![Congress Heights Washington DC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Congress_Heights_Washington_DC.jpg)
Congress Heights is a residential neighborhood in
Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, in the United States. The irregularly shaped neighborhood is bounded by the
St. Elizabeths Hospital campus, Lebaum Street SE, 4th Street SE, and Newcomb Street SE on the northeast; Shepard Parkway and
South Capitol Street
South Capitol Street is a major street dividing the southeast and southwest quadrants of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It runs south from the United States Capitol to the D.C.–Maryland line, intersecting with Southern Avenue. After it ...
on the west; Atlantic Street SE and 1st Street SE (as far as Chesapeake Street SE) on the south;
Oxon Run Parkway
The Oxon Run Parkway is a corridor of federal park land in the Washington Highlands neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The Parkway once extended across the District's southern corner in a crescent from Hillcrest Heights to Oxon Hill but most of it ...
on the southeast; and Wheeler Street SE and Alabama Avenue SE on the east. Commercial development is heavy along
Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Malcolm X Avenue (formerly Portland Street, SE).
History of the neighborhood
Pre-development years
![Asylum Avenue in 1865 - Washington DC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Asylum_Avenue_in_1865_-_Washington_DC.jpg)
Prior to its development, the area known as Congress Heights was forest and farmland. The bay between Poplar Point and Giesborough Point was open water, and would not be filled in and reclaimed for use until the 1880s. The area was served primarily by the Navy Yard Bridge (now known as the
11th Street Bridges
The 11th Street Bridges are a complex of three bridges across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., United States. The bridges convey Interstate 695 across the Anacostia to its southern terminus at Interstate 295 and DC 295. The bridges a ...
), constructed in 1820.
The first residential development east of the river was
Uniontown (now the neighborhood of Anacostia), begun in 1854. The following year, the federal government constructed the Government Hospital for the Insane (later known as
St. Elizabeths Hospital). To serve the hospital, Asylum Avenue (now
Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue) was constructed from the Navy Yard Bridge to the new hospital and then, running on the east side of a line of hills, down to the District-Maryland line.
Additional construction in the area occurred during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
(1861 to 1865). The
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...
constructed the George Washington Young cavalry
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
on of land on Giesborough Point. Two forts,
Fort Carroll
Fort Carroll is a artificial island and abandoned hexagonal sea fort in the middle of the Patapsco River, just south of Baltimore, Maryland. It is named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737–1832), a signer of the Declaration of Independe ...
(near the present intersection of South Capitol Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue) and
Fort Greble
Fort Greble was an American Civil War-era Union fortification constructed as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during that war. Named for First Lieutenant John Trout Greble, the first West Point graduate killed in the U.S. Civil War, it p ...
(near the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Blue Plains Drive SW), were constructed on the
bluffs that began just west and adjacent to Asylum Road. After the war, the
Barry Farm
Barry Farm is a neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., located east of the Anacostia River and bounded by the Southeast Freeway to the northwest, Suitland Parkway to the northeast and east, and St. Elizabeths Hospital to the south. The nei ...
housing development for freed slaves opened in 1867 on the north side of the St. Elizabeths campus and was rapidly occupied. Aslyum Avenue was named Nichols Avenue in 1879 in honor of St. Elizabeths Hospital superintendent Charles Henry Nichols.
Asylum Avenue/Nichols Avenue was the only major southward road through the area until the development of Congress Heights itself. The only other major street was a military road (now known as Alabama Avenue SE) which ran in an east-northeasterly direction toward other Civil War forts.
Founding of Congress Heights
![Congress_Heights_1902_advertisement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Congress_Heights_1902_advertisement.jpg)
Congress Heights itself was founded in 1890. Colonel Arthur E. Randle, a successful newspaper publisher, decided to found a settlement east of the river which he called Congress Heights. The Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge (which was replaced by the
John Philip Sousa Bridge
The John Philip Sousa Bridge, also known as the Sousa Bridge and the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge, is a continuous steel plate girder bridge that carries Pennsylvania Avenue SE across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., in the United States ...
) began construction in November 1887,
and by June 1890 was nearing completion. Randle understood that this new bridge would bring rapid development east of the Anacostia River, and he intended to take advantage of it.
The development was immediately successful. To ensure that his investment continued to pay off, Randle invested heavily in the Belt Railway, a local
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
company founded in March 1875.
On March 2, 1895, Randle founded the Capital Railway Company to construct streetcar lines over the Navy Yard Bridge and down Nichols Avenue to Congress Heights.
The Belt Railway was purchased on June 24, 1898, by the Anacostia and Potomac River Railway Company.
This made Randle a majority owner of the Anacostia and Potomac River Railway. Randle sold his interest in the Capital Railway in 1899, and used this fortune to buy a large section of land known as "East Washington Highlands" at the foot of the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge. This became the development of
Randle Highlands
Randle Highlands is a neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., east of the Anacostia River.
History
Born in 1859, Colonel Arthur E. Randle was a late nineteenth and early twentieth-century real estate developer, who earned some recognition ...
