The area got its name from 19th-century
speculator James Barry, who had once lived on the
Caribbean island of
Trinidad. A street in the neighborhood bears the name of Trinidad Avenue NE. The land passed to and from the Corcoran family, who used it as a country estate, to Columbian College, which later became
George Washington University, and then to the Washington Brick Machine Company. The brickworks intended to excavate clay from the land, but not needing all of the land, began selling off parcels, and, in the late 19th century, the first houses in southern Trinidad were built. The
American League Park was located at the corner of Florida Ave NE and Trinidad Avenue NE from 1901 to 1904. It was home to the
Washington Senators. In 2008, Trinidad was at the center of a significant
constitutional battle. In response to crime, the
Metropolitan Police Department instituted a series of checkpoints to screen those traveling into the neighborhood and turn away anyone without a "legitimate purpose" to be there. The
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in 2009 that the checkpoints were unconstitutional and violated the
Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable
search and seizure. ==Architecture==