2401 HISTORY

2401.1 Upper Northeast began as a series of land grants made by British King Charles I to George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore. During the 1700s and early 1800s, early settlers enjoyed meadows, woodlands, farms, and open countryside. Tracks for the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad were laid out in the 1830s, but the area remained sparsely populated until the turn of the 20th century. In the 1840s, Colonel Brooks, a veteran of the War of 1812, built the Greek Revival mansion that still stands today at 901 Newton Street. Several Civil War strongholds were developed in the area during the 1860s, including Fort Bunker Hill, Fort Slemmer, Fort Totten, and Fort Lincoln.

2401.2 One of the first settlements in the area was Ivy City, developed around 1872 along the B&O Railroad tracks. Ivy City later became a brick manufacturing center and was home to the National Fair Grounds in the late 1800s. In 1879, the B&O Railroad developed additional rail lines through Upper Northeast, connecting Washington to Pittsburgh, Chicago, and points west. Industrial uses followed the railroads, locating along the sidings. Trolley lines were extended out Rhode Island Avenue in 1897, beginning the area's residential growth, as well as the growth of nearby communities in Maryland.

2401.3 Beginning in the late 1880s, the Brooks estate was subdivided, and the Brookland neighborhood was born. The deep lots and spacious porches created the ambiance of small-town living just a few miles from central Washington, DC. The houses were affordable for moderate-income residents. By 1900, the neighborhood boasted plank sidewalks and a streetcar line. Much of the neighborhood's architectural heritage, including Victorians, bungalows, and colonial homes, remains intact today and is part of the neighborhood's appeal.

2401.4 CUA was established in the area in 1887. Several other religious organizations settled nearby. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur founded Trinity University in 1901, and the Dominicans built their House of Studies the same year. The Paulists, the Marists, and Holy Cross Fathers soon followed. By the 1920s, the area had gained the nickname Little Rome. By this time, Gallaudet University was already well established for half a century on a campus near Ivy City, quickly becoming the nation's premier college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students after opening in the 1860s.

2401.5 Much of Upper Northeast was developed between 1920 and 1950. Major industrial and commercial development occurred during this period, and the rail corridors became a well-established regional distribution center. New York Avenue became the major route into Washington from the northeast, attracting hotels, motels, and visitor services. Large-scale housing construction took place during the 1920s in Ivy City and Trinidad, and the 1930s saw construction of

historic Langston Dwellings, one of the nation’s first public housing complexes, and one of the District’s first examples of modern architecture. Housing developments like Brentwood Village and Riggs Park were constructed during the 1930s and ’40s, and smaller-scale development took place during the 1950s in the Lamond-Riggs and Fort Totten areas.

2401.6

By the 1960s, most of the area was fully developed. Fort Lincoln, the last remaining large tract of vacant land, was conceived as a New Town as part of the Johnson Administration’s Great Society Program. The 360-acre site was intended to be an innovative experiment in participatory democracy and racial and economic integration, with residents involved in the community’s development and profits. A private company was selected to build the project, which initially included 550 condominiums, 666 apartments for older adults, and 157 garden apartments. During the 1970s, the National Park Service (NPS) built a playground and park area, and the District built an elementary school and indoor swimming pool. Only about half of the original plan was actually carried out, however. In the early 2000s, the next phases of Fort Lincoln New Town were developed. They include townhomes and retail, such as Costco, Lowe’s Home Improvement, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

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)).