2001 HISTORY

2001.1 Urban development in the Mid-City area began in the early 19th century. Some of Washington, DC's first mansions were constructed on the high ground above the L'Enfant city, such as David Porter's long-demolished Meridian Hill house, now the site of Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, and the similarly lost mansion belonging to Joseph Gales, whose land was later subdivided into the residential neighborhood of Eckington. Unlike these estates, others such as Ingleside and Howard Hall still survive and are integral to the neighborhoods that were built around them. Howard Hall, the home of General Oliver Otis Howard built after the Civil War, still survives as part of the Howard University campus, which Howard helped to establish in 1867. Howard University joined the already established Columbian College (later named George Washington University), which was founded on Meridian Hill in 1822. Still, much of the area remained rural until the late 19th century.

2001.2 The White-Meyer House was designed by renowned architect John Russell Pope, who designed the Jefferson Memorial, the National Gallery of Art (West Building), and the National Archives. An extensive renovation of the White-Meyer House, which was completed in 1988, won an American Institute of Architects award for excellence. The White-Meyer House, at 1624 Crescent Place NW, has been home to two of the most well-known Washington, DC families. The property was purchased in 1910 by distinguished American diplomat Henry White, who had been Ambassador to Italy and France. The red brick Georgian home was completed in 1912 at a total cost of $155,497.

2001.3 When Henry White died in 1927, the property passed to his son, John Campbell White. Eugene Meyer, who subsequently became owner of The Washington Post, rented the house for several years before purchasing it in 1934. The Meyers, including Katharine Graham, spent their teenage years in the house. Prominent guests included Eleanor Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, Thomas Mann, Earl Warren, and John and Robert Kennedy. After the Meyers' deaths, the house became the property of the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation and was leased for use by the Antioch Law School Library. In 1987, it was purchased by Meridian International Center.

2001.4 Urban development in the Mid-City area began in the early 19th century, with transportation infrastructure dating back to the Civil War. Horse-drawn streetcars, established during the Civil War, ran up and down 7th and 14th Streets NW, connecting the area's small hamlets, estates, and farms to Washington, DC's center. One streetcar line—the Metropolitan Railway, established in 1864—was deliberately built to entice residents to move to Mount Pleasant, one of the first suburbs carved out of the Ingleside estate.

2001.5 Mid-City's development boom was tied to the growth of Washington, DC's population and transportation system. In 1888, the introduction of the electric streetcar enabled several of the formerly horse-drawn streetcar lines to be extended north of Washington, DC's center in the late 1880s and early 1890s, including the District's first electric streetcar line—the Eckington and Soldiers Home streetcar—as well as lines along 7th Street NW and 14th Street NW. Commercial uses developed along these routes, a pattern that persists to this day. By the turn of the century, streetcars had been extended along Florida Avenue NW, U Street NW, 11th Street NW, 18th Street NW, Calvert Street NW, , and beyond to the District's border with Montgomery County, Maryland. Formerly rural lands were subdivided and platted into residential neighborhoods, including Bloomingdale, Eckington, Columbia Heights, Washington Heights, Lanier Heights, and other subdivisions making up present-day Adams Morgan. These neighborhoods emerged as Washington, DC's first suburbs, followed by Mount Pleasant and LeDroit Park.

2001.6 Many Mid-City neighborhoods were quite sought after. Located above the Potomac escarpment, places like Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights had healthier climates and cooler summertime weather than the lower portions of the District. Elegant apartment buildings and embassies were developed along 16th Street NW, where commercial uses were not permitted in order to preserve the street's character as the formal gateway to the White House. To the east, Pleasant Plains, LeDroit Park, and Columbia Heights became home to a growing community of higher-income Black residents. Howard University emerged as one of the country's leading Black colleges and a seat of learning for Black scholars and professors. U Street NW thrived as Washington, DC's Black Broadway, and a cultural legacy of music, art, and theater was born.

2001.7 By 1930, the area's initial development was essentially complete. Population continued to grow, and the area continued to develop with apartment buildings and denser housing. Residents were encouraged to take in boarders during the war years, and some of the larger row houses were converted into multi-family buildings and rooming houses.

2001.8 With the end of World War II in 1945 and desegregation of schools in 1954, conditions in the Mid-City neighborhoods began to change. In the 1950s, urban renewal disrupted an already diversifying middle-class neighborhood. Moderate-income households began to leave the Mid-City area, leaving behind a growing population of lower income households. The area's future was further jeopardized by the proposed Inner Loop Freeway in the 1950s. Had the freeway been built, much of the Adams Morgan and U Street neighborhoods would have been destroyed.

2001.9 Mid-City was particularly hard hit by the unrest in 1968 . Many buildings along

14th and U Streets NW were burned, which had a significant economic impact on the business community along these two corridors. Reinvestment and recovery were slow. Urban renewal plans for Shaw and 14th Street NW brought large numbers of public housing units in the 1970s, but many of the commercial businesses never reopened.

2001.10 During the 1980's and 1990's, parts of the community were experiencing economic challenges. However, by the 1990's, Adams Morgan had gained a reputation as one of Washington, DC's most unique neighborhoods, and many of its homes were restored and upgraded. Loft and condominium construction and residential rehabilitation continues in the neighborhood today.

2001.11 During the 1980s and 1990s, an influx of residents from Latin America began to transform communities like Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant. The transformation continued during the early 2000s following the opening of the Columbia Heights Metro station. A 500,000-square-foot commercial center known as DC USA—the largest retail construction project in the District at the time—was developed at the station and became a centerpiece for the revitalization of Columbia Heights. Development projects like the Louis, the Shay, and The Ellington have brought hundreds of new residents to the U Street NW area. Elsewhere in the Mid-City, homes are being rehabbed throughout Shaw, LeDroit Park, Eckington, Bloomingdale, Park View, and Pleasant Plains.

2001.12 Unlike some changing neighborhoods in the District, Columbia Heights has not become homogeneous: White, Asian, Black, and Hispanic/Latino residents each make up at least 10 percent of the population—and no group constitutes a majority. Housing includes high-priced condominiums and townhouses, as well as public and middle-income housing and even multimillion-dollar homes. The neighborhood includes several public schools, including nine public charter schools. The neighborhood has dozens of new restaurants, shops, and nightlife.

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, effe

ctive 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)).