Mt. Pleasant (June 7, 2020)
Today we started walking in Mt. Pleasant. The neighborhood gets its name from Anthony Holmead who in the 1700s owned an estate called Pleasant Plains, that included Mt. Pleasant as well as the adjacent neighborhoods of Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, and Pleasant Plains. The population used to be very diverse with residents fairly evenly split between blacks, whites and hispanics. But since the 1990s, like much of the District, the demographics of the neighborhood have changed dramatically and it now appears to mainly inhabited by young white professionals. Judging from the toys in many front yards, many also have young children.
The neighborhood consists mainly of row houses.
Including this rather colorful one.
And these that we particularly liked.
Along Park Road which bisects the neighborhood there are also a number of large single family homes. Many look particularly imposing sitting high above the road.
Another impressive building we passed by was this beautiful “Mission Revival” style building. It was built in 1911 and is currently owned by the “House of Mercy”, a non-profit founded by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. In keeping with the area’s history of strong hispanic ties, it includes the Rosemount Center, an English / Spanish early childhood education center.
Because of the hilly nature of the neighborhood, a number of houses sit above beautiful stone walls that line the streets, and often include beautiful staircases or cascading flowers.
Sometimes during our walks we come across houses with cars outside where it’s not too difficult to guess at the resident’s favorite color. Here’s an example.
Walking The District 