History
In the late 19th century, the land was the home of two farms and some woods and trees. Massachusetts Avenue was extended by way of a bridge over Rock Creek in 1904. In 1910, the 61st Congress allowed an exception to the typical street layout to a little bit of wilderness right in the middle of Washington. By curving around the hills, and by preserving the trees rather than cutting them, the developers created a neighborhood unlike most others in D.C. A group of real estate investors, called the Massachusetts Heights Company, purchased the area for over $2,000,000 in 1911. At the time of the sale, the new owners said they wanted to convert the wooded area into a "magical city". The developers built wide streets that conformed to the natural hilly topography. In 1917, the land was sold for several million dollars, which was the largest individual sale of real estate in the District of Columbia at the time. ==References==