Situated centrally in Dog Town, Pennington is the main commercial and social area of the district. It has a mixed population in its high-rise apartments and basement studios. It features the fancy Corner House Hotel, Pennington Park, the Pennington Shopping Plaza, an established red-light district, and the 23rd Police Precinct. On its border with St. Lukes it has the Italian residential area of Black Hill Avenue.

The neighborhood is also home to a chapter of the Pagan biker gang called the Steel Riders who have a clubhouse off the Plaza.