Historic Mount Pleasant

Historic Mount Pleasant

Welcome to Historic Mount Pleasant!

We are a volunteer-based membership organization

Membership is open to everyone, so please join!

**Help Wanted: Website Designer Wanted**

2013 ANNUAL MEETING - March 9th

Historic Mount Pleasant will hold its annual membership meeting from 10 a.m. until 12 noon Saturday, March 9, 2013, at the Rosemount Center, 2000 Rosemount Avenue. A light breakfast will be served. We invite neighbors interested in renewing their membership or joining for the first time to do so at the Annual Meeting.

The annual meeting provides an opportunity to review the organization's activities during the prior year and discuss plans and elect directors for 2013. Design awards will also be presented for the restoration of the exteriors of 3324 18th Street and 1740 Kenyon Street. Come meet the people responsible for these projects and make suggestions for other activities to bring neighbors together to enjoy our community.

The keynote presentation this year will be on the proposed redevelopment of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site, a decommissioned water treatment plant and historic landmark occupying 25 acres of green space immediately south of the Washington Hospital Center. The landscape was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., as part of the so-called "emerald necklace" of parks in the city laid out in 1902 by the McMillan Commission. The city is now proposing two separate projects that would demolish most of the historic infrastructure and redevelop the parcel for commercial and residential use, leaving only a small portion as open space. The Friends of McMillan, with help from the Catholic University architecture department, have countered with a plan that would provide a community recreation center and preserve 50% of the site as contiguous parkland. Tony Norman of the Friends of McMillan and Professor Miriam Gusevich will provide an overview of the history of the site and the issues currently under discussion. Come learn what is at stake in the redevelopment of the McMillan site and join the discussion about its future.

2011 ANNUAL MEETING FEATURES PROGRAM ON BRIDGES OF ROCK CREEK PARK

On HMP's 2011 Annual Meeting took place at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, March 3, 2012 in the upstairs Board Room of the Stoddard Baptist Home, 1818 Newton St. About 30 members attended. President Fay Armstrong presented highlights of fiscal year 2011, and provided copies of the 2011 Annual_Report and financial statements. She also presented 2011 design awards for the restoration of 1724 Park Road and the St. Dennis apartment building at 1636 Kenyon Street. Members present voted in the proposed slate of Board members for 2012.

The guest speaker was John DeFerrari, author of the popular blog "Streets of Washington" and the recently-published book, "Lost Washington." Mr. DeFerrari (pictured at right) presented an entertaining and informative history on the scenic bridges that used to exist in the area of Rock Creek Park closest to Mount Pleasant. Illustrated with many postcard views from his personal collection, the presentation chronicled the gradual conversion of small recreational park roads into today's commuter route.

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HMP Supports Effort to Restore the Deauville

The National Housing Trust, which led the restoration of the St. Dennis apartment building, is advising the owners of the Deauville on ways to obtain needed financing. One important potential source is the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, under which local governments allocate federal tax credits to promote investments in qualified projects. HMP recently wrote a letter urging the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development to provide tax credit financing for restoring the Deauville. The letter is available by clicking on the following link: NHT_Letter.pdf

		CELEBRATE OUR BIRTHDAY! HMP was incorporated in April, 1985. Initiated as part of the organization's 25th anniversary celebration, a few articles highlighting HMP's own history are being added to the website. The first, "How Did Historic Mount Pleasant Begin?" outlines the organization's origins and may be accessed by clicking on the following link: Anniversary_Article_No._1R.pdf The second article, "Formation of the Historic District and HMP’s Efforts to Encourage Appropriate Design" is available at the following link: Anniversary_Article_No._22.pdf

Historic Mount Pleasant (HMP) provides this website for Mount Pleasant residents and business owners, as well as others, with interesting and practical information about living in our Historic District. We especially aim to help you navigate the permit process and understand the benefits of living in an historic district. We encourage you to visit our calendar which lists HMP's activities and other neighborhood events that make this such a great place to live and visit.

View HMPs 2011_Annual_Report

Frequently asked questions about living in a

DC Historic District

Email: info@historicmountpleasant.org
Phone: 202-387-2734
1731 Lamont St, NW; Washington, DC 20010

'Images of America: Mount Pleasant’

Author Mara Cherkasky, a Washington historian and writer, presents photos, maps, and other images to illustrate the fascinating chapters about our neighborhood in her recently published book ‘Images of America: Mount Pleasant’. The book is available for $20.00 plus tax at Pfeiffer’s Hardware Store. You can also reach Mara directly at mcherkasky@verizon.net for a signed copy or purchase online at www.amazon.com.

Below is a short overview of our neighborhood’s history as presented in ‘Images of America: Mount Pleasant’:

Mount Pleasant -- Samuel P. Brown must have thought this name perfect when he chose it for his country estate on a wooded hill overlooking Washington City. The name also suited the New Englanders who settled in the village Brown founded near 14^th Street and Park Road just after the Civil War. About 1903 the once isolated village began its transformation to a fashionable suburb after the city extended 16th Street through Mount Pleasant’s heart, and a new streetcar line linked the area to downtown. Developers constructed elegant apartment buildings and spacious brick rowhouses on block after block, and successful businessmen built stately residences along Park Road.

Change arrived again with the Great Depression and then World War II, as the suburb evolved into an urban, exclusively white, working-class enclave that eventually became majority African American. In addition a Latino presence was evident as early as the 1960s. By the 1980s the neighborhood was known as the heart of D.C.’s Latino and counterculture communities. Today these communities are dispersing, however, in response to a hot real estate market in Washington.

* All Membership rates are a suggested amount. We'd love to include all neighbors in our membership; so, if you can more easily budget a lower amount, please include that amount with your membership form.