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mount vernon square
and
penn quarter
Real Estate
Highlights
History
Adjacent
Neighborhoods
Neighborhood Boundaries
Neighborhood Links
Map of Mt. Vernon Sq/Penn Quarter
Search for Homes in
Mt. Vernon Square & Penn Quarter
(Use
20001 zipcode)
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.
REAL ESTATE
In 2011,
13 single-family homes sold in Mount Vernon Square and
Penn Quarter for an average sale price of $649,685. The
average list price was $661,946. This represents an
8%
increase in the number of sales and a 2% increase in
the average sale price from 2010. Homes were on the
market in 2011 for an average of 65 days.
Listed below are the
number of sales of
single-family homes by price range for the past six
years.
|
Single-Family Homes |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
2008
|
2007 |
2006
|
|
Below $500,000 |
3 |
4 |
13 |
7 |
7 |
5 |
|
$500,000-$999,999 |
10 |
6 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
$1,000,000-$1,499,999 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
|
$1,500,000-$1,999,999 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
$2,000,000-$2,499,999 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
$2,500,000-$2,999,999 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
$3,000,000+ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
13 |
12 |
21 |
11 |
13 |
9 |
In
2011, 217 condo and coop units sold in Mount Vernon
Square and Penn Quarter for an average sale price of
$433,861 and an average list price of
$443,020. This represents a
15%
increase in the number of sales and a
3%
increase in the average sale price from
2010. The condo and coop units were on the market for an
average of 63 days.
Listed below are the number of sales of condos and coops by price range for the past
six years.
|
Condominiums/Coops |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
2008
|
2007 |
2006
|
|
Below $500,000 |
159 |
149 |
194 |
143 |
165 |
155 |
|
$500,000-$999,999 |
58 |
38 |
65 |
63 |
76 |
82 |
|
$1,000,000-$1,499,999 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
|
$1,500,000-$1,999,999 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
217 |
189 |
259 |
210 |
243 |
239 |
If you have questions on how 2011 sales prices compare to
the last six years or would like detailed analysis for
this or other neighborhoods, contact us at
202-965-3715
or
info@hananhomes.com.
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 twentieth 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 designated the area southeast of the
Seventh and Ninth Street corridors as
priority areas for residential development.
HIGHLIGHTS
In the last decade, cranes criss-crossed the sky over these two neighborhoods
as developers tried to keep up with the demand for
luxury condominiums, retail space, and other amenities to
satisfy those who wanted 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.
HISTORY
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.
ADJACENT
NEIGHBORHOODS
NEIGHBORHOOD
BOUNDARIES
|
North |
N Street |
|
East |
2nd Street |
|
South |
Pennsylvania
Avenue |
|
West |
14th Street |
NEIGHBORHOOD
LINKS
Mount Vernon Square
Neighborhood Association
Map of Mount Vernon
Square and
Penn Quarter
To discover more about current listings
and recent home sales in
mount vernon square and penn quarter:
Call or e-mail us at
202-965-3715
info@hananhomes.com
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Washington DC Area Neighborhoods
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