Developed as a suburb after the U.S. Civil War, the area's growth accelerated in the early 1900s. The extension of the DC streetcar system in 1914 made the neighborhood a popular place to live among federal workers. In the 1940s, the designation of Cardozo High School as a "colored" school resulted in a demographic shift and the neighborhood became predominantly African-American. The 1968 Washington, D.C., riots devastated the area and turmoil in the 1970-80s followed.[3] Beginning in the late 1990s, the addition of the Columbia Heights metro station led to the redevelopment of the neighborhood. Today the neighborhood has diverse demographics.[4][5]
History
19th century
Columbia Heights takes its name from Columbian College (now George Washington University), which was founded in the area in 1821.
Once farmland on the estate of the Holmead family (called "Pleasant Plains"), Columbia Heights was part of Washington County, in the District of Columbia; it was within the District but outside the borders of the city of Washington. In 1815, William J. Stone, purchased a 121-acre tract of the Holmead estate—east of present-day Georgia Avenue, and north of modern Florida Ave—and established his estate known as the Stone Farm. Nearby, construction of the first building for Columbian College, now George Washington University, was completed in 1822 on the campus which was bounded by Columbia Road, 14th Street, Boundary Street (Florida Avenue) and 13th Street. The area began developing as a suburb of Washington soon after the American Civil War, when horse-drawn streetcars delivered residents of the neighborhood to downtown.
The northern portion of modern-day Columbia Heights (i.e., north of where Harvard Street currently lies) was, until the 1880s, a part of the village of Mount Pleasant. The southern portion still retained the name of the original Pleasant Plains estate, though it was also known as "Cowtown."
1903 Baist Atlas of the Columbia Heights development.[6]
In 1871, Congress passed the D.C. Organic Act, which eliminated Washington County by extending the boundaries of Washington City to be contiguous with those of the District of Columbia. Shortly afterward, in 1881–82, SenatorJohn Sherman, author of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, purchased the land north of Boundary Street between 16th Street and 10th Street, including the Stone farm, developing it as a subdivision of the city and calling it Columbia Heights in honor of the college at its heart. (The neighborhood's eastern, major traffic artery, Sherman Avenue, is named after its early developer.) Much of Sherman's purchase was land belonging to Columbian College.
The college moved to the center of Washington's downtown business district and in 1904, changed its name to The George Washington University, in an agreement with the George Washington Memorial Association. By 1912 Columbian, now George Washington, relocated its major operations to Foggy Bottom. The federal government purchased some of the college's former land and built Meridian Hill Park in the early 20th century.
20th century
The Arcade Market, built in 1910.
Upscale development in Columbia Heights circa 1900 was designed to attract upper level managers of the Federal government, U.S. Supreme Court justices, and high-ranking military officers. An imposing mansion known as "Belmont" marked the entrance to the neighborhood between Florida and Clifton Streets. The mansion was emblematic of the confidence that the affluent placed in the concept that Columbia Heights represented the ideal suburb. In the early 1900s, many of Washington's wealthiest residents lived in the neighborhood. Residents included authors Jean Toomer,[7]Ambrose Bierce,[8]Sinclair Lewis, Chief JusticeMelville Fuller, and Justice John Marshall Harlan.
In 1901, the Commissioners of the District of Columbia renamed streets all over the District in accordance with a newly adopted street-naming system.[9] In Columbia Heights, Clifton Street, Roanoke Street, Yale Street, Princeton Street, Harvard Street, Columbia Road, Kenesaw Avenue, Kenyon Street, Dartmouth Street, and Whitney Avenue were renamed Adams Street, Bryant Street, Channing Street, Douglas Street, Evarts Street, Franklin Street, Girard Street, Hamlin Street, Hooker Street, and Irving Street, respectively.[9]
A 1910 advertisement for a housing development on Clifton Street.
In 1902, there was a building boom in North Columbia Heights, with the expansion of the streetcar down 11th St, 14th St and 16th St. Homes were being built for between $2,000 and $5,000 and a total of five million dollars' worth of homes were being built.[10]
In 1904, the Columbia Heights Citizen's Association published an illustrated brochure entitled "A Statement of Some of the Advantages of Beautiful Columbia Heights." 1904 was also the year that Congress authorized changing the names of streets to align with the alphabetical and orderly naming convention of the Old City (i.e., below Boundary Street, now Florida Avenue).[11]
By 1914, four street car lines served the section providing transportation to downtown Washington in twenty minutes. The neighborhood also became the home of the Washington Palace Five professional basketball team.
