National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

NFS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
CLEVELAND PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT
WASHINGTON D.C.
Section number 8 Rage J*__
precedent followed by other wealthy Washingtonians and chose a house in this
area to be his summer home and consequently the "Summer White House." The
streetcar suburb of the 1890's followed by the rise of apartment buildings and
the shopping area along Connecticut Avenue making this a self sufficient
neighborhood dramatically exemplifies the urban exodus at the turn of the
century. The explosion of population into the outlying areas beyond the city
center was facilitated and made possible by the construction of bridges across
Rock Creek and the quick and convenient transportation provided initially by
the electric streetcar and subsequently by the automobile which rapidly became
a standard family possession. These periods of the history of Washington D.C.
are visually represented in Cleveland Park because of the original land forms
with hills, curving roads,and landscaping as well as the architectural
structures themselves and their relationships all of which have been
maintained throughout the passage of time. All of this has ensured that the
integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, setting, feeling and
association has been maintained and exists at the present time visually
recalling the past periods and the overlay of history from 1795 to the present
in a single integrated neighborhood. (Criteria C; Areas of Significance:
Community Planning and Development and Architecture)
The Cleveland Park Historic District definitely conveys a sense of
architectural cohesiveness through its design, setting, materials, workmanship
and association. The architectural styles which cover a range of time periods
but represent a continuous line of development give a sense of the passage of
time. As you walk through Cleveland Park you can recall the era of the
country estates as you pass the open space of Rosedale, Twin Oaks and
Tregaron; juxtaposed to this is the suburban development so evident from
Woodley Road to Rodman with a predominance of frame houses set amidst generous
front and side lawns many of which are located on hills and curving streets.
Enter Wisconsin or Connecticut Avenue and you are reminded that this rural
neighborhood is only 15 minutes from downtown Washington D.C. Along
Connecticut Avenue the flavor of the linear commercial development of the
1920s with numerous individual shops each with a different storefront is
adjacent to the prototype shopping center set back from the avenue with a
large parking lot in front to service the automobile populus which was
clogging the city with traffic and demanding attention to its needs at the end
of the 1920's. The contrast of these two distinct elements (residential and
commercial) and their interrelatedness and mutual interdependence are
distinctive features of the Cleveland Park Historic District and represent so
clearly the growth and change of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area as the
urban dwellers sought a more rural lifestyle when improved transportation made
that a realistic possibility. (Criteria C; Areas of Significance: Community
Planning and Development and Architecture)