Sixteenth Street Heights is a large predominantly residential neighborhood ofrowhouses,duplexes, andAmerican Craftsman andAmerican Foursquare detached houses inNorthwestWashington, D.C.

Definitions of Sixteenth Street Heights' boundaries vary, although the neighborhood can be broadly outlined by16th Street on the west,Georgia Avenue on the east, Missouri Avenue to the north, and Arkansas Avenue to the south.^[1] The 16th Street Heights Tax Assessment Neighborhood is defined as 16th Street on the west, Missouri Avenue on the north, Georgia Avenue on the east, and Upshur Street on the south.^[2][3] All of 16th Street Heights lies withinZIP code 20011.

Adjoining neighborhoods include:

• Brightwood (north of Missouri Avenue)
• Brightwood Park (northeast of Georgia Avenue and Kennedy Street)
• Columbia Heights (south of Spring Road)
• Crestwood (west of 16th Street)
• Park View (southeast of New Hampshire Avenue)
• Petworth (east of Georgia Avenue)

• S1, S2, S4 and S9Metrobus lines run north–south along 16th Street.
• 52, 54, and 59 Metrobus lines run north–south along 14th Street.
• 70 and 79 Metrobus lines run north–south along Georgia Avenue.
• E2, E3, and E4 Metrobus lines run along Military Road west of 14th Street, north–south along 14th Street, and along Kennedy Street west of 14th Street.

Sixteenth Street Heights is one of the most demographically diverse neighborhoods in the city.^{[citation needed]} The homes along 16th Street and its surrounding corridor are primarily owned by affluent residents, while the commercial corridors of14th Street and Georgia Avenue cater to middle- and lower-middle-classHispanic andAfrican American customers.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike the neighboring areas of Brightwood, Columbia Heights, and Petworth, 16th Street Heights has few commercial districts as it cherishes its residential character. Aside from a handful of corner shops in other areas of the neighborhood, businesses are confined to Georgia Avenue, 14th Street between Buchanan Street and Decatur Street, and the area surrounding the intersection of 14th Street, Colorado Avenue, and Kennedy Street. The Columbia Heights business district also extends to Shepherd Street in the southern end of the neighborhood. Many residents drive elsewhere for most of their shopping.^[1]

The 14th and Colorado area was once home to Colorado Kitchen,^[4] and Twins Lounge, a notable jazz club. Both have closed.^[5]

More than 45 churches line 16th Street betweenSilver Spring, Maryland, andLafayette Square. In 2008, theLDS Church bought a convent on 1.5 acres (6,100 m²) at the corner of 16th Street and Emerson Street and demolished it. They sought to build ameetinghouse on the site with a 105-foot (32 m) steeple. Neighborhood outcry was fierce; many residents displayedlawn signs that read, "Too Big, Too Much, Too Many." Opponents of the church sought to extend southward the Sixteenth Street Heights overlay zone that residents had fought long and hard to create,^[6] which is divided into SSH-1 from Military Road to Colorado Avenue and SSH-2 from Colorado to Decatur.^[7] Both restrict non-residential uses and associated parking by requiring Board of Zoning Adjustment approval.^[3][8] After much discussion, approval was granted to build the church, which was completed in October 2012 and is now home to two Mormon congregations: the Washington, DC, 3rd Ward and the Mount Pleasant Spanish-speaking Branch.

Sixteenth Street Heights is next to Rock Creek Park, a 1,754-acre (7.1 km²) national park that bisects the District of Columbia. Park facilities near 16th Street Heights include highly valued fields of green for sun bathing, soccer, a touch football league on Sundays, a popular jogging track and picnic areas for local residents and the public; theCarter Barron Amphitheater and theWilliam H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center, which hosts the annual Mubadala Citi Open tennis tournament, as well as tennis courts for the public, except when unavailable due to the professional tennis tournament. The grass fields are effectively out of service for a month or more due to field parking during the tournament, until rehabilitated by tournament management. The area is bordered to the West by a mature forest of lofty trees making for a lovely background.^[9]

The Hamilton Recreation Center at 1340 Hamilton Street has a 60-foot (18 m) by 40-foot (12 m) athletic field, a basketball court, a playground, and a small multi-purpose room.^[10] The Upshur Recreation Center at 4300 Arkansas Avenue has a baseball/softball field, two basketball courts, a computer lab, a kitchen, a medium-sized multi-purpose room, a playground, and a swimming pool.^[11] The Twin Oaks Community Garden, at 1425 Taylor Street, has 40 plots and hosts a Junior Master Gardener Program.^[12][13][14]

A part ofWashington County until passage of theDistrict of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, Sixteenth Street Heights was developed as a series of subdivisions.