The popularity of the neighborhood resulted in the construction of several large apartment buildings during the beginning of the twentieth century that changed the suburban character of the area into a more urban and densely populated district. As of mid-century, however, Columbia Heights retained much of its upscale residential appeal, supporting establishments such as the ornate Tivoli Theatre movie house (completed in 1924).
J. Willard Marriott and his wife opened an A&W Root Beer franchise on 14th street in 1927, before creating the Marriott hotel chain.[12] The neighborhood was adjacent to Washington's thriving middle-class black community and came to be home to some of its most notable citizens by the 1930s.
In 1949, during the era of racial segregation in the public schools, Central High School, a white high school that bordered the southern edge of Columbia Heights, did not have enough students. It was renamed as Cardozo High School and designated as a "colored" high school to accommodate the growing African-American population in the neighborhood. Significant demographic changes began in the late 1940s when African-American residents began to buy apartment buildings previously owned by whites, and in the 1950s blacks bought individual homes in ever increasing numbers. The neighborhood was a strong middle-class African-American enclave in Washington, along with the nearby Shaw neighborhood and Howard University, through the mid-1960s.
The neighborhood was featured in various clips, and as the home of protagonists Helen and Bobby Benson, in the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still.
In 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the 1968 Washington, D.C., riots ravaged the 14th St. Corridor in Columbia Heights, along with the commercial U Street corridor nearby, and many other Washington neighborhoods to the east. Many middle-class residents moved out to the suburbs, resulting in a drop in business. As a result, many homes and shops remained vacant for decades. In addition to African Americans, the neighborhood had an increasing number of Latino immigrants and their descendants as residents.
In 1999, the city announced a revitalization initiative for the neighborhood focused around the Columbia Heights Metro station, which opened in September of that year. The opening of the Metro station served as a catalyst for the return of economic development and residents.[13]
Nearby, Giant Food supermarket opened, and Tivoli Square, a commercial and entertainment complex, dating from the 1920s was renovated.[14]
There had already been positive developments along lower 14th Street and the U Street corridor.[15]
On March 5, 2008, DC USA, a 546,000-square-foot (50,700 m2) shopping mall across the street from the Columbia Heights Metro station opened. It includes many stores and restaurants as well as 1,000 spaces of underground parking.[16]
As of 2018, approximately 22% of the housing stock in the neighborhood was reserved for low income renters.[17]
The 2010 census figures estimated Columbia Heights had a 43.5% African-American population, including government and other professional class; 28.1% Hispanic population; 22.9% White population; 3.2% Asian population; and a 2% Other population.
The 2000 census figures estimated Columbia Heights had a 58% African-American population, including some African immigrants of the 20th century and later, and government and professional class; 34% Hispanic population; 5.4% white population; and 3.1% other.[18]
In 2012, Columbia Heights was named one of the fastest gentrifying neighborhoods in the United States.[19]
Landmarks
Columbia Heights Civic Plaza
The Columbia Heights Farmers Market, across the street from DC USA, provides neighborhood shoppers with locally produced food.[20]
In January 2005, the GALA Hispanic Theatre moved into the newly refurbished Tivoli Theatre as its first permanent home. This former movie theater, built in 1924, had been vacant since 1976. GALA is a theater company dedicated since the 1970s to performing Spanish-language plays.
In November 2006, the Dance Institute of Washington, a minority-led professional ballet and dance center, opened a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) facility across the street from the Tivoli Theatre.[21]
The neighborhood is also home to several organizations that serve minorities such as the Greater Washington Urban League, the local affiliate of the National Urban League, The Latin American Youth Center, CentroNia, Mexican Cultural Institute, and the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN).
Columbia Heights Green is a garden in a former wrecking yard. In 2010, Washington Parks and People purchased the land for $1. Community work days are every Saturday. The garden has community beds.[25]
The Columbia Heights Day Festival is a one-day street festival is a celebration of the diversity and community of Columbia Heights.[26]
The 1993 film In the Line of Fire features a scene where a call from John Malkovich's character is traced to a building on Park Road. When Clint Eastwood's character and other police officers arrive on the street, they spot Malkovich walking past the Old Columbia Heights Firehouse and a chase ensues.
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