, and the success of that development allowed him to create "North Randle Highlands" (now the neighborhoods of
Dupont Park
Dupont Park is a residential neighborhood located in southeast Washington, D.C. It is bounded by Fort Dupont Park to the north, Pennsylvania Avenue SE to the south, Branch Avenue to the west, and Fort Davis Park to the east. The neighborhood ci ...
,
Penn Branch
Penn Branch is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. (southeast), Southeast Washington, D.C., east of the Anacostia River. It is bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Pennsylvania Avenue SE to the south; Pope Branch Park and Pope Creek ...
, and the lower portion of
Greenway) In October 1906, ''The Washington Post'' called Randle's developments "among the largest real estate enterprises ever successfully carried through in the District."
The rapid development of Congress Heights and the areas adjacent to the streetcar line on Nichols Avenue led the government of the District of Columbia to extend South Capitol Street into the area east of the Anacostia River. The topography of the area largely dictated the route. Beginning near St. Elizabeths Hospital, a line of bluffs extended roughly southward until it reached what is now Chesapeake Street SW. (Fort Greble sat atop the southernmost of these cliffs.) To the west of these bluffs were broad, flat lowlands which provided pleasant views of the Potomac River and the city of
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
. In 1893, the city surveyed South Capitol along the western side of these bluffs, laying out a broad, grand avenue. Once the bluffs ended, the route followed existing local roads and curved eastward to connect with Livingston Road (now the
Indian Head Highway
Maryland Route 210 (MD 210) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Indian Head Highway, the highway runs from Potomac Avenue in Indian Head north to the District of Columbia boundary in Forest Heights, where the highway co ...
) at the District-Maryland line. But because of the lack of development south of Congress Heights, South Capitol Street was only constructed to its intersection with Nichols Avenue.
20th-century development
From the 1930s until the 1950s, Congress Heights was an almost all-white working-class neighborhood. Many of these white working-class people were rural
Southerners and
Appalachians
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
who had
migrated from
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
,
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Many of them worked at the Navy Yard or at nearby
Bolling Air Force Base
Bolling Air Force Base or Bolling AFB was a United States Air Force base in Washington, D.C. In 2010, it was merged with Naval Support Facility Anacostia to form Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. From its beginning, the installation has hosted elem ...
.
Congress Heights was the location of the last working farm within the District of Columbia. George Lindner had been growing vegetables on his farm for over 50 years and it had been in the family since the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. The farm shut down in 1939.
Prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the
D.C. National Guard was housed at
Camp Simms. The facility included firing ranges up to 1,000 yards. It was on Alabama Avenue at the intersection of Stanton Road and Barry Farm Housing Project. During World War II, it had
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
gun emplacements to defend Washington from air attack. After the war, the U.S. Army built a military reserve facility in the central part of Congress Heights. Many early residents worked at the U.S. Naval Gun Factory, which stopped production about 1960, or at the U.S.
Naval Research Laboratory
The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...
.
Congress Heights experienced great urban neglect after World War II. However, in the 21st century, Congress Heights has received a great deal of attention from the city and urban developers. Nineteen development projects worth a total of $455 million are underway or completed in Congress Heights as of November 2006. Among these are a redevelopment of St. Elizabeths West Campus for federal use; a request for proposals from the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
for the area around the Congress Heights Metro station; and a planned redevelopment of Camp Simms as a mixed-use project, including a new
Giant Grocery Store, enhancement to an existing shopping center, and 75 new residential units. The ARC cultural arts center, and the Tennis and Learning Center, are nearby on Mississippi Avenue.
The neighborhood is served by the
Congress Heights
Congress Heights is a residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. The irregularly shaped neighborhood is bounded by the St. Elizabeths Hospital campus, Lebaum Street SE, 4th Street SE, and Newcomb Street SE on ...
station on the
Green Line of the
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,[Google Books search/preview ...](_blank)
. Most residents live in garden apartments, but there are also older single-family bungalows. Frank W. Ballou High School (rebuilt in 2014) and Hart Middle School serve the neighborhood.
Destination Congress Heights (Congress Heights Main Street) was chartered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street program in January 2016. Destination Congress Heights is a program created by Congress Heights Community Training & Development Corporation, a nonprofit
501(c)3 organization
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of t ...
led by a combination of community development professionals and local volunteers. The main street program is based on the National Trust for Historic Preservation nationally proven model The Main Street Four Point Approach which includes in emphasis in the areas of: organization of commercial revitalization efforts, promotion of neighborhood businesses and business districts, design and economic revitalization. The approach includes an underlying historic preservation ethic and provides local organizations with a mechanism to manage their neighborhood commercial districts and a structure to implement commercial revitalization activities that will achieve the stakeholders' goals for the commercial district.
References
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{{Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.
1890 establishments in Washington, D.C.
African-American history of Washington, D.C.
Appalachian culture in Washington, D.C.
Working-class culture in Washington, D.C.