Welcome to Historic Mount Pleasant!  We are a volunteer-based membership organization Membership is open to everyone, so please join!  THIS IS HMP'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR!  Historic Mount Pleasant, Inc., was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia on April 2, 1985--more than two years before the city designated the Mount Pleasant Historic District (that happened in October 1987).  But how did the organization get started?  Who were the people that made it happen?  As part of an anniversary project, over the next few months this space will present a few articles highlighting HMP's own history.  A fitting start is the story of how the organization began.  Three original members of the Board who still live in Mount Pleasant shared their memories, which has been added to information gleaned from HMP's archives.  The article may be accessed by clicking on the following link:  Anniversary_Article_No._1.pdf Happy reading....and stay tuned for more!   HMP Receives Community Heritage Grant On June 3, HMP was awarded a $2,000 grant from the Humanities Council of Washington D.C. to develop a history of the Mount Pleasant Street commercial corridor.  The grant program, known as the D.C. Community Heritage Project, is a partnership between the Humanities Council and the DC Historic Preservation Office, “designed to provide funding and support to community leaders interested in preserving the history, architecture, and collective memory of their neighborhoods.”  HMP plans to use the funds, along with donations of volunteer time by members, for research and publication expenses.  The product will be two-fold:  a research paper presenting the primary source information to be made available on the HMP website and a pamphlet providing an overview of this history to be distributed to current businesses and others in the neighborhood.   Both will be illustrated with maps, photographs, drawings from the files, and artistic renderings if reproducible images of important sites cannot be located. HMP expects to complete the work in October.   HMP Partners with Business Association on Neighborhood Investment Grant The Mount Pleasant Business Association and HMP recently received a $40,000 competitive grant from the city’s Neighborhood Investment Fund (NIF) grant program.  These grants, administered by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, are intended to spur small community efforts and improve the quality of life of each neighborhood through civic action and resident involvement.  The grants are targeted at 12 specific neighborhoods, one of which is called “Columbia Heights” but includes Mount Pleasant Street. With this grant, the Business Association will offer technical assistance for business operations and property improvements for businesses on Mt. Pleasant Street.  HMP will serve as the fiscal agent and advisor for storefront design and signage matters.  As noted in the award letter, “Within this highly competitive field, the review panel felt that the Mount Pleasant Business Assistance Program...would make a positive contribution to the Neighborhood Investment Fund target area and fulfill the goals of the NIF program.”  Under the grant terms, the Business Association will provide periodic reports on grant activities.  To view a copy of the first report, click the following link: First_Monthly_Report_(April_2010).pdf

Other Recent Events HMP SPONSORS WALKING WORKSHOP ON LANDSCAPING PRACTICES  On June 19, local resident Mary Pat Rowan led a group of interested Mt. Pleasant gardeners on a walking tour illustrating the use of native plants in landscapes appropriate to the historic district.  The tour was designed to highlight plants and practices that conserve water and resources yet provide attractive landscapes.  This was the second workshop sponsored by HMP this year; in January, a capacity crowd turned out to learn how to increase energy efficiency in our (beloved) old houses.  Stay tuned for more workshops in the future.     Presentation on St. Elizabeth’s Hospital FEATUREd at Annual Meeting  HMP's Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, March 6, 2010, 10:00 a.m in the Board Room of the historic Stoddard  Baptist Home, 1818 Newton Street NW.  President Fay Armstrong presented the Annual Report for 2009 (to access, click 2009_Annual_Report) and outlined HMP's involvement in several current and future issues, particularly the Mt. Pleasant Library project and the eventual restoration of the Deauville building.  Secretary Dave Wood noted plans for the website to feature a series of articles this year in honor of Historic Mount Pleasant's 25th Anniversary, and asked members to suggest celebratory activities for the organization.  The proposed slate of Board members for 2010 was formally nominated, seconded, and voted in.  (Board members can be found by clicking on the "About Us" tab at left.   GIFTS MADE TO NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS  In late 2009, HMP presented Mt. Pleasant's Rosemount Center with a check for $1,000 toward the cost of installing an historically-appropriate wrought iron fence.  In a letter accompanying the check, HMP President Fay Armstrong wrote:   "Historic Mount Pleasant wishes to take this opportunity to express again its appreciation for the beautiful restoration of the exterior of the property undertaken in conjunction with the complete redesign and modernization of its program spaces. The renovation demonstrates how good design from very different periods and styles can coexist in the same property and ensure the continued full utilization of our historic properties."   Further demonstrating its commitment to appropriate adaptation of properties in the Historic District, HMP also contributed $500 to the Mt. Pleasant Solar Coop's Solar Fair and home tour.  One of the homes on the tour was that of Amy Levin, to whom HMP IN 2009 presented a Design Excellence Award in recognition of the renovation of her Ingleside Terrace townhouse.  The property, which incorporates solar technologies, received a Platinum LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

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  2009_Annual_Report         Frequently asked questions about living in a DC Historic District       Email: historicmtp@aol.com Phone: (202) 387-2734 1731 Lamont Street, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 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 14th 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.