones whose epitaphs read such sly remarks as “Dating In 2020,” “The Patriarchy,” and “I Really Wish I’d Forwarded That Text To 10 People,” were accompanied by one very special guest, a fedora-ed skeleton aptly named “Bone Diddley.”
“Hopefully that’s not in poor taste,” says current resident, and curator of the award-winning Halloween decor, Liz Bradley, “it mostly just gives us an excuse to tell our friends about Bo and how cool it was that he lived here.” Indeed, the home in question is one of three DC-area residences where legendary guitarist Bo Diddley lived during his lifetime.
“We found out that Bo Diddley lived in this house from the landlords when we moved in,” says Bradley. “There’s a sign on the corner by the school that gives a little history about the neighborhood. We met the landlords on Craigslist and had no knowledge about the house prior, so it was a happy surprise that the house had such a cool history.”
In the summer of 1962, Bo Diddley, his wife, Kay, and their newborn Terri moved into what was then an apartment building across the street from the Bancroft School. Longtime residents of the area fondly remember his stay in Mount Pleasant. As recorded in Mount Pleasant’s Heritage Trail guide, “Diddley connected with some neighborhood teenagers whom he’d heard ‘singing on the corner.’” Former area resident Arthur Wong recalled Diddley’s encouragement, the times the artist chatted with them about music, and the few occasions they got to ride around in Bo Diddley’s red Lincoln Continental convertible.
While Diddley lived in a few homes around the DMV, none have brought the spirit of the musician into their Halloween decorations quite like Bradley and housemates. “Our Halloween display was made up of things we’ve collected over the years – but the main stars were… ‘Bone Diddley,’ a giant spider, homemade tombstones, and a ‘body bag’ made up of recyclables,” says Bradley. “We wrote topical things on the tombstones that we hoped our neighbors would find funny.” The full effect of the decor was spot-on. In a year where it felt like there wasn’t much to laugh about, the house on Newton Street provided a point of respite, where trick-or-treaters and dog-walkers alike could pause and reflect on the dark humor of 2020.
The hard work of decorating also paid off, as Bradley’s home was named the First Place Winner of the first-ever Columbia Heights Insider Halloween Decorating Contest. The bar has been set high, and anyone hoping to snag the title next year will surely have to up the ante.
Decorating aside, Bradley and her housemates are quite content living in Diddley’s old digs. “Our favorite part about the Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant community is the friendly atmosphere between all the neighbors,” says Bradley. “We’re hopeful that things will get back to normal so we can finally attend one of the neighborhood’s famous block parties when it’s warmer.”
Want to see the Newton Street house in all its spooktacular splendor? Check out the video below!
