D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 1601
1601.1 Before 1791, Central Washington consisted of open fields, pastureland, groves of trees, meandering creeks, and wetlands. This landscape was reshaped as work began on the new national capital, starting with the Capitol, White House, and key departmental buildings and defenses. In 1800, the government arrived from Philadelphia, and the town of about 500 households began to grow, as major buildings rose on the avenues and homes and businesses clustered along the side streets. The British invasion of 1814 ruined most of the federal buildings, but the next year's opening of a canal along what is now Constitution Avenue helped speed the repairs. Not until 1820 was the cornerstone, still visible today in Judiciary Square, laid for a permanent city hall.
1601.2 Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the area extending from the Capitol to the White House and from Pennsylvania Avenue NW north served as the commercial heart of the emerging District. In 1862, the first streetcar line opened along Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and State Department at 15th Street NW. Six months later, extensions reached Navy Yard and Georgetown, with 7th and 14th Street NW connections to the District's edge (now Florida Avenue NW). By 1865, another streetcar line opened along F Street NW, which eventually became the city's primary shopping corridor. As in other cities, streetcars helped fuel the first round of suburbanization. Streetcars also promoted the conversion of downtown from a mixed-use area to a more commercial destination.
1601.3 As the District matured through the late 19th century, larger buildings for both private and government offices gradually displaced most of downtown's residences and churches. By 1891, there were nearly 21,000 federal employees in the central District, and federal bureaus spilled into many leased buildings originally designed for other functions. Residential growth shifted to new neighborhoods to the north, east, and south.
1601.4 By the end of the 19th century, the National Mall and Smithsonian museums had taken on increased importance as American gathering places and cultural centers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) completed the Washington Monument in 1888, and the prospect of a more beautiful Washington, DC, arose as the USACE shaped spacious riverside parkland and an ornamental Tidal Basin by filling in the Potomac River mudflats. This promise was recognized and elevated by the McMillan Commission in 1901. The commission's grand plan for the National Mall and its environs reshaped Washington, DC, for the 20th century, bringing a unified vision for Central Washington oriented around parks, fine architecture, and city-beautiful design principles. Central Washington's physical form was further shaped by height restrictions adopted in 1894 and later revised in 1899 and 1910. Though first applied out of concern for fire and public safety, and harm to the property value of overshadowed neighbors, these height
restrictions evolved to become integral to the new aesthetic vision for the national capital.
1601.5 The area continued to grow for the next 50 years. Two world wars and the New Deal swelled the federal workforce, creating the demand for yet more downtown office space. Downtown's retail core thrived as Washington, DC's population grew to more than 800,000 residents by 1950. Conversely, the shrinking number of residential areas in Central Washington began to deteriorate. They were among the first parts of the District targeted for urban renewal in the 1950s.
1601.6 As the metropolitan area decentralized in the 1950s, downtown's role became more one dimensional. Its retail function waned as interstate highways were constructed and the customer base shifted to the suburbs. Office development moved from downtown to K Street NW and to the redevelopment area south of the National Mall. Plans to revitalize Pennsylvania Avenue NW and other special streets and places were developed in response, and a variety of redevelopment concepts were explored for West End, South Capitol Street, and Near Southeast.
1601.7 These plans did little to stem downtown's economic challenges. The center of office activity continued to shift north and west, and many of downtown's historic landmarks, department stores, and office buildings were demolished or vacated. The unrest in 1968 also took a toll.
1601.8 Creation of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) in 1972 set the stage for downtown's revival. From 1972 to 1994, the PADC was responsible for bringing the first large-scale modern buildings to downtown. Despite these efforts, the area still lacked street activity and urban vitality.
1601.9 In 1982, the Mayor's Downtown Committee, with support from the Office of Planning (OP), produced Downtown DC: Recommendations for the Downtown Plan. The proposed objectives and policies in that document were later placed into legislative format and adopted almost intact as the Downtown Element of the District's 1984 Comprehensive Plan. The recommendations addressed the area's economic challenges and called for more diverse uses, with a strong emphasis on housing. The plan envisioned a city center with retail uses focused on F Street NW, Gallery Place, and Chinatown; new arts uses along 7th Street NW; and significant residential development at Penn Quarter and Mount Vernon Square. Quantified targets for new housing units, hotel rooms, office space, and arts space were established.
1601.10 Downtown revitalization initiatives continued through the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 1990s, the Zoning Commission created the Downtown Development District (DDD), which required a greater mix of uses, such as housing, arts, and retail space. In 1996, the 100-member Interactive Downtown Task Force developed a
Vision and Action Plan,—including recommendations for new retail and entertainment venues, visual and performing arts facilities, an intermodal transportation center, a Downtown Arts Committee, and international communication and trade facilities. The plan led to the formation of the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) in 1997 and tax increment financing legislation in 1998.
1601.11 By 2000, the targets set in the early 1980s were finally becoming approachable realities. The Downtown Action Agenda of 2000 provided an updated framework for decisions, established a new vision, and set new goals for downtown. A 2006 update of the agenda provided an opportunity to develop new goals and strategies for the coming years. These goals—except for the need to create more housing—have been mostly reached in the last decade. They include ambitions to:
SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193; 41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effective April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021, effective August 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-20; 68 DCR 006918 (July 16, 2021)).