LeDroit Park

LeDroit Park Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Intersection of 4th & T Streets, NW in LeDroit Park
Map of Washington, D.C., with Le Droit Park highlighted in red
Location	Bounded roughly by Florida, Georgia, and Rhode Island Avenues, 2nd and Elm Streets, NW, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°55′8.5872″N 77°1′1.326″W / 38.919052000°N 77.01703500°W / 38.919052000; -77.01703500Coordinates: 38°55′8.5872″N 77°1′1.326″W / 38.919052000°N 77.01703500°W / 38.919052000; -77.01703500
NRHP Reference #	74002165
Added to NRHP	February 25, 1974

LeDroit Park is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. located immediately southeast of Howard University. Its borders include W Street to the north, Rhode Island Avenue and Florida Avenue to the south, Second Street NW to the east, and Howard University to the west.^[1]

The neighborhood was founded in 1873 by Amzi Barber, a businessman who served on the board of trustees of neighboring Howard University. Barber named the neighborhood after his father-in-law, LeDroict Langdon, but dropped the ‘c’.^[2]

As one of the first suburbs of Washington, LeDroit Park was developed and marketed as a "romantic" neighborhood with narrow tree-lined streets that bore the same names as the trees that shaded them, differing from the street names used in the rest of the city. Extensive focus was placed on the landscaping of this neighborhood, as developers spent a large sum of money to plant flower beds and trees to attract high profile professionals from the city. Originally a whites-only neighborhood, LeDroit Park was even gated with guards to promote security for its residents. Efforts by many, especially multiple actions by students from Howard University, ^{[citation needed]} led to the integration of the area. In July 1888 students tore down the fences that separated the neighborhood in protest of its discriminating policies.

By the 1940s LeDroit Park became a major focal point for the African-American elite as many prominent figures resided there. Griffith Stadium was also located here until 1965, when the Howard University Hospital was built where it used to stand. Le Droit Park includes Anna J. Cooper Circle, named for the education pioneer.

Today, LeDroit Park residents represent a wide variety of ethnic groups. The diversity entices new residents to the community, as well as its close proximity to the Shaw–Howard University Metro station ^[3] and many dining options.^[4]

Architecture

One of LeDroit's most recognizable features is its Victorian mansions, houses and row-houses, designed by architect James McGill. None of the original 64 homes McGill designed in LeDroit Park were identical ^[3] and most were built between 1873 and 1877.^[4] Today, 50 of the original homes remain.^[5] McGill was also a member of the LeDroit Park Property Owners Association, a precursor to the LeDroit Park Civic Association, which is active today.^[6]

Public Spaces and Art

When the Gage-Eckington School Elementary School closed, residents successfully lobbied the city to tear it down and convert it into a park, which opened in 2011 as the Park at LeDroit.^[4] The park houses a large playground, a dog park and the Common Good City Farm, an urban agriculture education center and community garden with 40 plots. In May 2011, His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales visited the Common Good City Farm.^[3][7]

Murals are painted on many walls throughout the neighborhood. In the Park at LeDroit, "This is How We Live" was commissioned by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities to be painted by artist Garin Baker.^[8][9] The mural shows the African-American heritage of the neighborhood, the changing community and landscape and historical and architectural scenes from the past and present. At the dedication on December 13, 2008, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is quoted as describing the mural as serving to

...visually engage residents through a beautiful neighborhood mural that depicts the unique landscapes, people and images of the historic LeDroit Park community. The mural will become a prominent landmark in the neighborhood for years to come.^[10]

Historic District

The neighborhood's historic value is officially recognized as the LeDroit Park Historic District.^[11][12] The historic district includes the Mary Church Terrell House, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The neighborhood was awarded a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.^[13]

Notable LeDroit Park Residents

External video

WETA Neighborhoods, Ledroit Park, WETA-TV[14]

LeDroit Park, Washington, D. C., National Building Museum[15]

