Sixteenth Street Heights
Encyclopedia
Sixteenth Street Heights is a large neighborhood of rowhouses
, duplexes
, and American Craftsman
and American Foursquare
detached houses in Northwest
Washington, D.C.
.
on the east, Missouri Avenue to the north, and Arkansas Avenue to the south. The 16th Street Heights Assessment Neighborhood is defined as 16th Street on the west, Missouri Avenue on the north, Georgia Avenue on the east, and Upshur Street on the south. However, it is also common to view Kennedy Street as the northern border of 16th Street Heights. All of 16th Street Heights lies within ZIP code
20011.
Adjoining neighborhoods include:
and Georgia Avenue cater to middle- and lower-middle-class Hispanic
and African American
customers. Historically, the initial generation of residents was largely Jewish Caucasians. In the 1960s, the neighborhood became mostly African-American.
Sixteenth Street Heights has seen a tremendous transformation in recent years. Houses on every street are being renovated both inside and out. Many young families have moved there for the diverse housing stock and for the proximity to Carter Barron Amphitheater
and Rock Creek Park
. They also come because homes in Sixteenth Street Heights tend to be more affordable than similar ones in many other neighborhoods in DC and close-in suburbs.
The 14th and Colorado area was once home to a popular restaurant, Colorado Kitchen, and Twins Lounge, a notable jazz club. However, both have closed.
, and Lafayette Square. In 2008, the LDS Church bought a convent on 1.5 acres (6,070.3 m²) at the corner of 16th Street and Emerson Street and demolished it. They seek to build a meetinghouse on the site with an 105 feet (32 m) steeple. Neighborhood outcry has been fierce, with many residents displaying lawn sign
s that read, "Too Big, Too Much, Too Many." Opponents of the church seek to extend southward the Sixteenth Street Heights overlay zone. Currently, that overlay zone extends from Military Road to Colorado Avenue and restricts non-residential uses and associated parking by requiring Board of Zoning Adjustment approval.
, which is the home of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic
.
The Hamilton Recreation Center at 1340 Hamilton Street features a 60 feet (18.3 m) by 40 feet (12.2 m) athletic field, a basketball court, a playground, and a small multi-purpose room. The Upshur Recreation Center at 4300 Arkansas Avenue features a baseball/softball field, two basketball courts, a computer lab, a kitchen, a medium-sized multi-purpose room, a playground, and a swimming pool. Finally, the Twin Oaks Community Garden is at 1425 Taylor Street. Forty plots are available to reserve, and the garden hosts a Junior Master Gardener Program.
until passage of the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871
, Sixteenth Street Heights was developed as a series of subdivisions.
Streetcar lines on 14th Street and Georgia Avenue accelerated the growth of the area. The 14th Street line, which originally stopped at Park Road, was extended in late 1906 for the purpose of spurring growth in the area. Two historic streetcar facilities are currently used for Metrobus: the Capital Traction Company car barn at 4615 14th Street, NW, is now the Northern Division garage, and the 14th and Colorado turnaround is the terminal for some 52, 53, and 54 buses.
The subdivision known as Saul's Addition was generally bounded by Buchanan Street, Piney Branch Road, Gallatin Street, and Georgia Avenue. Two public buildings were planned: the John Dickson Home for Aged Men (now occupied by the Kingsbury Center) and West Elementary School (which has been replaced by a modern building on the same site).
Numerous restrictions were put in the deeds of Saul's Addition lots. Some, including the requirement that all homes be fully detached and the prohibition of commercial and multifamily buildings, remain largely in effect through zoning laws. Others have been dropped or ruled illegal, such as the restriction on the sale of lots to people of color, which was struck down in 1948 by the Supreme Court
in Shelley v. Kraemer
.
by Muriel Bowser
. Most of Sixteenth Street Heights lies within Advisory Neighborhood Commission
4C.
Two neighborhood organizations serve 16th Street Heights: the 16th Street Heights Neighborhood Association and the 16th Street Heights Civic Association.
Former Chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools
Michelle Rhee
used to lived in the neighborhood in a Victorian house.
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
, duplexes
Duplex (building)
The term duplex can be used to describe several different dwelling unit configurations:A duplex house is defined as a dwelling having apartments with separate entrances for two families. This includes two-story houses having a complete apartment on each floor and also side-by-side apartments on a...
, and American Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
and American Foursquare
American Foursquare
The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was...
detached houses in Northwest
Washington, D.C. (northwest)
Northwest is the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street...
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
Geography
Definitions of Sixteenth Street Heights' boundaries vary, although it can be broadly outlined by 16th Street on the west, Georgia AvenueGeorgia Avenue
Georgia Avenue is a major north-south artery in Northwest Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland. Within the District of Columbia and a short distance in Silver Spring, Maryland, Georgia Avenue is also U.S. Route 29...
on the east, Missouri Avenue to the north, and Arkansas Avenue to the south. The 16th Street Heights Assessment Neighborhood is defined as 16th Street on the west, Missouri Avenue on the north, Georgia Avenue on the east, and Upshur Street on the south. However, it is also common to view Kennedy Street as the northern border of 16th Street Heights. All of 16th Street Heights lies within ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
20011.
