Park View (Washington, D.C.): Difference between revisions
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====Princeton Heights Development==== |
====Princeton Heights Development==== |
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The section of Park View north of Otis, south of Rock Creek Church Road, and between Georgia Avenue and the Soldiers' Home was first developed as Princeton Heights. This area was originally the estate of the Cammack family, which was sold by the heirs in 1908 to builder Edgar S. Kennedy, who would eventually be associated with the [[Kennedy-Warren Apartment Building|Kennedy-Warren]]. Between 1909 and 1919, Kennedy |
The section of Park View north of Otis, south of Rock Creek Church Road, and between Georgia Avenue and the Soldiers' Home was first developed as Princeton Heights. This area was originally the estate of the Cammack family, which was sold by the heirs in 1908 to builder Edgar S. Kennedy, who would eventually be associated with the [[Kennedy-Warren Apartment Building|Kennedy-Warren]]. Between 1909 and 1919, Kennedy subdivided the estate, put in roads, and built 162 contiguous homes in 20 separate rows. Kennedy's homes were known for their quality, non-static facades, and inclusion of progressive features. In 1919, Kennedy sold the unimproved land between Princeton Place and Otis Place to Herman R. Howenstein, who completed the development.<ref>Boese, Kent C. ''[http://parkviewdc.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/houses-with-novel-points-conference-paper.pdf Houses with Novel Points: Kennedy Brothers, Princeton Heights, and the Making of Northern Park View]''. Paper presented at the 36th Annual Conference on Washington, DC Historical Studies (2009).</ref> |
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====York Theater==== |
====York Theater==== |
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[[Image:York Theater at Night.jpg|thumb|The York Theater at night, photographed ca. 1920]]The York Theater, located at 3635-3641 Georgia Avenue, was designed by Reginald W. Geare as one of Harry Crandall's chain of theaters. Kennedy Brothers were hired as the builders, and it was one of the last two structures built by Kennedy in the Princeton Heights development. While newspaper accounts reported the theater to cost $100,000 to build, the estimate on the building permit valued the project at $50,000. The front of the structure was constructed of tapestry brick and trimmed with white stone and marble. Inside, the proscenium hangings were of rich gold velour enlivened with blue medallions and white figures in relief. Newspaper accounts also described the lighting system as unique. |
[[Image:York Theater at Night.jpg|thumb|The York Theater at night, photographed ca. 1920]]The York Theater, located at 3635-3641 Georgia Avenue, was designed by Reginald W. Geare as one of Harry Crandall's chain of theaters. Kennedy Brothers were hired as the builders, and it was one of the last two structures built by Kennedy in the Princeton Heights development. While newspaper accounts reported the theater to cost $100,000 to build, the estimate on the building permit valued the project at $50,000. The front of the structure was constructed of tapestry brick and trimmed with white stone and marble. Inside, the proscenium hangings were of rich gold velour enlivened with blue medallions and white figures in relief. Newspaper accounts also described the lighting system as unique. |
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Revision as of 22:27, 28 March 2010
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 into 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 as a park. Those grounds were a designed urban landscape, including pedestrian paths and ponds, modeled along the principles of New York's Central Park. Indeed, when the Home's campus was developed into a public park in the later 1880s, it often was compared to Central Park.
A solidly residential community, Park View is a quiet corner of the city, one in which the trend toward gentrification has only recently found a foothold. Its one commercial corridor, Georgia Avenue, has a generous share of liquor stores, but the area has been declared a FOCUS improvement zone by the Mayor. The addition of a sit-down restaurant in 2006, Temperance Hall, and a yoga studio, Yogahouse, have reignited interest in the neighborhood. The Lamont Street Lofts, at Lamont Street and Georgia Avenue, offers probably the only genuine loft-space dwellings in the city. Additionally, the E.L. Haynes Public Charter School, founded in 2004, was built at the northwest corner of Georgia Avenue and Otis Place.
The neighborhood itself is well maintained and pleasantly suburban, populated mostly by middle-class African American families.
Geography
Park View is situated in the Northwest quadrant of the city. Historically, the territory that defined the Park View neighborhood extended from Gresham Street north to Rock Creek Church Road, and from Georgia Avenue to the Soldiers' Home grounds. The additional area bounded by Park Road, New Hampshire Avenue, and Georgia Avenue completed the neighborhood's boundaries.[1] By 1940, the southern boundary had moved north from Gresham Street to Columbia Road[2] The neighborhood boundaries have been stable from that date.
