Mount Pleasant Neighborhood
Section: Neighborhoods
Author: Susan Isaacs, Washington DC Real Estate Strategist
Neighborhood Profile
Mount Pleasant is characterized by the neighborhood’s historic architecture, eclectic atmosphere, and strong community spirit. Mount Pleasant has long been a hub for cultural diversity, with a rich history of welcoming residents from various backgrounds.
Mount Pleasant offers a mix of row houses in various architectural styles adorned with colorful facades on tree-lined streets. A lively commercial corridor along Mount Pleasant Street adds to the neighborhood’s distinct character. The entirety of Mount Pleasant is a historic district, where architectural components are carefully preserved.
The Mount Pleasant Library is a Carnegie Library that has been supporting the community with events and services since 1925. This beautiful historic library not only provides a wealth of resources to residents, but also serves as a symbol of the neighborhood’s commitment to education and intellectual enrichment.
Mount Pleasant Real Estate
The real estate market in Mount Pleasant offers a range of housing options, reflecting the neighborhood’s architectural and population diversity. Within its borders are historic row houses with charming features, stately apartment buildings and condominiums.
The demand for real estate in Mount Pleasant is fueled by its reputation for community engagement, proximity to Rock Creek Park, and the local amenities along Mount Pleasant Street. Residents enjoy a sense of belonging, fostered by community events, neighborhood festivals, and the active involvement of local businesses.
Lots to love:
Great architecture
Renovated attached homes
Mt Pleasant Street amenities
Proximity to Rock Creek Park
Proximity to ColHi Metro
Nearby:
Columbia Heights
Lanier Heights
Crestwood
Rock Creek Park
Adams Morgan
Mount Pleasant History
Holmead Estate
Mount Pleasant began as the estate of James Holmead. In 1727, Charles Calvert, 5th Lord Baltimore, governor of the Maryland Colony, awarded Holmead a land grant that included the territory of the neighborhoods we know today as Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, and Pleasant Plains. Inherited by his son Anthony in 1750, it was renamed Pleasant Plains. With the creation of the District of Columbia in 1791, it folded into Washington County and was eventually sold off. In 1850, US Treasurer William Selden purchased 73 acres north of Peirce Mill Road and built home overlooking Piney Branch Road, relocating to Virginia at the start of the Civil War and sold the property in 1862 to Samuel P. Brown. The Union Army occupied the property during the Civil War and used the house as a hospital.
Mount Pleasant Village
When the war ended Brown sold his land in parcels, naming the area Mount Pleasant Village for its attribute of having the highest elevation of the original estate.
Brown kept the plot surrounding his house at 3351 Mount Pleasant Street, NW, which was unfortunately destroyed in the 1890s.
Mount Pleasant settlers built wooden frame houses and worked small farms, stores and small retail establishments sprouted up at 14th and Park. Mount Pleasant was divided from DC by undeveloped land and was therefore considered rural, allowing its street grid to be laid out differently from DC’s grid.
A Growing Neighborhood
In 1870, a horse-drawn streetcar made its appearance and was operated from the retail center to downtown DC. Development accelerated after a more modern streetcar line was installed in 1903. During that time, 16th Street was extended and the neighborhood began to be associated with the area west of 16th. Mount Pleasant’s first establishments were constructed opposite the streetcar terminal at Lamont Park. A developer, Fulton Gordon, bought up a good deal of the neighborhood in 1907 and promoted the properties under the name “Mount Pleasant Heights.” The construction of homes and multifamily dwellings in the early 1900’s further populated the neighborhood and a library, partially funded by Andrew Carnegie, was erected in 1925. The budding neighborhood offered shady, tree-lined streets, terraced gardens and charming row houses with front porches and rear sleeping porches. Considered an upper-middle class neighborhood, Mount Pleasant was home to US Senator Robert La Follett, actress Helen Hayes, baseball pitcher Walter “Big Train” Johnson, who was married at a “regular apartment at 1498 Monroe Street.”
Racial Segregation Ends
The Mount Pleasant neighborhood was racially segregated until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. ‘White flight’ increased after the 1968 riots, and rowhouses were divided into rental flats for lower-income residents. Some properties were neglected and much of the original landscaping was destroyed, changing the characteristics of the neighborhood. A new black and latino population began to settle in Mount Pleasant during that decade.
Affluent professionals returned in the early 1980s. Housing prices rose, homes were renovated, and during the following two decades demographics shifted again. Housing prices continued to spiral. From 2005 to 2018, the Mount Pleasant neighborhood experienced some of the District’s strongest home value surges.
Mount Pleasant Schools
Bancroft Elementary Public BL Grades PK3-5
Alice Deal Middle School Public Grades 6-8
Jackson-Reed High School Public Grades 9-12
For a full, updated list of schools, visit EBIS . Click the cap to go to school website. School data by SchoolDigger
Sources
Wikipedia
Library of Congress
DC Historic Preservation
NPS
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.