Streetcar lines on 14th Street and Georgia Avenue accelerated the growth of the area. The 14th Street line, which originally stopped at Park Road, was extended in late 1906 to spur growth in the area.^[15][16] Two historic streetcar facilities are currently used byMetrobus: the Capital Traction Company car barn at 4615 14th Street, NW, is now the Northern Division garage, and the 14th and Colorado turnaround is the terminal for some 52, 53, and 54 buses.

The initial generation of residents was largelywhite and later had an influx ofJewish residents. In the late 1960s, the neighborhood became mostly African-American.^[1][17]

In the 21st century, Sixteenth Street Heights has seen a tremendous transformation. Houses on every street are being renovated inside and out.^[1] Many young families have moved in because homes in Sixteenth Street Heights tend to be more affordable than similar ones in many other neighborhoods in DC and close-in suburbs. They are also attracted by the diverse housing stock and the proximity toCarter Barron Amphitheater andRock Creek Park.

Much of 16th Street Heights was once part of Maple Grove Farm, an 80-acre (320,000 m²) nursery acquired in May 1854 byJohn Hennessy Saul, who led improvements of the Mall, Capitol, and White House grounds.^[18] By 1892, Saul's son,Bernard Francis Saul, founded the B.F. Saul Company to sell land in individual lots and take notes as mortgages to speed the sale.^[19]

The subdivision known as Saul's Addition was generally bounded by Buchanan Street, Piney Branch Road, Gallatin Street, and Georgia Avenue. Two public buildings were planned: the John Dickson Home for Aged Men (now occupied by theLAMB Public Charter School) and West Elementary School (which has been replaced by a modern building on the same site).^[15]

Numerous restrictions were put in the deeds of Saul's Addition lots. Some, including the requirement that all homes be fully detached and the prohibition of commercial and multifamily buildings, remain largely in effect through zoning laws. Others have been dropped or ruled illegal, such as the restriction on the sale of lots to people of color, which was struck down in 1948 by theSupreme Court inShelley v. Kraemer.^[20]

The area to the north of Saul's Addition was subdivided as Fourteenth Street Terrace. While similar to Saul's Addition, the deeds did not prohibit semi-detached houses, and many duplexes can be seen on the 1300 blocks of Gallatin, Hamilton, and Ingraham Streets.^[15]

Sixteenth Street Heights is represented as part ofWard 4 on theCouncil of the District of Columbia.Muriel Bowser served as councilperson before she became the city's mayor in 2015.Janeese Lewis George is the current Ward 4 councilperson. Most of Sixteenth Street Heights lies withinAdvisory Neighborhood Commission 4E.

Three neighborhood organizations serve 16th Street Heights: the 16th Street Heights Civic Associations with boundaries of Military Road to the North, Rock Creek Park to the West, Colorado Ave to the South and parts of Colorado and 13th St to the East; the 16th Street Neighborhood Association; and the Carter Barron East Neighborhood Association, whose boundaries are Decatur Street to the south, Longfellow Street to the north and 13th Street to the east.^[1] The community is also served by the Friends Of The 16th Street Heights Parks.

Former Chancellor ofDistrict of Columbia Public SchoolsMichelle Rhee used to live in the neighborhood.^[21][22][23]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSixteenth Street Heights.

• Sixteenth Street Heights Neighborhood Association

38°56′56″N77°01′58″W / 38.9488°N 77.0327°W /38.9488; -77.0327

• American Foursquare architecture in Washington, D.C.
• American Craftsman architecture in Washington, D.C.
• Sixteenth Street Heights
• Neighborhoods in Northwest (Washington, D.C.)

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