Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C.
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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, Petworth, Park View, Pleasant Plains, and Le Droit Park. To the east is Howard University. The streets defining the neighborhood's boundaries are 16th Street to the west; Spring Road to the north; Sherman and New Hampshire Avenues to the east (Sherman Avenue becomes New Hampshire Avenue at Park Road); and Florida Avenue and Barry Place to the south. It is served by an eponymous stop on the Washington Metro green line.History
Once farmland, Columbia Heights was part of Washington County, District of Columbia (within the District but outside the borders of the city of Washington. The southern edge of Columbia Heights is Florida Avenue, which was originally called "Boundary Street" because it formed the northern boundary of the Federal City). Construction of Columbia College began there in 1822. It began developing as a suburb of Washington soon after the Civil War when horse-drawn streetcars delivered residents of the neighborhood to downtown. The area's population grew quickly with the arrival of the electric street car.In 1878, Congress passed the [DC Organic Act of 1878], which eliminated Washington County by extending the boundaries of Washington City to be contiguous with those of the District of Columbia. Columbia Heights, named for the college at its heart, was developed as a part of the city after Senator John Sherman, author of the Sherman Antitrust Act, purchased the land in 1881–82. (One of the neighborhood's main thoroughfares, Sherman Avenue, is named after its early developer.) Much of Sherman's purchase was of Columbia College's land, which it sold off in order to purchase a tract in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, where it moved in 1884 and renamed itself George Washington University.
The federal government also purchased some of the college's land and built Meridian Hill Park in the early 20th century. The park, also known as "Malcolm X Park", contains many statues including those of Joan of Arc and Dante.
Just after the turn of the 20th century, Columbia Heights became part of a middle-class African American enclave in Washington, along with the nearby Shaw and Cardozo neighborhoods and Howard University. It was an upscale residential area, anchored by the ornate Tivoli Theater movie house. Duke Ellington, who had grown up in Shaw, purchased his first house at 2728 Sherman Avenue in Columbia Heights. It continued to flourish as a vibrant black neighborhood for decades.
In 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., riots ravaged Columbia Heights along with many other Washington neighborhoods. Many homes and shops remained vacant for decades.
In 1999, however, the city announced a revitalization initiative for the neighborhood focused around the Columbia Heights Metro station that opened that year. The opening of the Metro station served as a catalyst for the return of economic development and residents. Within five years, it had gentrified considerably, with a number of businesses (including a Giant Food supermarket and Tivoli Square, a commercial and entertainment complex) and middle-class residents settling in the neighborhood. However, unlike some gentrified neighborhoods in the city, it had not become homogenous: as of 2006, Columbia Heights is arguably Washington's most ethnically and economically diverse neighborhood, composed of high-priced condominiums and townhouses as well as public and middle-income housing.
In October 2004, the Target Corporation announced a deal to purchase property in Columbia Heights to build their first retail store in Washington, D.C. It is expected to open in 2008. [link]
Local institutions
In January 2005, the neighborhood became the first permanent home of the GALA Hispanic Theatre which moved into the newly refurbished Tivoli Theatre, a former movie theater built in 1924 that had been vacant since 1976. GALA is a theater company dedicated to performing Spanish-language plays.The neighborhood is also home to the Greater Washington Urban League, the local affiliate of the National Urban League. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the economic development of minorities.
Columbia Heights is home to the Ecuadoran embassy on 15th Street and the Mexican Cultural Institute on 16th Street. The official residence of the Ambassador of Spain is also on 16th Street in Columbia Heights.
External links
- [Columbia Heights News]
- [GALA Hispanic Theatre]
- [Greater Washington Urban League]
- [Mexican Cultural Institute]
- [North Columbia Heights Civic Association]
- [Rorschach Theatre]
- [Maps and aerial photos]
- * Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
- * Topographic map from [TopoZone]
- * Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
- * Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Microsoft Virtual Earth]
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