• General William Birney – Civil War Veteran owned the stately mansion on Anna J. Cooper Circle. (T & Second Street)
• Senator Edward Brooke – First African American to win the senate seat by popular vote, was born in this house in 1919. (1938 Third Street)
• Dr. Ralph J. Bunche – The first African-American to receive the Nobel Peace prize, for his mediation in Palestine; resided in LeDroit Park during his professorship at Howard University. — (No address found)
• General Benjamin O. Davis Sr. – The first African-American general. Father of Ben O. Davis Jr; commander of the World War II Tuskegee airmen. (No address found)
• Hon. Oscar De Priest – First Black Congressmen after reconstruction, lived here for his three terms in office. (419 U Street)
• Paul Laurence Dunbar – Black poet laureate & Howard University alumnus. (321 U Street)
• Duke Ellington – jazz legend, lived in the neighborhood with his family during his early childhood. (420 Elm Street)
• Major Christian Fleetwood – One of the first Blacks to be awarded the Medal of Honor. (319 U Street)
• Julia West Hamilton – Civic leader and member of N.A.C.W. (320 U Street)
• Rev. Jesse Jackson – Civil rights activist and founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. (Corner of Fourth & T Streets)
• Ernest Everett Just – Professor in biology, researcher in biogenetics with significant contributions to zoology and biogenetics. (412 T Street)^[16]
• Dr. Jesse Lawson and Dr. Anna J. Cooper – Both prominent educators who founded Frelinghuysen University to educate Blacks working-class adults. Lawson also was a Lawyer (Howard University Law, 1881) who advocated for the rights of poor D.C. residents. (201 T Street)
• Willis Richards – Prominent playwright credited with having the first serious play to be performed on Broadway. (512 U Street)
• Mary Church Terrell – Heiress and activist for civil rights and woman’s suffrage. (326 T Street, National Historic Landmark)
• Walter Washington – the first mayor of DC elected under home rule (408 T Street)
• Clarence Cameron White – A Prominent Violinist educator in fine arts and Howard Alumni (No address found)
• Dr. Garnet C. Wilkinson – Superintendent of Colored Schools during segregation. (406 U Street)
• Octavius Augustus Williams – U.S. Capitol Barber and first Black to move into LeDroit Park in 1893 (338 U Street)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LeDroit Park.

• LeDroit Park Civic Association
• Left for LeDroit (neighborhood blog)

Nearby Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Northwest Pleasant Plains North McMillan Reservoir LeDroit Park East Bloomingdale Southwest Shaw Southeast Truxton Circle

v t e Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Ward 1 Adams Morgan Columbia Heights Kalorama LeDroit Park Mount Pleasant Park View Pleasant Plains Shaw Ward 2 Burleith Chinatown Downtown Dupont Circle Foggy Bottom Georgetown Kalorama Logan Circle Mount Vernon Square Penn Quarter Shaw Southwest Federal Center West End Ward 3 American University Park Berkley Cathedral Heights Chevy Chase Cleveland Park Colony Hill Forest Hills Foxhall Friendship Heights Glover Park Kent Massachusetts Heights McLean Gardens North Cleveland Park Observatory Circle The Palisades Potomac Heights Spring Valley Tenleytown Wakefield Wesley Heights Woodland Normanstone Woodley Park Ward 4 Barnaby Woods Brightwood Brightwood Park Chevy Chase Colonial Village Crestwood Hawthorne Manor Park Petworth Queens Chapel Riggs Park Shepherd Park Sixteenth Street Heights Takoma Ward 5 Arboretum Bloomingdale Brentwood Brookland Carver Langston Eckington Edgewood Fort Lincoln Fort Totten Gateway Ivy City Langdon Michigan Park North Michigan Park Pleasant Hill Queens Chapel Stronghold-Metropolis View Trinidad Truxton Circle Woodridge Ward 6 Barney Circle Capitol Hill Judiciary Square Kingman Park Navy Yard Near Northeast NoMa Southwest Waterfront Sursum Corda Swampoodle Ward 7 Benning Benning Heights Benning Ridge Burrville Capitol View Central Northeast Civic Betterment Deanwood Dupont Park East River Heights Eastland Gardens Fairfax Village Fairlawn Fort Davis Fort Dupont Good Hope Greenway Hillbrook Hillcrest Kenilworth Kingman Park Lincoln Heights Marshall Heights Mayfair Naylor Gardens Penn Branch Randle Highlands River Terrace Twining Ward 8 Anacostia Barry Farm Bellevue Buena Vista Congress Heights Douglass Fairlawn Garfield Heights Knox Hill Shipley Terrace Skyland Washington Highlands Woodland

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types Lists by states Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Lists by insular areas American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Lists by associated states Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau Other areas District of Columbia Morocco Category Portal WikiProject