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Most Endangered Places
2005

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Most Endangered Places for 2005

MOUNT VERNON TRIANGLE

Bounded on the north and south by New York and
Massachusetts Avenues; and on the east and west by
New Jersey Avenue and 7th Street, N.W.

NOMINATED BY: DCPL LANDMARKS COMMITTEE

In 1791, the area east of Mount Vernon Square, known today as the Mount Vernon Triangle, was featured prominently on the L’Enfant Plan. For decades it remained a vast tract of open land with scattered frame buildings, situated just north of the developed city.

Growth in the Mount Vernon Triangle was spurred by the 1810 opening of the 7th Street Turnpike to Maryland and then again in 1845, when the first Northern Liberties Market was erected on the 7th Street side of Mount Vernon Square. Although none of the first-generation and less permanent frame structures remain, some isolated just post-Civil War brick buildings survive. They include houses at 902 Third, 453-455 I, 921 Fifth, and 444-446 K Streets NW, a number of which were owned or occupied by Civil War figures.

The move of the Northern Liberties Market in the 1870’s to the corner of Fifth and K Streets, prompted food purveyors to relocate to that area and spurred a new phase of development. Today, “Purveyor’s Row” in the 900 block of Fifth Street NW commemorates the neighborhood’s connection to the food industry, as does the magnificent art deco Wittlin-Deckelbaum Building at Fifth and K Streets NW. During the early 20th century, the automobile opened a new pattern of development in the Mount Vernon Triangle. Several surviving automotive service garages reflect an early 20th-century industrial design aesthetic characterized by large banks of steel sash windows.

During the early 20th century, the automobile opened a new pattern of development in the Mount Vernon Triangle. Several surviving automotive service garages reflect an early 20th-century industrial design aesthetic characterized by large banks of steel sash windows.

As the Mount Vernon Triangle area became increasingly commercial and the emerging suburbs more enticing, neighborhood demographics began to shift. The more solidly middle-class residents abandoned their center city houses, leaving them as multi-family boarding houses that attracted less stable and poorer residents.

Today, the remaining historic properties of the Mount Vernon Triangle sit amongst parking lots and overgrown building lots. This entire area has been slated for redevelopment by the DC Office of Planning, including 5,000 new housing units and 2,000,000 square feet of office space.

DCPL has filed 11 landmark nominations in the Triangle, and is working with the DC Office of Planning, the Historic Preservation Office, and developers to ensure the retention of the neighborhoods historic character.

Next Steps/Actions:

• DCPL will continue to work the Office of Planning, HPO, and developers interested in the area.
• DCPL’s Project Review

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