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 7,087 | — | |
| 1940 | 7,859 | 10.9% | |
| 1950 | 8,367 | 6.5% | |
| 1960 | 6,608 | −21.0% | |
| 1970 | 6,389 | −3.3% | |
| 1980 | 5,285 | −17.3% | |
| 1990 | 4,861 | −8.0% | |
| 2000 | 4,480 | −7.8% | |
| sources:[3][4] | |||
The majority of Park View falls within Tract 32 of the 188 Census Tracts in the District of Columbia. The 2000 census figures estimated Tract 32 with a population of 4,480 residents. This was a -7.8% drop in population from the 1990 census. Ethnically, in 2000 the neighborhood's population was 82% African American; 15% Hispanic; 2% white; and 0.2% Asian/Pacific Islander.
The average family income in 1999 was $44,149. This was up 3.6% from the previous decade. The unemployment rate in Park View was 15% in 2000. Employment for residents 16 years of age or older was 48% at that time.[5]
Political Representation
Politically, Park View is in D.C.'s Ward 1 and falls within Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1A (ANC1A). Three ANC1A Single Member Districts represent the neighborhood. ANC 1A08 represents the northern section, central Park View is represented by ANC 1A09, and ANC 1A10 serves the southern third of the neighborhood.[6]
History
The neighborhood of Park View was organized in 1908 from the subdivisions of Whitney Close, Schuetzen Park, and Bellevue.[7] Park View eventually included the subdivision of Princeton Heights to the north to round out the neighborhood boundaries. Since the neighborhood abutted the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home, and as the grounds were open to the public as a courtesy, the name Park View was chosen to signify the close relationship between these two communities.
The Soldiers’ Home Grounds were important in the early life of Park View. The Soldiers’ Home granted permission to the neighborhood to hold their 4th of July celebrations there in 1917 and 1918.[8][9] Neighborhood children would play on the grounds and sail toy boats on the ponds. Picnics and long walks were also frequent pastimes, with the view of the city and the Capitol being unparalleled.
Reflecting the social changes occurring in the entire city of Washington, Park View desegregated at the end of the 1940s. Black families began to move into the neighborhood in 1948. Eventually, the neighborhood became a solidly African American community and remained this way for a period of over 30 years. Following the Georgia Avenue/Petworth Metro Station opening the neighborhood began to change yet again and today can be considered truly multicultural.
The relationship between the neighborhood and the Soldiers’ Home began to change during the early 1950s. In response to losing part of its green space to the south for the Washington Hospital Center, the Soldiers’ home began closing its southern gates from 1953 to 1955.[10][11] Eventually, its grounds were officially closed to residents of the neighborhoods entirely in November 1968, thus depriving the community of the only real green space it had ever known.[12]
Structures of Architectural & Cultural Interest
10th Precinct Station House
The building located at 750 Park Road was built in 1901 to plans by architects A.B. Mullet & Co. based on sketches made by Major Richard Sylvester, Superintendent of Police. Today, it houses the Metropolitan Police Department's Third District substation. The structure is listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites.[13]
Park View Christian Church
The old Whitney Avenue Christian Church which had been built in 1877 was replaced in 1920. At that time, it was among the oldest landmarks in Park View. The church, located at 625 Park Road, was the location of the earliest efforts to form the Park View community and build the new school on Warder.
In 1920, the old church was replaced with the building that is there now. The new building was renamed the Park View Christian Church and built at a cost of $30,000.[14]
The congregation of the Park View Christian Church eventually moved to Shepherd Park, and the Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church moved to 625-627 Park Rd. in 1944. The structure supported Trinity’s congregation until 1983, when Trinity moved to its current location on 14th Street.
The church currently supports the New Commandment Baptist Church. New Commandment purchased 625 Park Rd in 1995 for $600,000.[15]
Park View School
The school located at the intersection of Warder and Newton Streets was built in 1916 to designs by Snowden Ashford. The origin of the school can be traced back to the efforts of the Park View Citizens' Association and their persistent appeal to Congress for funds to purchase the land and build the school. Ashford designed the school in his preferred style of Collegiate Gothic. The interior is notable for the wooden truss that supports the auditorium room.
It is constructed of red tapestry brick with trimmings of Bedford limestone and was built on some of the highest ground in the City. Originally a 16 room structure, the school quickly became too small for the needs of the community. In 1920 the progressive platoon school model was adopted which helped address the school's space problem. Two wings were finally added to the building and ready for use by 1931.
