Capitol Hill Historic District

Capitol Hill Neighborhood

The area we now know as The Capitol Hill Historic District indeed has a hill. In 1790 it was known as Jenkins Hill or Jenkins Heights — who Jenkins was is lost to history — and was chosen by Pierre L’Enfant for “Congress House,” a site which L’Enfant called a “pedestal waiting for a superstructure.” The hill rises in the center of Federal City, extending eastward. L’Enfant’s plan made sure the US Capitol Building would face the city on the crest of the hill. Today’s Capitol Hill residential neighborhood stretches east behind the Capitol Building along wide avenues. One of the oldest residential communities in Washington, it has grown from a small boarding house community for Congress members to an area of more than 150 acres, encompassing a number of separate neighborhoods.

Lincoln Park’s open space was also part of L’Enfant’s original 1791 plan for the District of Columbia, intended for public use. Lincoln Park was planned by L’Enfant as a square holding a monumental column, from which all distances on the North American continent would be measured. The neighborhood, for years used as a dumping ground, was slow to develop. During the Civil War, it was the site of the historic Lincoln Hospital, a place often visited by Walt Whitman, who made rounds to comfort the injured and dying soldiers. In 1867, Congress authorized Lincoln Square to be its name as a memorial to the martyred leader. It was the first Washington site to bear Lincoln’s name.

For a more detailed history, see the Lincoln Park page.