Meridian Hill | |
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Top: Meridian Hill Park; middle: Old French Embassy (left) and Warder Mansion (right); bottom: Cuban Embassy (left) and Park Tower (right). | |
Country | United States |
District | Washington, D.C. |
Quadrant | Northwest |
Ward | 1 |
Meridian Hill is a small urban neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Meridian Hill is often considered to be a part of the larger neighborhoods of Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights, which it sits between. The neighborhood is primarily residential, though it also hosts a number of diplomatic missions and embassies.
Meridian Hill was developed as part of the City Beautiful movement in the late 19th century, [1] when socialite Mary Foote Henderson embarked on a major initiative to turn Meridian Hill into the city's most prestigious area. [2] While the neighborhood lured many prominent figures to build mansions and embassies, Henderson did not achieve her goal of building a new Presidential Mansion on the central area of the hill, which was eventually developed into Meridian Hill Park.
At the time of the District of Columbia's creation in 1791, the area of present-day Meridian Hill was owned by Robert Peter and was known as Peter's Hill. In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson had a geodetic marker placed on the hill, centered exactly north of the White House, which established the White House meridian, which would eventually give the hill its current name. [2]
Commodore David Porter acquired the hill in 1816 as part of a 110-acre (450,000 m2) tract of land and named this property "Meridian Hill". [3] Close to the meridian marker, Porter then built a large mansion which he also named Meridian Hill, which had a panoramic view of the White House and the Potomac River. [4] Following his presidential term, John Quincy Adams briefly lived at Meridian Hill.
Following the onset of the U.S. Civil War, much of the Meridian Hill estate and the neighboring lands of Columbian College (modern-day George Washington University) were commandeered by the U.S. Army for use as a military encampment named Camp Cameron. [2] [5] [6] [7]
In 1867, the Porter estate was subdivided into smaller lots for real estate development. [2] In 1887, former senator John Brooks Henderson and his wife Mary Foote Henderson purchased a large number of these real estate lots. Mary, with many friends in U.S. Congress, had grand plans for the area and for the public use of the hill, hoping to transform the area into the most prestigious neighborhood in D.C.
She put forward, without success, two ambitious proposals to build a presidential mansion on the hill to replace the White House; one by architect Paul J. Pelz in 1898 and the second by Franklin W. Smith in 1900. She next unsuccessfully proposed that the site be used for the planned Lincoln Memorial. Henderson and architect George Oakley Totten Jr. planned and built a succession of large, elaborate embassies and mansions along both 15th and 16th streets, including her own family estate known as Henderson Castle.
In 1901, the U.S. Senate's McMillan Commission undertook a set of formal changes to Washington's civic appearance, most famously by reconfiguring the city's National Mall. The commission also decided, with Mary's input, that a park on Meridian Hill was appropriate, and proceeded to plan for its creation. By an Act of Congress on June 25, 1910, Meridian Hill Park was established. [8] The federal government also purchased the land for the park in 1910, and began planning for its construction in 1912, with the Interior Department hiring landscape architect George Burnap to design a grand urban park modeled on parks found in European capitals. His plans were approved in early 1914, and later were modified by Horace Peaslee. After two decades under construction, the grounds were declared essentially complete, given park status, and then dedicated in 1936.
The Meridian International Center was established in 1960, at Meridian House. [9] The center later absorbed the neighboring White-Meyer House in 1987. [10] Both estates were designed by John Russell Pope, in 1912 and 1920, respectively.
At a political rally in 1969, activist Angela Davis proposed renaming the Meridian Hill Park after Malcolm X, but this name change was not approved, though some continue to call the park Malcolm X Park.
After 1970, with inner-city areas of Washington experiencing an economic decline, the park and its neighborhood suffered some decay for a number of years, with crime and vandalism becoming a problem. About 1990, in response to rising crime rates in and around the park, neighborhood residents became more involved in the park's stewardship and programming, and a group of community organizations formed the Friends of Meridian Hill.
In 1994, in recognition of the impact of the Friends of Meridian Hill, president Bill Clinton presented the Friends of Meridian Hill with the Partnership Leadership Award in a White House ceremony. [11] In 1994, Meridian Hill Park was designated a National Historic Landmark, as "an outstanding accomplishment of early 20th century Neoclassicist park design in the United States". [12]
In 2014 the District of Columbia government approved creation of the "Meridian Hill Historic District". [13]
Meridian Hill has experienced levels of urban redevelopment in the 2000's. [14]
Meridian Hill is home to a number of embassies and diplomatic buildings, including:
There a numerous National Register of Historic Place listings in the neighborhood, including Meridian House, the White-Meyer House, Meridian Hall, Meridian Manor, Meridian Mansions, the Pink Palace, and the Warder Mansion, among others.
The Josephine Butler Parks Center is the headquarters of Washington Parks and People, housed in the Old Hungarian Embassy building.
The Inter-American Defense Board is headquartered at the Pink Palace.
The Meridian International Center is headquartered at Meridian House and the White-Meyer House.
Meridian Hill Park is a national historic landmark and also home to numerous landmarks within itself, including the James Buchanan Memorial, the Cascading Waterfall, the Equestrian statue of Joan of Arc, the Dante Alighieri statue, and the Serenity statue.
Meridian Hill is a part of Ward 1, and is in the service area of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 1A, 1B, and 1C.
Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW to the west, M Street NW to the south, and Florida Avenue NW to the north. Much of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the local government Advisory Neighborhood Commission and the Dupont Circle Historic District have slightly different boundaries.
Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Adams Morgan is noted as a historic hub for counterculture and as an arts district. It is also known for its popular entertainment district and culinary scene, centered on both 18th Street and Columbia Road.
Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C., with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded by Scott Circle to the south and the United States Naval Observatory to the north; the term is often applied to nearby streets and neighborhoods that also host diplomatic buildings, such as Kalorama.
Columbia Heights is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Bounded by 16th Street NW, W Street NW, Florida Avenue NW, Barry Place NW, Sherman Avenue NW, Spring Road NW, and New Hampshire Avenue NW. neighborhood is an important retail hub for the area, as home to DC USA mall and to numerous other restaurants and stores, primarily along the highly commercialized 14th Street. Columbia Heights is home to numerous historical landmarks, including Meridian Hill Park, National Baptist Memorial Church, All Souls Church, along with a number of embassy buildings.
Meridian Hill Park is an urban park in Washington, D.C., located in the Meridian Hill neighborhood that straddles the border between Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights, in Northwest D.C. The park was built between 1912-40 and covers 12-acre (49,000 m2). Meridian Hill Park is bordered by 15th, 16th, W, and Euclid streets NW, and sits on a prominent hill 1.5 miles (2.4 km) directly north of the White House. Since 1969, the name Malcolm X Park is used by some in honor of Malcolm X.
The Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., is the French diplomatic mission to the United States.
16th Street Northwest, briefly known as the Avenue of the Presidents, is a prominent north-south boulevard in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The street was laid out as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan, which served as the original blueprint for the city. The street begins just north of the White House, across from Lafayette Square in the President's Park, and continues north along the Washington meridian until Blair Circle.
Reed-Cooke is a small urban neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated within the boundaries of the larger and more prominent neighborhood of Adams Morgan, just north of the city's original L'Enfant-planned area. Its residents, and its local civic organization, the Reed-Cooke Neighborhood Association, generally consider it to be a distinct local neighborhood, although it is not on the city's list of formally recognized neighborhoods. While Reed-Cooke is most popularly considered a section of Adams Morgan, the area is sometimes considered to be an extension of the Meridian Hill neighborhood.
Sheridan Circle is a traffic circle and park in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The traffic circle, one of two in the neighborhood, is the intersection of 23rd Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, and R Street NW. The buildings along this stretch of Massachusetts Avenue NW are part of Embassy Row, which runs from Scott Circle to Observatory Circle. Sheridan Circle is a contributing property to the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District and the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). In addition, the equestrian statue of General Philip Sheridan is 1 of 18 Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C., that were collectively listed on the NRHP.
The Sixteenth Street Historic District is a 1.25-mile (2.01 km) linear historic district in Washington, D.C., that includes all structures along 16th Street NW between H Street and Florida Avenue. The district's southern boundary is bordered by Lafayette Square, just north of the White House, and Meridian Hill Park on its northern boundary. It includes an eclectic mix of architectural styles on one of the city's most historic and important numbered streets including single and multi-family residential buildings, embassies, hotels, churches, and office buildings.
George Oakley Totten Jr., was one of Washington D.C.’s most prolific and skilled architects in the Gilded Age. His international training and interest in architectural decoration led to a career of continuous experimentation and stylistic eclecticism which is clearly evident in many of his works. The mansions he designed were located primarily on or near Dupont, Sheridan, and Kalorama circles and along 16th Street, N.W., near Meridian Hill. Most now serve as embassies, chanceries, or offices for national or international organizations, their important public or semi-public functions, combined with their urbanistically integrated close-in locations, make them particularly visible exemplars of Washington's peculiar mixture of turn-of-the-century political and social life.
Mary Foote Henderson was an American author, real estate developer, and social activist from the U.S. state of New York who was known as "The Empress of Sixteenth Street". Henderson was a notable supporter of women's suffrage, temperance and vegetarianism.
Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C., is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Lithuania to the United States. It is located at 2622 16th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Meridian Hill neighborhood.
Embassy Building No. 10 is a historic building located at 3149 16th Street NW Washington, D.C., in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. Although as the name implies it was built to be a foreign mission, it was never in fact used as such; instead, it served as the central office of the District's municipal parks department for nearly seventy years.
Josephine Butler Parks Center is a historic building in Washington, D.C. and the headquarters of Washington Parks and People, located in the Meridian Hill neighborhood of Northwest D.C. It is housed in the Old Hungarian Embassy, which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as House at 2437 Fifteenth Street, NW.
The White-Meyer House is a historic mansion in Washington, D.C., located in the Meridian Hill neighborhood of Northwest D.C. It was designed by American architect John Russell Pope and built by order of American diplomat Henry White. For several years, the house was rented to Eugene Meyer, who then bought it in 1934. It was bought by non-profit organization Meridian International Center in 1987.
Meridian Hall is an historic house in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1990 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as the Mansion at 2401 15th Street, NW. Today, it is headquarters of the Art of Living Foundation.
The Meridian International Center is a non-partisan, nonprofit, public diplomacy organization founded in 1960 and located in Washington, D.C. It works closely with the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. government agencies, NGOs, international governments, and the private sector to create programs.
Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highest-income neighborhoods in the United States, as well as one of the most desirable and expensive real estate markets in the country. Prior to Covid-19, it was the most expensive real estate market per metre squared, narrowly beating Monte Carlo, although it has since fallen heavily. It was the only place in the United States so far where market price per square metre exceeded the average yearly salary in the country.
The Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District is a neighborhood and historic district located in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The boundaries of the historic district include Rock Creek Park to the north and west, P Street to the south, and 22nd Street and Florida Avenue to the east. On the southwestern edge of the neighborhood is a stretch of Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue. The other neighborhood and historic district that lies to the east of Sheridan-Kalorama is Kalorama Triangle Historic District. The two neighborhoods are divided by Connecticut Avenue. For many years both neighborhoods were geographically connected before the stretch of Connecticut Avenue was installed toward the Taft Bridge. Oftentimes, both neighborhoods are simply called "Kalorama" or "Kalorama Heights".