By the late 1940s, the racial makeup of the neighborhood had changed from predominantly white to predominantly black. As black schools were overcrowded and white schools were under-enrolled, Park View was transferred to the black division in 1949.[16][17][18]
Today the school is temporarily housing the Bruce-Monroe School while that site is being developed.
Princeton Heights Development
The section of Park View north of Otis, south of Rock Creek Church Road, and between Georgia Avenue and the Soldiers' Home was first developed as Princeton Heights. This area was originally the estate of the Cammack family, which was sold by the heirs in 1908 to builder Edgar S. Kennedy, who would eventually be associated with the Kennedy-Warren. Between 1909 and 1919, Kennedy subdivided the estate, put in roads, and built 162 contiguous homes in 20 separate rows. Kennedy's homes were known for their quality, non-static facades, and inclusion of progressive features. In 1919, Kennedy sold the unimproved land between Princeton Place and Otis Place to Herman R. Howenstein, who completed the development.[19]
York Theater
The York Theater, located at 3635-3641 Georgia Avenue, was designed by Reginald W. Geare as one of Harry Crandall's chain of theaters. Kennedy Brothers were hired as the builders, and it was one of the last two structures built by Kennedy in the Princeton Heights development. While newspaper accounts reported the theater to cost $100,000 to build, the estimate on the building permit valued the project at $50,000. The front of the structure was constructed of tapestry brick and trimmed with white stone and marble. Inside, the proscenium hangings were of rich gold velour enlivened with blue medallions and white figures in relief. Newspaper accounts also described the lighting system as unique.
The structure was in use as a theater as late as May 1954. It was purchased by the National Evangelistic Center in May 1957 and has been used as a church since them. Today, it is home of the Fishermen of Men Church.[20]
Georgia Avenue
Georgia Avenue is the commercial artery of Park View. It was built in 1810 which makes it one of Washington's oldest thoroughfares and was originally known as the 7th Street Turnpike. It connected Washington with Rockville, Md., leaving the city from its northern boundary where 7th Street crosses today’s Florida Avenue. It was renamed Georgia Avenue in 1908 after Georgia Senator Augustus Octavius Bacon pushed an amendment through Congress for that purpose.[21]
Development
Despite the early promise of development coming to Park View's section of Georgia Avenue when Temperance Hall opened at 3634 Georgia Avenue in January, 2006,[22] it was not until 2009 that significant development began to take hold. Temperance Hall changed hands in early 2008 becoming the Looking Glass Lounge. In stark contrast, 2009 witnessed the groundbreaking of three major projects and the selection of a developer for a fourth.
Starting on August 10, 2009, the District began to demolish the Bruce-Monroe school with the goal of replacing it with a modern facility.[23] The Ward One Senior Wellness Center, located on the southeast corner of Georgia Avenue and Newton Place, broke ground on October 14, 2009.[24] The last building to break ground and scheduled for completion in June 2010 was the CVS located on the southwest corner of Georgia and New Hampshire Avenues. The CVS broke ground on November 12, 2009.[25]
The other major development headed for Georgia Avenue is the redevelopment of the Park Morton housing complex. Mayor Fenty announced the selection of Landex Corp. to redevelop the complex on October 7, 2009.[26] The first phase of the development will be on the southwest corner of Newton Place and Georgia Avenue. The proposed building would be 7 stories, contain approx. 2,315 sq. ft. of retail space on Georgia Ave., and contain 83 rentable units. Of these, the current plan calls for 65 1-Bedroom and 18 2-Bedroom units. While all units would be identical, they would be rented on the third/third/third model. It is hoped that phase I will begin around September or October of 2010 and have a move-in ready date of December 2011.[27]
A project called The Green Room was also presented to the community in August 2009 for the buildings at 3628-3632 Georgia Avenue. The short term plans as presented were to develop the property into an upscale sports lounge. There was no visible movement on this project at the beginning of 2010.[28]
Real Estate
According to Housing Market (Single-Family Homes) statistics for 2007, 32 homes sold in Park View (census Tract 32). The median sales price for a home was $419,000, below the District average of $501,000.[30]
Transportation
The community is well served by two Metrorail stations. Both stations are on the yellow and green lines. The most convenient for northern Park View is the Georgia Avenue/Petworth station which is situated at the northeast corner of Georgia and New Hampshire Avenues and just over the Park View border in Petworth. Central Park View is best served by the Columbia Heights station located at the intersection of Irving and 14th Streets -- three blocks west of the neighborhood. The area is also served by a number of WMATA Metrobus lines.