Adjoining neighborhoods include:
- BrightwoodBrightwood, Washington, D.C.Brightwood is a neighborhood located in the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C. Brightwood and the rest of Ward 4 are represented in the Council of the District of Columbia by Muriel Bowser.- Geography :...
(north of Missouri Avenue) - Brightwood Park (northeast of Georgia Avenue and Kennedy Street)
- Columbia HeightsColumbia Heights, Washington, D.C.Columbia Heights is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C.-Geography:Located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., Columbia Heights borders the neighborhoods of Shaw, Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, Park View, Pleasant Plains, and Petworth. On the eastern side is Howard University...
(south of Spring Road) - CrestwoodCrestwood, Washington, D.C.Crestwood, which forms part of the residential area known as the Gold Coast on upper 16th Street NW, is an entirely residential neighborhood located in Northwest Washington, D.C. and bordered on three sides by Rock Creek Park. It is known for its affluent, educated and majority black population...
(west of 16th Street) - Park ViewPark View, Washington, D.C.Park View is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C., immediately north of Howard University.The name of the neighborhood comes from its views east over the campus of the Old Soldiers' Home. At the time Park View was developed, and well into the 1960s, the Home's grounds were open to the public...
(southeast of New Hampshire Avenue) - PetworthPetworth, Washington, D.C.Petworth is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., bounded by Georgia Avenue to the west, North Capitol Street to the east, Rock Creek Church Road to the south, and Kennedy Street NW to the north...
(east of Georgia Avenue)
Transportation
- S1, S2, and S4 MetrobusMetrobus (Washington, D.C.)Metrobus is a bus service operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . Its fleet consists of 1,480 buses covering an area of in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. There are over 300 bus routes serving 12,216 stops, including 2,398 bus shelters. In fiscal year 2009,...
lines run north-south along 16th Street. - 52 and 54 Metrobus lines run north-south along 14th Street.
- 70 and 79 Metrobus lines run north-south along Georgia Avenue.
- E2, E3, and E4 Metrobus lines run along Military Road west of 14th Street, north-south along 14th Street, and along Kennedy Street west of 14th Street.
- The Georgia Avenue-Petworth MetrorailWashington MetroThe Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
station is at the far southeast corner of the neighborhood.
Culture
Sixteenth Street Heights is one of the most demographically diverse neighborhoods in the city. The homes along 16th Street and its surrounding corridor are primarily owned by affluent residents; in contrast, the commercial corridors of 14th Street14th Street Northwest and Southwest (Washington, D.C.)
Fourteenth Street is a street in Northwest and Southwest Washington, D.C., located 1¼ mi. west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue....
and Georgia Avenue cater to middle- and lower-middle-class Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
customers. Historically, the initial generation of residents was largely Jewish Caucasians. In the 1960s, the neighborhood became mostly African-American.
Sixteenth Street Heights has seen a tremendous transformation in recent years. Houses on every street are being renovated both inside and out. Many young families have moved there for the diverse housing stock and for the proximity to Carter Barron Amphitheater
Carter Barron Amphitheater
The Carter Barron Amphitheatre is a 4,200-seat outdoor performance venue in Washington, D.C., U.S. Located in Rock Creek Park, the amphitheatre opened in 1950 in honor of the 150th Anniversary of Washington, DC as the nation's capital...
and Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park is a large urban natural area with public park facilities that bisects Washington, D.C. The park is administered by the National Park Service.-Rock Creek Park:The main section of the park contains , or , along the Rock Creek Valley...
. They also come because homes in Sixteenth Street Heights tend to be more affordable than similar ones in many other neighborhoods in DC and close-in suburbs.
Commercial Areas
Unlike the neighboring areas of Brightwood, Columbia Heights, and Petworth, 16th Street Heights has minimal commercial districts. Aside from a handful of corner shops in other areas of the neighborhood, businesses are confined to Georgia Avenue, 14th Street between Buchanan Street and Decatur Street, and the area surrounding the intersection of 14th Street, Colorado Avenue, and Kennedy Street. The Columbia Heights business district also extends up to Shepherd Street in the southern end of the neighborhood. Many residents find that they end up driving elsewhere for most of their shopping.The 14th and Colorado area was once home to a popular restaurant, Colorado Kitchen, and Twins Lounge, a notable jazz club. However, both have closed.
Churches
Over 45 churches line 16th Street between Silver Spring, MarylandSilver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, and Lafayette Square. In 2008, the LDS Church bought a convent on 1.5 acres (6,070.3 m²) at the corner of 16th Street and Emerson Street and demolished it. They seek to build a meetinghouse on the site with an 105 feet (32 m) steeple. Neighborhood outcry has been fierce, with many residents displaying lawn sign
Lawn sign
Lawn signs are used for local advertising. They can be used by business such as real estate and are popular in election campaigns in some countries. They are small signs that can be placed on the property of a business or on the lawns of a candidate's supporters...
s that read, "Too Big, Too Much, Too Many." Opponents of the church seek to extend southward the Sixteenth Street Heights overlay zone. Currently, that overlay zone extends from Military Road to Colorado Avenue and restricts non-residential uses and associated parking by requiring Board of Zoning Adjustment approval.
