Berkley (Washington, D.C.)

Map of Washington, D.C., with Berkley highlighted in maroon.

Berkley is a neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is sometimes referred to as Foxhall Crescents, after a housing development built within the neighborhood.

Geography

Berkley is bounded by Wesley Heights Park to the north, MacArthur Boulevard to the southwest, Battery Kemble Park to the west, and 44th Street and Foxhall Road to the east. Beyond the line formed by 44th and Foxhall lies Archbold Glover Park, meaning that Berkley is surrounded on three sides by parkland. Its fourth side is adjacent to two neighborhoods, Foxhall and The Palisades, and as such is sometimes confused for them.

Landmarks

An American Craftsman-style home in Berkley

Berkley is a suburban neighborhood, naturally isolated from the more cosmopolitan parts of the city by its location between parks. It is home to the Embassy of Germany and George Washington University's Mt. Vernon campus.

It was also very nearly the site of an official residence of the mayor of Washington, D.C., in 2001 when Betty Brown Casey, widow of millionaire Maryland real estate developer Eugene B. Casey, donated 17 acres (69,000 m²) of land at 1801 Foxhall Road to the city for the purpose of a mayoral mansion. However, the city was bogged down for nearly a year in attempting to purchase adjacent land from the National Park Service; additionally, many vocal city activists and residents felt that for a city marked by increasing gentrification and socioeconomic diversity, building a mayoral residence in such a wealthy enclave sent a bad message. The city ultimately gave up on the project in 2003 and ceded the land to the Salvation Army.