Welcome to Historic Mount Pleasant!  We are a volunteer-based membership organization Membership is open to everyone, so please join!     Design Awards Presented at 2009 HMP Annual Meeting   The Annual Membership Meeting of Historic Mount Pleasant was held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, February 28, at the Stoddard Baptist Home, 1818 Newton Street.  Following an update on the Mount Pleasant library (see Recent Developments below) and other business, President Fay Armstrong presented Design Excellence Awards to the Rosemount Center, in recognition of the fine restoration carried out there; and to homeowner Amy Levin, in recognition of the renovation of her Ingleside Terrace townhouse, which recently received a Platinum LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.  Kim Williams, National Register Coordinator for the D.C. Historic Preservation Office, then gave an illustrated lecture on the history and architecture of the neighborhood surrounding Meridian Hill Park and efforts to create a historic district there.   Attendees also received copies of the 2008 Annual Report and elected a new slate of officers and Board of Directors for 2009.  The officers and Directors are presented on the "About Us" page (click tab at left).

Recent Developments HMP Participates in Working Group Regarding Mt. Pleasant Library HMP, along with other neighborhood organizations and individuals, has been engaged with D.C. Public Libraries (DCPL) regarding the planned renovation/addition to the Mt. Pleasant Branch library.  On February 19, HMP President Fay Armstrong outlined concerns about the originally-proposed addition–the “glass cube”-- to the Commission on Fine Arts.  HMP sent a letter to the Commission prior to its scheduled hearing; the letter is available at the following link:  Letter_to_CFA.pdf On March 25, HMP Board members joined Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham and other Mt. Pleasant and Ward 1 residents to express concerns about the proposed addition to the DCPL Board of Trustees. Members of HMP and its Board attended DCPL’s public meetings on March 26, at which DCPL unveiled a revised, rear-addition plan; and May 4, at which DC Fire Chief Rubin addressed concerns about emergency access to the area behind the library. At the latter meeting, Councilmember Graham organized a working group of neighborhood and Ward 1 interests, including HMP, to attempt to resolve the concerns regarding the proposed addition. The working group has met twice—on May 13 and May 28—and at its behest, DCPL has explored potentially smaller additions to the library.

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  2008 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.

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