History
Historic Home off Lincoln Park
The Capitol Hill Historic District
One of the oldest and most architecturally rich communities in the city, Capitol Hill reflects the social diversity and economic growth of the early capital. It includes the earliest residential development, clustered near the Capitol building and Navy Yard, and the late-19th and early-20th century housing for workers.
Capitol Hill stretches well beyond the historic district boundaries, reaching from the Capitol grounds to the Anacostia River.
There is great variety of housing types, with elaborate ornamental pressed-brick structures adjacent to simple, unadorned frame buildings and small apartment houses. Many row houses were built either in long, uninterrupted blocks or in small groups whose imaginative facades reflect the aspirations of the builders and residents. There are many fine commercial buildings, particularly along 8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and notable religious and institutional structures. The predominant architectural styles include Federal, Italianate, Second Empire, Romanesque, Queen Anne Victorian and Classical Revival. There are approximately 8,000 primary contributing buildings dating from circa 1791-1945.
CHRS and the founding of the Historic District
When Capitol Hill Restoration Society formed in 1955, the neighborhood was in real and constant danger of losing its buildings and its character – its very history – to demolition and redevelopment.
CHRS was in the vanguard of what would become the modern historic preservation movement. It started with saving the Alva Belmont House, today known as the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, at 144 Constitution Ave. NE.
It culminated in the 1976 listing of the Capitol Hill Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, a move that offers enduring protection of our priceless history. When words alone have not been enough, we’ve turned to city and federal government and even the courts to uphold our commitment to defend this historic community.
Capitol Hill Historic District Brochure
This document, published by CHRS, laid the foundation for the Capitol Hill Historic District
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument b/w photo National Park Service, circa 1909
500 block of Constitution Avenue NE, DC Department of Housing and Community Development, 1975
Historic Homes Get Reprieve
Community Turns Warehouse into Neighborhood Arts Center
Hill Residents Battle the Bulldozer
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument b/w photo National Park Service, circa 1909
500 block of Constitution Avenue NE, DC Department of Housing and Community Development, 1975