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The Mount Pleasant Historic District
Mount Pleasant enjoys one of the city's most architecturally cohesive yet eclectic mixtures of row houses, apartments and detached homes. In 1985, neighborhood residents concerned with maintenance and enhancement of the community's physical environment incorporated Historic Mount Pleasant (HMP) and began the process of establishing the Mt. Pleasant Historic District. Their efforts paid off in 1987, when the city designated Mt. Pleasant as a historic district to protect the integrity of its finely detailed façades and suburban-urban morphology.
Mount Pleasant was originally the name Samuel P. Brown gave his property, which he acquired from William Selden, a confederate sympathizer who moved to Virginia in 1861. He subsequently subdivided and sold the part of the estate that was bound by Piney Branch and 14th Street, creating one of Washington's earliest suburban neighborhoods.
Development began in earnest with the extension of the streetcar line after 1900. Prominent architects of the time designed stylish and practical homes for the expanding middle class. Its large number of architect-designed row houses distinguished Mount Pleasant among Washington neighborhoods. Mount Pleasant continued to develop as a distinctive urban suburb through the 20th century.
A map below outlines the boundaries of the Mount Pleasant Historic District.
For more information on the history of Mount Pleasant:
Walk our Heritage Trail (you can find the entire map on any one of the ten trail markers). We recommend starting at on Park Road at the triangular shaped park just below the intersection of Mount Pleasant and Park.
Walk our Call Box Sculpture Trail (click here for map and more information).
Read Mount Pleasant Historic District, a brochure publication of the City of Washington, D.C. Historic Preservation Office. (The file will take a minute to appear.)
Purchase Mara Cherkasky's new book Images of America directly (and signed) from Mara at (202)-997-1542 or mcherkasky@verizon.net. Alternately, you can purchase it at Pfeiffer's Hardware on Mount Pleasant Street.
MOUNT PLEASANT HISTORIC DISTRICT
Mount Pleasant Historic District Brochure
http://www.planning.dc.gov/planning/frames.asp?doc=/planning/lib/planning/preservation/brochures/mt._pleasant_brochure.pdf
Guide to Neighborhood History Resources
http://www.historydc.org/pdf/GuideToNeighborhoodResources.pdf
The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. list of primary and secondary sources of information on DC neighborhoods including Mount Pleasant
Frequently Asked Questions about Historic Districts
http://www.dcpreservation.org/districtsfaq.html
Overview from the DC Preservation League (DCPL) about historic district designation and its affects, benefits, and regulations
Protections and Benefits Afforded to Historic Property
http://planning.dc.gov/planning/cwp/view,a,1284,q,570825,planningNav_GID,1706,planningNav,|33515|.asp
FAQ from the DC Historic Preservation Office
Citizens’ Guide
http://www.planning.dc.gov/planning/frames.asp?doc=/planning/lib/planning/preservation/brochures/citizensguide.pdf
Guide to historic preservation in Washington, DC
DCHPO Staff Member Assigned to Mount Pleasant Historic District
Timothy Dinnee
Architectural Historian
DC Historic Preservation Office
2000 14th Street, NW
4th Floor
Washington, DC 20009
202/442-8847
timothy.dinnee@dc.gov
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