Mount Vernon Triangle is a neighborhood and community improvement district in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The neighborhood is located adjacent to Mount Vernon Square. Originally a working-class neighborhood established in the 19th century, present-day Mount Vernon Triangle experienced a decline in the mid-20th century as it transitioned from residential to commercial and industrial use. The neighborhood has undergone significant and rapid redevelopment in the 21st century. It now consists mostly of high-rise condominium, apartment and office buildings. Several historic buildings in the neighborhood have been preserved and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mount Vernon Triangle is now considered a good example of urban planning and a walkable neighborhood.
Geography
Mount Vernon Triangle, consisting of 17 blocks, is in Ward 6 and the 20001 ZIP code. The triangular neighborhood is bordered by: 7th Street and Mount Vernon Square and Downtown on the west, Massachusetts Avenue and the Judiciary Square neighborhood on the south, New Jersey Avenue and the Sursum Corda and NoMa neighborhoods on the east New York Avenue and the Shaw neighborhood on the north
K Street is considered to be the neighborhood's "Main Street", with the intersection of 5th and K Streets acting as a "community focal point and heart of the neighborhood."
History
Present-day Mount Vernon Triangle was featured on the L'Enfant Plan for the city, although it was north of the populated areas at the time and remained largely unsettled. In 1810, Congress chartered the 7th Street Turnpike, an extension of 7th Street that ran from Center Market (National Archives Building present site) to the Maryland border. This led to some minor development in the area, although prior to the Civil War, most of the residences consisted of only modest frame dwellings. The exception was Douglas Row, three large homes built in 1856 by two senators and Vice President John C. Breckinridge. Douglas Row was used as a hospital during the Civil War and served as the residence of notable figures after the war concluded, including Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. Stanton Hospital, one of the city's largest temporary hospitals during the war, was located in the neighborhood, across the street from Douglas Row. The rapid growth of the neighborhood was spurred by the 1875 opening of the Northern Liberty Market, a large public market with 284 vending stalls that stood at 5th and K Streets NW. As the population grew, older dwellings were replaced with permanent brick homes and businesses and the demographics changed dramatically. German, Irish and Jewish immigrants moved to the neighborhood and opened shops. African Americans also moved to the area, though they tended to live in alley dwellings.
In addition to the Northern Liberty Market, the neighborhood experienced rapid growth due to improvements made by the Board of Public Works led by Alexander "Boss" Shepherd and the installation of streetcars. Horse-drawn streetcars began service on the neighborhood portion of Massachusetts Avenue and 4th Street in 1884 while Washington, D.C.'s first electric streetcar line began operating on New York Avenue in 1888. The transportation options and proximity to downtown led to speculative development in the neighborhood, though middle-class rows of houses were not built, unlike most neighborhoods in the area. In addition to residential and commercial development, there was an active industrial center in the neighborhood, centered around Prather's Alley (located between 4th and 5th and I and K Streets). In the late 19th century and early 20th century, buildings and stables on Prather's Alley were demolished or converted into bakeries, a dairy bottling plant, warehouses and other industrial facilities.