In late October, 2009, DDOT held its first of the series of eight meetings focused on DC’s Transit Future.[31] At these meetings DDOT presented its plans for an extensive streetcar system it is planning to build in the city. Two of these planned lines would serve Park View. The first line would travel along Georgia Avenue and is included in DDOT's first phase plans. The second line would travel through the neighborhood along Irving Street and Columbia Road and is included in DDOT's third phase of the plan.[32] Detailed plans for the streetcar system are yet to be completed.
Education
Residents of Park View are served by the following schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools system.
- Elementary schools
- Bruce-Monroe Elementary School @ Park View
- Raymond Education Campus (for residents north of Park Rd. & west of Georgia Ave.)
- Middle schools
- MacFarland Middle School
- Columbia Heights Education Campus (for residents west of Georgia Ave.)
- High school (primary)
- Public Charter Schools
There are several Public Charter schools in the area. These include:
- E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
- Cesar Chavez Bruce Prep Middle School
External links
- ANC 1A, Advisory Neighborhood Commission serving Columbia Heights and Park View
- Park View United Neighborhood Coalition (Neighborhood Association)
- District of Columbia Public Schools
References
- ^ Park View Citizens' Association. Directory and History of Park View, 1921. p. 29.
- ^ "Park View Citizens Association Has Won Benefits for Many Areas Besides Its Own", The Washington Post, Nov. 11, 1940. p. 13.
- ^ "DC Tract Profile, Tract 32". NeighborhoodInfo DC. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
- ^ DC Tract Profile, NeighborhoodInfo DC
- ^ Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1A (anc1a.org)
- ^ Park View Citizens' Association. Directory and History of Park View, 1921. p. 29, 32.
- ^ Park View Citizens' Association. Directory and History of Park View, 1921. p. 33.
- ^ "Miss Wilson to Lead Singing of War Hymns At Park View July 4", The Washington Post, June 28, 1918. p. 9
- ^ The Old Soldiers’ Home Park Rd Gate … Closed Since 1955. Park View, D.C. blog.
- ^ Old Soldiers’ Home’s Randolph Gate Closed in 1953. Park View, D.C. blog.
- ^ Park View United Neighborhood Coalition Web site
- ^ "Policing the Suburbs: Plans for New Station Are Almost Completed", The Washington Post, July 30, 1900. p. 10.
- ^ "New $30,000 Church", The Washington Post, Jan. 4, 1920. p. 37.
- ^ New Commandment Baptist Church Web site
- ^ Park View Citizens' Association. Directory and History of Park View, 1921. p. 12.
- ^ Poston, Aurora M. "Platoon School Solves Lack of Space Problem", The Washington Post, Jan. 11, 1925. p. AU6.
- ^ "Park View School Addition to Open", The Washington Post, Nov. 10, 1931. p. 8.
- ^ Boese, Kent C. Houses with Novel Points: Kennedy Brothers, Princeton Heights, and the Making of Northern Park View. Paper presented at the 36th Annual Conference on Washington, DC Historical Studies (2009).
- ^ Headley, Robert K. Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C.: An Illustrated History of Parlors, Palaces and Multiplexes in the Metropolitan Area, 1894-1997. Jefferson, N.C., McFarland & Co., 1999. p. 343.
- ^ Originally Georgia Avenue was in SE, not NW. Park View, D.C. blog.
- ^ Fritz, Hahn. "In Petworth, the Jazz Age Returns", The Washington Post, Mar. 3, 2006. p. T05.
- ^ Johnson, Ken. "Georgia Avenue School Demolished for Mixed-Use Project". DCmud blog.
- ^ Fenty Administration Breaks Ground on Ward 1 Senior Wellness Center (news release), Oct. 14, 2009.
- ^ CVS Breaks Ground. Park View, D.C. blog.
- ^ Fenty Announces Selection of Development Team for Park Morton (news release), Oct. 7, 2009.
- ^ A Few Notes From the ANC 1A Meeting, 3/10/10. Park View, D.C. blog.
- ^ Report from Park View UNC Meeting. Park View, D.C. blog.
- ^ "DC Tract Profile, Tract 32". NeighborhoodInfo DC. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ DC Tract Profile, NeighborhoodInfo DC
- ^ First DDOT Transit Meeting Held in Ward 6. Park View, D.C. blog.
- ^ DC's Transit Future: Proposed Streetcar System Plan, DDOT (2009).