The Story Behind DC's Watermelon House in Logan Circle 🍉

Washington, DC has some of the most timeless, classic examples of architecture in the country, if not the entire world. The White House, the Washington Monument, the United States Capitol, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and so on.

But perhaps it's worth mentioning another unique building in the nation's Capital: the Watermelon House in Logan Circle.

According to DC Bike Blogger, the owners of 1112 Q Street in Logan Circle wanted to spruce up their row house with a fresh coat of "fire-engine red" back in 2007. The street-facing front of the house turned out fine, but the side of the house did not. Instead of the bright red they wanted, the owners say the side of the house turned out more like the color of Pepto Bismol. Upon further inspection, they also realized the side of the house looked like the color of watermelon.

So instead of going through the hassle of dealing with the agony of having their house repainted, the owners made lemonades out of lemons, or in this case watermelon out of Pepto Bismol, and painted the house themselves to make a watermelon, and hence the Watermelon House was born.

Now, the unofficial city landmark has become a social media star and home to "Watermelon Jumps." It started in 2017, when one of the owners of the home was getting ready to repaint the house:

In early July while repainting 🍉🏡, I came out from fetching more paint and a VERY pregnant woman was awaiting a professional photographer setting up. She asked if I could stay out of the shot. They then sped through a series of photos of her leaping in the air. She finished, exhilarated, then waved to me and they left in a rush.
Several days later another VERY pregnant woman and professional photographer, neither the same as before. She proceeded to be photographed jumping. I had to ask whether a not-so-secret society of pregnant ladies jumping existed.
There was no connection. She had found out she was pregnant and chose to walk home a different route than usual thinking things through. Then there the 🍉 was. She felt an immediate inner burst of joy and was reminded what her mother, three years deceased, always said: "If you want to see someone's inner child, ask them to jump with their hands over their head. That look on their face in the air is pure joy." She had already stenciled a watermelon in her nursery and the photo would hang there too until baby (did she hint to me the name would be Joy?) was old enough to understand and carry on grandmother's whimsy.
The woman and I thanked each other and after she left it hit me: Watermelon Jumps.

Although Watermelon Jumps started with a pair of pregnant women, everyone is encouraged to take a photo of themselves jumping in front of the Watermelon House. There are over 3,000 posts using the hashtags #watermelonhouse and #watermelonjumps.

You can find the accounts for the Watermelon House and Watermelon Jumps on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Photo: Watermelon House/Facebook


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