Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District

in Ukrainian Independence Park The Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District encompasses the entire Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood, located in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The rough boundaries of the historic district are Rock Creek Park to the north and west, P Street to the south, and 22nd Street and Florida Avenue to the east. The surrounding neighborhoods are also historic districts, Dupont Circle to the south and east, and Kalorama Triangle to the northeast. Massachusetts Avenue, another historic district, bisects the neighborhood from the south to the northwest. The properties along the west side of Massachusetts Avenue abut Rock Creek Park. Like many other neighborhoods outside the original 1791 L'Enfant Plan, some of the roads in Sheridan-Kalorama do not share the same grid pattern. Lots on the southern portion of the historic district tend to be flat, while the land gradually rises the further north one goes in the neighborhood. The highest point is at Mitchell Park and the surrounding lots. The land drops sharply behind the properties on Massachusetts Avenue, Belmont Road, Kalorama Circle, and Kalorama Road, due to the geography of Rock Creek Park. ==History==

17th and 18th centuries The area now known as Sheridan-Kalorama was originally inhabited by Native American tribes, the Nacotchtank and Mattawoman. During the 17th century, they came into conflict with white settlers moving to the area. One of the settlers, John Langworth, had been given a tract of land in 1663 by Charles II of England. The tract was later called Widow's Mite and owned by the Anthony Holmead family at some point in the late 18th or early 19th century. The land was located outside the boundaries of the District of Columbia, and was a part of Maryland for many years. Anthony Holmead II emigrated from England to the U.S., to take possession of the land his uncle owned. He built two houses, one called Rock Hill located around 23rd and S Streets, where he raised a large family. In 1791, the City of Washington was laid out, but its furthest reach going north was Boundary Street (now Florida Avenue). The neighborhood became part of Washington County, D.C. at that time. Holmead sold his house and a portion of his land in 1794, moving just to the east of his former land. The new owner, Gustavus Scott, called his estate Belair, but overspent while trying to improve the estate. He sold two portion of his land, which soon became the site of a paper mill and grist mill. Barlow died while on a trip to Europe, and his widow, Ruth, continued living in their house with her sister and brother-in-law Colonel George Bomford. After Ruth's death, the property was passed on to her brother, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Henry Baldwin. Bomford bought the property and some of the surrounding land, owning it until 1846. The next owner of Kalorama, Thomas R. Lovett, purchased the property for his mother. At this time, the Holmeads were still neighbors living on the adjoining property to the east. After the war ended, there was a large increase of people moving to Washington, D.C., and with them the need for additional homes and apartments. Between 1865 and 1880, an increasing amount of lots were sold, resulting in the loss of previous vast estates. One of the most prominent residences built during this time was an octagonal house where former Ohio Governor William Bebb lived. The house remained until 1949 when it was demolished. Extending Connecticut Avenue north of Boundary Street to a planned bridge crossing Rock Creek divided Kalorama Triangle from Sheridan-Kalorama, then known as Kalorama Heights. The latter was to be the preferred neighborhood for wealthier residents, while Kalorama Triangle was composed of mostly middle class residents. After four years of attempts to have the neighborhood declared a historic landmark, it was listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites (DCIHS) and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1989. Supporters argued this would help preserve the historic nature of the Sheridan-Kalorama. Even with the landmark designation, by 1993 more than 25 percent of the neighborhood's 686 buildings were owned by foreign nations. 21st century During the early 21st century, there was continued development of some embassy buildings. The former apartment building, St. Alban's, had been purchased by China in the 1970s. It was demolished, except for one historic wall, and replaced with an apartment building for Chinese embassy staff. Sheridan-Kalorama has always been home to wealthy people and prominent officials, including several presidents, with the latest being President Barack Obama, who moved into a large Sheridan-Kalorama house with his family in January 2017. During the first presidency of Donald Trump, his daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, lived in Sheridan-Kalorama. Previous U.S. presidents that lived in Sheridan-Kalorama include William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. ==Historic landmarks and embassies==

Historic landmarks is a National Historic Landmark. Many of the historic landmarks and contributing properties in Sheridan-Kalorama are also included in the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District. In addition to the aforementioned Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District, added to the DCIHS on September 25, 1989, and the NRHP on October 30, 1989, there are numerous historic landmarks throughout the neighborhood. Ones listed on the NRHP and DCIHS include the following: Alice Pike Barney Studio House; the Joseph Beale House; the Codman-Davis House; the Meeting House of the Friends Meeting of Washington; the Anthony Holmead Archeological Site; the Embassy of Japan; The Lindens (disassembled in Massachusetts and reassembled in Sheridan-Kalorama from 1935-1938); the equestrian statue of Philip Sheridan (1 of 18 Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C. that were collectively listed on the DCIHS and NRHP); and the Tucker House and Myers House (previously home to the Textile Museum). There are 4 National Historic Landmarks in the neighborhood: the Charles Evans Hughes House; the Woodrow Wilson House; the William E. Borah Apartment at the Windsor Lodge; and the Frances Perkins House. Significant contributing properties in Sheridan-Kalorama include the following: The Army and Navy at 2540 Massachusetts Avenue NW; the Church of the Pilgrims at 2201 P Street NW; The Decatur at 2131 Florida Avenue NW; the Diplomatic Apartments at 2500 Massachusetts Avenue NW; The Dresden at 2126 Connecticut Avenue NW; the Embassy of Thailand's Consular Section at 2300 Kalorama Road; the Edward Hamlin Everett House at 1606 23rd Street NW; the Gibson Fahnestock House at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW; The Farnsboro at 2129 Florida Avenue NW; the Emma S. Fitzhuh House at 2253 R Street NW; the Florence Court at 2153/2205 California Street NW; the French ambassadorial residence at 2221 Kalorama Road; the Henrietta M. Halliday House at 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW;, the Christian Hauge House at 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW; The Highlands at 1914 Connecticut Avenue NW; The Hightowers at 2000 Connecticut Avenue NW; the Indian Consulate at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW; the Islamic Center of Washington at 2551 Massachusetts Avenue NW, the apartment building at 2120 Kalorama Road NW; the Embassy of Malaysia's chancery at 2401 S Street NW; the Miller House at 2201 Massachusetts Avenue NW; the headquarters of the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists at 2205 Massachusetts Avenue; the Mrs. Francis B. Moran House at 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW; Saint Margaret's Episcopal Church at 1820 Connecticut Avenue NW; The Saint Regis at 2219 California Street NW; the Spanish Steps at 22nd Street and Decatur Place; the Wendell Mansions at 2339 Massachusetts Avenue NW; The Westmoreland at 2122 California Street NW; the Mrs. Sarah S. Wyeth House at 2305 Massachusetts Avenue NW; and the Embassy of Slovenia at 2410 California Street NW. ==See also==