Capitol Hill
Neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Top:U.S. Capitol Complex; middle top:Barracks Row (left) and historic rowhomes (right); middle bottom:Russell Senate Building (left) andEastern Market (right) bottom: view over Capitol Hill.
Country	United States
District	Washington, D.C.
Quadrants	Northeast,Southeast
Ward	6
ZIP code	20002 20003
Area code	202

Capitol Hill is aneighborhood inWashington, D.C., located in both theNortheast andSoutheast quadrants. It is bounded by 15th Street SE & NE, F Street NE, Southeast Boulevard SE, and South Capitol Street SE. Dominated by theUnited States Capitol, which sits on the highest point of Capitol Hill, it is one of the oldesthistoric districts in Washington. The neighborhood has a high concentration ofrowhouses, largely dating from the 19th century. Home to around 35,000 people in just under 2 square miles (5 km²), Capitol Hill is also one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Washington.^[1] The nameCapitol Hill is frequently used as ametonym for theU.S. Congress.

Capitol Hill is famed as a center of theUnited States government, home to numerous important institutions including the U.S. Congress, theSupreme Court, theLibrary of Congress, and more. Apart from government, the neighborhood is largely residential, but maintains notable commercial hubs alongPennsylvania Avenue, such asEastern Market andBarracks Row.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant selected the location of theUnited States Capitol (the "Congress House") in his 1791 design for the federal capital city (see:L'Enfant Plan). The building would be the symbolic center of his plan. He referred to the hill chosen as the site of the future Congress House as "Jenkins Hill" or "Jenkins Heights".^[2][3]

However, the tract of land had for many years belonged to theCarroll family and was noted in their records of ownership as "Rome".^[4] While a man named Thomas Jenkins had once pastured some livestock at the site of the Capitol (and thus his name was associated with the site), artistJohn Trumbull, who would paint several murals inside the Capitol's rotunda, reported in 1791 that the site was covered with a thick wood, making it an unlikely place for livestock to graze. Research published in 2004 by the Capitol Hill Historical Society showed that Jenkins' land was seven blocks east of the site of the Capitol and that L'Enfant was likely to have given Jenkins' name to the general location.^[2]

While serving in 1793 as PresidentGeorge Washington'ssecretary of state,Thomas Jefferson named Capitol Hill, invoking the famousTemple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on theCapitoline Hill, one of theseven hills of Rome.^[5] However, the connection between the two is not completely clear.^[6]

The neighborhood that is now called Capitol Hill started to develop when the government began work at two locations, the Capitol and theWashington Navy Yard. It became a distinct community between 1799 and 1810 as the federal government became a major employer. The first stage in its early history was that of aboarding house community developed for members of Congress. In the early years of the Republic, few Congressmen wished to establish permanent residence in the city. Instead, most preferred to live in boarding houses within walking distance of the Capitol.^[1]

In 1799, the Washington Navy Yard was established on the banks of theAnacostia River, providing jobs to craftsmen who built and repaired ships. Many of the craftsmen who were employed both at the Navy Yard and in the construction of the Capitol chose to live within walking distance, to the east of the Capitol and the north of the Navy Yard. They became the original residential population of the neighborhood.

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson, who was at the timePresident of the United States, selected the location of theMarine Barracks, which had to be within marching distance of both the Capitol and the White House, near the Washington Navy Yard. By 1810, shops, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and churches were flourishing in the area.

TheCivil War resulted in more construction in the Capitol Hill area, including the building of hospitals. Construction of new houses continued in the 1870s and 1880s. The neighborhood began to divide along racial and economic class lines.Electricity, piped water, and plumbing were introduced in the 1890s, and were first available in the downtown areas of the District of Columbia, including Capitol Hill. There was a real estate development boom between 1890 and 1910 as the Capitol Hill area became one of the first neighborhoods having thesemodern conveniences.

In 1976, the Capitol Hill Historic District was placed on theNational Register of Historic Places. It is one of the largest historic districts in the United States.^[1] The boundaries of the historic district are irregular, extending southward from F Street NE, as far east as 15th Street, as far west as South Capitol Street, and with a southern limit marked chiefly by Virginia Avenue but including some territory as far south as M Street SE. It includes buildings from the Federal period (1800 to 1820) through 1919, but most of the buildings are late Victorian.

Capitol Hill has remained a fairly stable middle-class neighborhood throughout its existence. It suffered a period of economic decline and rising crime in the mid-20th century but gradually recovered. During the so-called "crack epidemic" of the 1980s, its fringes were often affected. Beginning in the 1990s, the neighborhood has undergone intensegentrification.^[7]

Capitol Hill's landmarks include not only theUnited States Capitol, but also the Senate and House office buildings, theSupreme Court building, theLibrary of Congress, theMarine Barracks, theWashington Navy Yard, andCongressional Cemetery, which are collectively part of theCapitol Complex.

