Section 10-A2101. HISTORY

 

2101.1Near Northwest includes the oldest inhabited areas of the District. Georgetown, established in 1751 by the Maryland Assembly, was a tobacco port and independent municipality incorporated into the District of Columbia in 1800. At the time, the settlement was just outside the boundaries of the federal city. Construction of Georgetown University began in 1788, three years before Pierre L’Enfant’s Plan for the National Capital was prepared. 2101.1

 

2101.2Prior to 1850, most of the area east of Georgetown was sparsely populated. Several businesses were located along the waterfront in Foggy Bottom at the mouth of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Nearby, in the area just west of the White House, some of the first grand homes of the city were built. The Shaw and Mount Vernon Square neighborhoods also experienced modest residential development prior to the Civil War and were known as “Northern Liberties.” 2101.2

 

2101.3The increase in population resulting from the Civil War facilitated residential development in Foggy Bottom, Shaw, and Mount Vernon Square. By the mid- to late-19th century, these areas were home to a mix of professional and working class residents. A number of “alley dwellings” were built in these areas, often housing the city’s poorest residents. 2101.3

 

2101.4The residential neighborhoods of Logan Circle, Dupont Circle, and Kalorama did not see significant development until the late-19th century. After the Civil War, Logan Circle became one of the most fashionable addresses in Washington. The rowhouses in this area and along 14th Street were more substantial than those built before the Civil War. Small apartment buildings began to appear in the area as the population increased and building sites became more limited. The Dupont Circle area followed a similar trend, as Massachusetts Avenue and its intersections at Dupont and Sheridan Circles created sites ideal for large, stand alone residences. Between 1870 and 1900, the avenue became the center of Washington’s “high society.” Kalorama, meanwhile, began to develop with townhomes and grand apartments, followed in the 1920s by large single family homes. 2101.4

 

2101.5By the late 19th century, horse-powered vehicles were replaced with independent street car routes that quickly became lined with commercial businesses. One line reinforced Wisconsin Avenue and M Street in Georgetown as a center of commercial activity, but residential districts on Connecticut Avenue and 14th Street were transformed-the former into an exclusive shopping district and the latter as a center for automobile sales and maintenance. Street car lines on 7th and 11th Streets also attracted commercial businesses that served residents living in nearby areas, as well as those heading home to areas further north. 2101.5

 

2101.6The ethnicity of residents living in Near Northwest has always been diverse. Until the 1930s, about one-third of Georgetown’s population was African American. An active, free African-American population also lived in the Dupont Circle area prior to the Civil War, leading some of the city’s earliest African-American education initiatives. During the mid-20th century, parts of Logan Circle and the Strivers Section of Dupont Circle were home to prominent African Americans, and the Shaw neighborhood became a vibrant center of African American culture. 2101.6

 

2101.7By the 1950s, the close-in residential neighborhoods of this area were considered to be less desirable than the outlying suburbs, and many residents moved or redeveloped their properties. Some of the large homes in Dupont Circle were torn down to make way for commercial development or apartment buildings, and the Shaw School Urban Renewal Plan replaced many of the alley dwellings with modern housing projects. Working-class Georgetown evolved into one of the city’s most prestigious residential and business addresses. By the 1990s, industrial uses along the waterfront had been replaced by offices, shops, and upscale residences. Similarly, the growth of George Washington University in Foggy Bottom redefined much of that neighborhood. 2101.7

 

2101.8Today, 13 historic districts protect the character of the area’s residential neighborhoods and campus plans guide further development of Georgetown and George Washington Universities. Commercial districts in Georgetown and Dupont Circle are home to boutiques, galleries, and local and national retailers. Fourteenth Street is emerging as a trendy restaurant, arts, and retail district with hundreds of new housing units added in recent years. The construction of the new convention center at Mount Vernon Square is prompting restoration, reinvestment and new construction in the Shaw and Mount Vernon Square neighborhoods. 2101.8

 

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The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.