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mount vernon square
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Mt. Vernon Square & Penn Quarter Neither Mount Vernon Square nor Penn Quarter are legally defined neighborhoods. Mount Vernon Square is located in the neighborhoods of Old City 2 and Central-tri 3. Penn Quarter lies within the borders of Central-tri 3. If you have questions about the following data or want more information, contact us at 202-965-3715. If you would like to be included in periodic e-mail updates on this or other neighborhoods, send your name and e-mail address to info@hananhomes.com. As of September 30, 2008, five single-family homes were for sale in Mount Vernon Square and Penn Quarter, and one was under contract. In the third quarter of 2008, four homes sold. In the first half of 2008, four single-family homes sold in Mount Vernon Square and Penn Quarter. In 2007, there were 13 sales, while nine homes sold in 2006. The average sale price in the first half of 2008 was $497,250. This compares to $602,069 and $543,222 in 2007 and 2006, respectively. The average list price was $545,500 in the first half of 2008, $610,729 in 2007, and $565,444 in 2006. Listed below are the sales by price range.
The number of condominiums and cooperatives that sold in the third quarter of 2008 totaled 40, with 22 under contract. There were 100 condos and coops for sale as of September 30, 2008. For the first half of 2008, 115 condos/coops sold, 243 for the year 2007, and 239 in 2006. The average sales price was $485,408 in the first half of 2008, $468,289 in 2007, and $473,124 in 2006. Listed below are the sales by price range.
While these two areas have always been considered neighborhoods, very few of the early buildings remain and much of its historic character is lost. The areas to the east of 7th Street and north of G Street are where the few residential residences are located and most date to the latter half of the nineteenth century when the buildings were taller and more ornamented than those before the Civil War. In the past 20 years, numerous impressive high-rise condominiums were built. There was also spotted renovation of a few townhouses. In 1997 the National Capital Planning Commission issued a plan to emphasize neighborhood development and create housing opportunities in the downtown area. The city government has designated the area southeast of the Seventh and Ninth Street corridors as priority areas for residential development. Cranes criss-cross the sky over these two neighborhoods as developers try to keep up with the demand for luxury condominiums, retail space, and other amenities to satisfy those who want to move into the heart of Washington. Whereas 20 years ago dusk meant empty sidewalks, today it means streetside cafes and residents walking their dogs or running to the grocery or dry cleaners. F Street, although once residential, is the main commercial street. The commercial area is thriving with desirable chain stores, popular restaurants, and hotels. The Shops at National Place has several unique shops for residents and tourists alike. Chinatown with the colorful Friendship Archway, the largest single-span Chinese arch in the world, offers an array of shops for Oriental delicacies and restaurants with menus specializing in regional cuisines. A farmers market is held from May to mid November on Thursdays afternoons at 8th Street near E Street. The two neighborhoods are brimming with museums, and the neighborhood is spotted with galleries. The National Museum of American Art and National Portrait Gallery, which reopened in July 2006, are located in the former Patent Office. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is on 13th Street, and the Jewish Historical Society Museum is in the oldest synagogue in Washington. The National Building Museum, Spy Museum, and Ford's Theatre and Museum are also downtown. The old Lansburgh store has been turned into an art center to allow local artists to showcase their work. In addition to the Ford's Theatre are the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Warner Theater, and National Theater in Penn Quarter. In May 2005 the Woolly Mammoth theater opened in its new space at 642 D Street. The MCI sports arena and the new Convention Center are also draws to the neighborhoods. Several courts are located in the neighborhoods including the US Court of Appeals, US Court of Appeals-DC Circuit, US Court of Military Appeals, and the US Tax Court. The Martin Luther King Library, the city's main library, is located downtown. The area is serviced by the Mt Vernon Sq-7th St/Convention Center, Gallery Place, and Judiciary Square Metro stations. Downtown is also a short walk to The National Mall and its museums. The area has become particularly popular with singles and "empty nesters." In 2005 Mount Vernon Square was noted by Washingtonian magazine as one of the neighborhoods to watch. Mount Vernon Square and Penn Quarter make up a large part of what is and has been known as Washington's downtown. Pennsylvania Avenue has always been considered the most important address in the city, not just politically but also commercially. In the early days of the city, Seventh Street was also one of the main roads farmers used into town and to the waterfront. By 1845, Pennsylvania Avenue was the only paved road in the city. While the federal government paid for the paving of Pennsylvania Avenue, Seventh Street's cobblestone paving was the first to be financed by the city. In 1862 Seventh Street had the first three-horse car line which by 1890 was converted to cable car. (Today the yellow and green Metro lines follow the old thoroughfare underground.) The Center Market, built in 1801 at Seventh and Pennsylvania, became the produce supply center for Washington. By 1870 almost 150 merchants operated there. It was destroyed by fire that year but reopened as a brick building in 1872 and by the 1880s expanded to provide for 1,300 vendors and farmers. It was razed in 1830 for the National Archives Building. Northern Liberty Market operated at Mount Vernon Square from 1846 until 1872. Before the Civil War, most of the area's buildings were two or three storied brick buildings. The storefronts on the first floor identified the business, with the shopkeepers living above the stores. In addition to merchants, store clerks, and building tradesmen, government workers lived in the area to be close to the new federal offices and several inhabited boardinghouses including that of Mary Surratt, who was hanged for her part in President Lincoln's assassination. German merchants moved to the area after the Civil War. Mayor John P. Van Ness, who owned property downtown, encouraged their emigration by donating land for St. Mary's German Catholic Church, which is located at Fifth and H Streets. German Jews opened several major department stores in the area, including Lansburgh's, Saks and Co., Kann and Sons, and the Hecht Co. The Irish arrived as laborers and settled in "Swampoodle," which was a marshy area northeast of Massachusetts and New Jersey Avenues. In the 1920s, Russian and East European Jews moved into the downtown area followed by the Italian immigrant laborers and food merchants. Because of segregation, African-Americans had their own shopping areas on the outskirts of downtown. Griffiths Stadium in LeDroit Park and the public library at Mount Vernon Square were the only places they could be served. After World War II, downtown businesses and schools were desegregated. After the 1968 race riots, department and other stores began to move out and most of the area was converted to high-rise offices. Only the Chinese community, which was established in the 1880s, remains. In 1972 Congress created the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation to revitalize the Avenue. Blagden Alley is a historic district in the northern section of Mount Vernon Square. It was named after Thomas Blagden, a 19th Century property and lumberyard owner. The downtown commercial and residential development extended north to Blagden Alley after the Civil War. Blanche K. Bruce, the first African-American Senator, lived in one of the neighborhood's townhouses. Many of the residents, however, were blacks who lived in brick and wooden alley dwellings. The widening of Ninth Street, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions, middle-class flight, and the 1968 riots led to the fall of the neighborhood. Only two blocks remain of the Victorian buildings.
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