Capitol Hill
Moving to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC? The Capitol Hill Historic District takes its name from the hill, which rises in the center of the Federal City and extends eastward. This hill, which in 1790 was called Jenkins Hill or Jenkins Heights, was the site chosen by Pierre L’Enfant for the placement of the “Congress House,” a site which L’Enfant characterized as a “pedestal waiting for a superstructure.” In accordance with this plan, the US Capitol Building was situated upon the crest of the hill facing the city. Stretching easterly behind the Capitol Building along wide avenues lies the residential area known as Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill, one of the oldest residential communities in Washington, has grown from a small boarding house community for members of Congress to an area of more than 150 squares embracing a number of separate neighborhoods.
Capitol Hill is the largest residential historic district in the District of Columbia. Almost every street is composed of rowhouses of different stylistic varieties and periods forming a continuous wall broken only by street intersections. 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 combining Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, and Eastlakian motifs. One of the more interesting houses is the Sewell-Belmont House, perhaps one of the oldest houses in the city and rebuilt after the War of 1812. Interspersed with the rowhouses are churches, which serve the community such as Christ Church and St. Mark’s.
The Capitol Hill Historic District is bounded by Virginia Ave., SE.; S. Capitol, 2nd Street and and F Sts., NE.; and 14th Sts., SE & NE. Most of the buildings are private residences and not open to the public. Metro stops: Union Station, E. Capitol, and Eastern Market.