Recreation
Sixteenth Street Heights is adjacent to Rock Creek Park, a 1754 acres (7.1 km²) national park that bisects the District of Columbia. Park facilities near 16th Street Heights include the Carter Barron Amphitheater and the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis CenterWilliam H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center
The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center is a public tennis center located in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.. It houses 10 hard courts and 15 clay courts. 5 indoors courts are heated and available year round. The main stadium seats 7,500 spectators...
, which is the home of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic
Legg Mason Tennis Classic
The Legg Mason Tennis Classic is an annual late-summer men's tennis tournament played in Washington, D.C. as part of the ATP Tour. It was first held in 1969. It was later known as the Sovran Bank Classic. . Originally an event of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour and part of the Grand Prix Championship...
.
The Hamilton Recreation Center at 1340 Hamilton Street features a 60 feet (18.3 m) by 40 feet (12.2 m) athletic field, a basketball court, a playground, and a small multi-purpose room. The Upshur Recreation Center at 4300 Arkansas Avenue features a baseball/softball field, two basketball courts, a computer lab, a kitchen, a medium-sized multi-purpose room, a playground, and a swimming pool. Finally, the Twin Oaks Community Garden is at 1425 Taylor Street. Forty plots are available to reserve, and the garden hosts a Junior Master Gardener Program.
History
A part of Washington CountyWashington County, D.C.
The County of Washington was one of the five political entities contained within the geographic region comprising what was originally the 100-square-mile District of Columbia. These were the City of Alexandria, the County of Alexandria, Georgetown, the City of Washington, and the County of...
until passage of the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871
District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871
The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, formally An Act to provide a Government for the District of Columbia, is an Act of Congress, which created a territorial government for the District of Columbia. The act was the first to create a single government for the entire federal district and...
, Sixteenth Street Heights was developed as a series of subdivisions.
Streetcar lines on 14th Street and Georgia Avenue accelerated the growth of the area. The 14th Street line, which originally stopped at Park Road, was extended in late 1906 for the purpose of spurring growth in the area. Two historic streetcar facilities are currently used for Metrobus: the Capital Traction Company car barn at 4615 14th Street, NW, is now the Northern Division garage, and the 14th and Colorado turnaround is the terminal for some 52, 53, and 54 buses.
Saul's Addition
Much of 16th Street Heights was once part of Maple Grove Farm, an 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) nursery acquired in May 1854 by John Saul, who led improvements of the Mall, Capitol, and White House grounds. By 1892, Saul's son, B. Francis Saul, founded the B.F. Saul Company to sell land in individual lots and take notes as mortgages to speed the sale.The subdivision known as Saul's Addition was generally bounded by Buchanan Street, Piney Branch Road, Gallatin Street, and Georgia Avenue. Two public buildings were planned: the John Dickson Home for Aged Men (now occupied by the Kingsbury Center) and West Elementary School (which has been replaced by a modern building on the same site).
Numerous restrictions were put in the deeds of Saul's Addition lots. Some, including the requirement that all homes be fully detached and the prohibition of commercial and multifamily buildings, remain largely in effect through zoning laws. Others have been dropped or ruled illegal, such as the restriction on the sale of lots to people of color, which was struck down in 1948 by the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in Shelley v. Kraemer
Shelley v. Kraemer
Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 , is a United States Supreme Court case which held that courts could not enforce racial covenants on real estate.-Facts of the case:...
.
Fourteenth Street Terrace
The area to the north of Saul's Addition was subdivided as Fourteenth Street Terrace. While similar to Saul's Addition, the deeds did not prohibit semi-detached houses, and many duplexes can been seen on the 1300 blocks of Gallatin, Hamilton, and Ingraham Streets.Politics
Sixteenth Street Heights and the rest of Ward 4 are represented in the Council of the District of ColumbiaCouncil of the District of Columbia
The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the District is not part of any U.S. state and is instead overseen directly by the federal government...
by Muriel Bowser
Muriel Bowser
Muriel Bowser is a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 4.-Early life:...
. Most of Sixteenth Street Heights lies within Advisory Neighborhood Commission
Advisory Neighborhood Commission
thumb|right|upright|The District of Columbia is divided into 8 wards, each of which is further divided into local ANCs.Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are bodies of local government in Washington, D.C...
4C.
Two neighborhood organizations serve 16th Street Heights: the 16th Street Heights Neighborhood Association and the 16th Street Heights Civic Association.
Former Chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools
District of Columbia Public Schools
District of Columbia Public Schools is the traditional public school system of Washington, D.C. in the United States.- Composition and enrollment :...
Michelle Rhee
Michelle Rhee
Michelle A. Rhee is a public figure involved in the American education system. She was chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools from 2007 to 2010...
used to lived in the neighborhood in a Victorian house.