Logan Circle Neighborhood
Section: NVA Neighborhoods
Author: Susan Isaacs, Washington DC Real Estate Strategist
Logan Circle consists of eight blocks of gorgeous architecture, 14th Street retail, an active arts community, high-value real estate and the Barbie Pond.
About Logan Circle
This vibrant and historic neighborhood boasts beautifully restored Victorian-style row houses interspersed with modern condominiums and apartment buildings of many vintages. Logan Circle has undergone significant revitalization in recent decades, transforming into a sought-after neighborhood celebrated for its thriving arts scene, diverse dining, entertainment and retail options, and proximity to cultural institutions.
Why it’s desirable:
Beautiful architecture
Gastronome’s delight
House-hacking heaven
Nearby:
Dupont Circle
Kalorama
Shaw
U Street Corridor
Logan Circle History
“Blodget’s Wilderness”
Like most of the surrounding area, Logan Circle began as wilderness tamed to boggy farmland nicknamed “Blodget’s Wilderness.” Its namesake was Samuel Blodget Jr., a Revolutionary War captain, merchant, amateur architect and one of the most eccentric, ambitious failures in Washington DC’s early history.
Blodget purchased vast tracts of land in the northern, undeveloped parts of the new federal city during the real estate boom of the 1790s, then ran out of money before he could clear or build on it. His tracts sat as dense, overgrown forest for decades, including the tract originally designated as a traffic circle (Reservation No. 153) on Pierre L’Enfant’s original 1791 plan for Washington.
Blodget’s legacy is a masterclass in spectacular misfires. He charmed George Washington into naming him the first Superintendent of Buildings for the new capital and even submitted his own design for the U.S. Capitol though it wasn’t selected. His boldest gamble was “Blodget’s Hotel” a brick palace meant to raise money and excitement for the fledgling city, funded by a lottery that tanked so badly he ended up broke and in court. The courts seized everything, including the muddy mess that was Reservation No. 153 north of town. Ironically, Blodget’s half-finished hotel ended up sheltering Congress after the British torched the Capitol in 1814. But by then, Blodget himself was gone, having died penniless in a Baltimore hospital, his dreams outlasting him by just a few months.
Civil War
Reservation No. 153 hosted Camp Barker barracks, and acted as an unofficial refuge for thousands of freedom-seeking enslaved people escaping from Maryland and Virginia during the Civil War. Parts of the unimproved circle area were also used at times for military purposes, including the public execution of spies and deserters during the height of the war.
What’s In A Name
The formal renaming of Reservation No. 153 to Iowa Circle occurred during the post-Civil War era (around the late 1860s to 1870s) through a combination of city layout logic and a classic piece of Washington political maneuvering. When Pierre L’Enfant designed the city, he created a grid of numbered and lettered streets intersected by grand, diagonal avenues named after U.S. states. Reservation No. 153 was formed by the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue. The city named its traffic hubs and squares after states. The push to formalize the tract as “Iowa Circle” came from Senator William B. Allison of Iowa. Congressional archives show that the Senator wanted to secure a prominent traffic circle to honor his close friend, General Grenville M. Dodge, a highly celebrated Civil War general and railroad executive from his state. But DC rules heavily dictated that monuments and circles could only be named after deceased war heroes, and General Dodge wouldn’t die. So Senator Allison used his considerable legislative influence to ensure the intersection was permanently named Iowa Circle instead.
“Permanent” is not a word wisely used in Washington DC, however.
Wealthy residents built grand late-Victorian and Richardsonian Romanesque row houses around the circle between 1875 and 1900. An equestrian statue was erected at the center of the circle in 1901 honoring Major General John A. Logan, Civil War Union Army commander and Illinois senator who lived on Iowa Circle. During the 1930’s, the U.S. Congress officially renamed the park in Logan’s honor. The statue dominated the landscape and locals gradually began referring to the circle as “Logan Circle.” This prompted the U.S. Congress to step in and officially rename it Logan Circle in 1930, over the fierce objections of the Iowa congressional delegation.
14th Street
In the early 20th century, 14th Street NW became a primary shopping district and hub for automobile showrooms.
But the 1968 DC riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. devastated the 14th Street commercial corridor and the Logan Circle neighborhood subsequently fell into steep decline. The neighborhood became known for crime, and as a red light district.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the large commercial spaces previously occupied by auto showrooms and low rents encouraged creation of an avant-garde theater district.
During the 2000s, the area rapidly gentrified thanks in large part to the District’s LGBTQ+ community. Housing in the neighborhood began to recover. Neglected buildings were razed and rebuilt, or remodeled. 14th Street and P Street transformed. Whole Foods Market opened two blocks from Logan Circle in December 2000, on a site previously occupied by an abandoned service garage and 14th was reinvented.
Despite the many transitions around it, however, Logan Circle remains the only L’Enfant-designed circle in DC to retain its original residential character.
That Famous Architecture
Nos. 1 and 2 Logan Circle is a double house designed in the Second Empire style and constructed around 1880. It commands the prominent southwest position on the circle;
Nos. 4-14 and 1500 13th Street are 11 townhouses which occupy the northwest quadrant of the circle and typify the architecture of the district. Of varied High Victorian and Richardsonian styles, constructed of several kinds of stone and brick, all are three to five stories in height. No. 4 is particularly noteworthy for its porches and detailing;
No. 1500 13th Street retains considerable ornamental ironwork with original cast-metal porches, rails and fences remaining;
Nos. 1314-1344 Vermont Avenue is a series of houses which represent excellent examples of late-19th-century domestic architecture. They date from 1875 to 1890 and are constructed of brick, pressed brick and stone;
Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church at 1308 Vermont Avenue is an individually designated landmark within the District of Columbia. The church was erected between 1882 and 1884 as the Vermont Avenue Christian Church. R. G. Russel of Hartford, Connecticut, designed the church in the High Victorian Gothic style.
Sources: Wikipedia, nps, culturaltourismdc.org
Logan Circle Schools
Garrison Elementary School Public Grades PK3–5
Cardozo Education Campus Public Grades 6–12
School boundaries in the District can vary down to the specific side of a street. It is recommended to verify your address-based assignment using the official My School DC Finder For a full, updated list of schools, visit EBIS.
Disclaimer
We are not attorneys, legal experts, investment counselors, or CPAs. The content on this channel is presented for informational purposes only and derived from reliable sources, but should not be considered legal, financial, investment, transaction or real estate practice advice. Susan Isaacs and Compass, their principals and/or representatives, do not guarantee or warrant its accuracy, completeness, or applicability to any specific real estate transaction. Homebuyers should read applicable D.C. law and code as part of their due diligence, and seek help from licensed, qualified professionals for interpretation and application to their specific transaction.