Also, theFolger Shakespeare Library is located in Capitol Hill. It is a research library and museum that houses the world's largest collection of material related to English writerWilliam Shakespeare^[8] and third-largest collection of English books printed before 1641.^[9][10] The Folger Library houses a large museum and also operates the Folger Theatre, which is known for being a leading interpreter of Shakespeare's works.^[11]

Capitol Hill is, however, largely a residential neighborhood composed predominantly ofrowhouses of different stylistic varieties and periods. Side by side exist early 19th century manor houses,Federal townhouses, small frame dwellings, ornate Italianate bracketed houses, and the late 19th century press brick rowhouses with their often whimsical decorative elements combiningRichardsonian Romanesque,Queen Anne, andEastlakian motifs.^[1]

In the 1990s, gentrification and the booming economy of the District of Columbia meant that the neighborhood's non-historic and obsolete buildings began to be replaced. New buildings, which have to comply with height limits and other restrictions, are often done in a decorative modernist style, many byAmy Weinstein, whose designs feature polychrome brickwork set in patterned relief.^[12][13]

The main retail corridor of Capitol Hill isPennsylvania Avenue, a lively commercial street with shops, restaurants and bars.Eastern Market is an 1873 public market on 7th Street SE, where vendors sell fresh meat and produce in indoor stalls and at outdoor farmers' stands. It is also the site of an outdoorflea market every weekend. After a major fire gutted the main market building on April 30, 2007, it underwent restoration and reopened on June 26, 2009. One of the most beloved stores, Fragers Hardware, has been based on Pennsylvania Avenue for nearly 100 years before it suffered a fire similar in destructiveness to the Eastern Market fire. It has successfully rebuilt on the same location.^[14]

Barracks Row at 8th Street SE, named because of its proximity to theU.S. Marine Barracks, is one of the city's oldest commercial corridors.^[15] It dates to the late 18th century and has recently been revitalized. Barracks Row is located immediately south ofEastern Market, which is a public market dating back to 1871. The Eastern Market and Barracks Row area have many restaurants and shops. This area is the oldest commercial district in the city, in part due to its proximity to theWashington Navy Yard.

A new addition to Capitol Hill is a community center named Hill Center. Hill Center is housed in the restoredOld Naval Hospital at the corner of 9th and Pennsylvania Avenue SE.^{[citation needed]}

• 
  St. Peter's Church
• 
  Longworth House Building
• 
  St. Joseph's Church
• 
  United Methodist Building
• 
  World Mission Society Church of God
• 
  Federal rowhomes

The Capitol Hill neighborhood is home to many parks and squares.Lincoln Park is located immediately east of the U.S. Capitol onEast Capitol Street. It is home toThomas Ball's controversialEmancipation Memorial as well asRobert Berks' statue ofMary McLeod Bethune. At the intersection between Maryland Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue on the northern part of the neighborhood isStanton Park. The park is named afterEdwin Stanton, who wasU.S. Secretary of War during theAmerican Civil War.

Located immediately south of the U.S. Capitol isSpirit of Justice Park, which is separated into two identically sized sections bySouth Capitol Street. Southeast of this park isFolger Park, which was named after formerSecretary of the TreasuryCharles J. Folger. At the intersection ofPennsylvania Avenue and North Carolina Avenue isSeward Square. Since those two roads intersect diagonally in the middle of the square, Sward Square is divided into four triangular sections. A couple blocks immediately south of this square is the location ofMarion Park. This park goes by the nameTurtle Park because of a large cement turtle in its playground. On the southern edge of the neighborhood isGarfield Park, named afterPresident James Garfield.

Capitol Hill is served by theDistrict of Columbia Public Schools.^[16] Boundary schools include:

• Brent Elementary School
• Maury Elementary School
• Payne Elementary School
• Shirley Chisholm Elementary School
• Elliot-Hine Middle School
• Eastern High School

The Capitol Hill Cluster School, which operates under DC Public Schools, has three campuses.^[17]

• Peabody Elementary School (PK3-Kindergarten)
• Watkins Elementary School (1st-5th Grades)
• Stuart-Hobson Middle School (6th-8th Grades)

Capitol Hill is also home to independent schools including St. Peters Catholic School and Capitol Hill Day School.

• John S. Barbour Jr., U.S. senator^[18]
• Porter H. Dale, U.S. senator^[19]
• Frederick Douglass, social reformer and abolitionist
• Isaac Fulwood, formerchief of theMetropolitan Police^[20]
• Albert Gallatin, formerU.S. secretary of the treasury and U.S. senator^[19]
• Ana Gasteyer, actress and comedian^[21][22][23]
• J. Edgar Hoover, first director of theFBI
• Hiram Johnson, 23rdgovernor of California
• Reverdy Johnson, formerU.S. attorney general and U.S. senator^[18]
• Phil Mendelson, currentchairman of the D.C. Council^[24]
• Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator^[25]
• John Philip Sousa, famed composer^[26]
• Jerome Sykes, stage actor and comedian
• George Watterston, thirdlibrarian of Congress

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCapitol Hill, Washington, D.C..

Wikivoyage has a travel guide forCapitol Hill.

• Capitol Hill BID
• Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce
• Capitol Hill Community Foundation
• Capitol Hill Restoration Society

• Capitol Hill
• 1799 establishments in Washington, D.C.
• Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
• Federal architecture in Washington, D.C.
• Greek Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.
• Italianate architecture in Washington, D.C.
• Neighborhoods in Northeast (Washington, D.C.)
• Neighborhoods in Southeast (Washington, D.C.)
• Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C.
• Queen Anne architecture in Washington, D.C.
• Romanesque Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.
• Victorian architecture in Washington, D.C.

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