Kalorama, Washington, D.C.
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| Kalorama Triangle Historic District | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. Registered Historic District) | |
| Location: | Roughly bounded by Connecticut Ave., Columbia Rd., and Calvert St. |
| Added to NRHP: | May 4, 1987 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 87000627 |
Kalorama, sometimes referred to as Kalorama Heights or Sheridan-Kalorama, is an extremely affluent neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., and is well known as a component of the city's Embassy Row area. The neighborhood is bounded to the north and west by Rock Creek Park; to the southwest by Massachusetts Avenue N.W.; to the south by P Street N.W.; and to the east by 22nd Street, Florida Avenue, and Connecticut Avenue N.W. It is accessible by Metrorail by the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle stops on the Red Line. Kalorama is assigned to Washington's Sheridan-Kalorama Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2D) and is designated as Single Member District 2D01.
Across Connecticut Avenue, the Kalorama Triangle is a residential enclave in Northwest Washington bounded by three major thoroughfares: Connecticut Avenue, Calvert Street and Columbia Road. Bordering on Rock Creek, this area historically was part of the 19th century estate “Kalorama” and enjoyed a reputation for its natural attributes—its hilly terrain, cool breezes and fine views over the city of Washington. Developed largely between 1897–1931, the neighborhood is filled with architecturally significant free-standing and attached houses, commercial buildings, and a variety of modest and grand apartment buildings sited along curvilinear tree-lined streets. Kalorama Park is located in the Kalorama Triangle.
Both the Kalorama Triangle and Kalorama-Sheridan are noted for their park-like settings, large single-family homes, spacious and elegant pre-war condominiums and coops, and prestige as a desirable address within Washington, D.C.
The origins for the application of the word "Kalorama" date to the early 1800s, when Maj. Gustavus Scott constructed his home in what is now the Kalorama neighborhood. Located at what is now the intersection of S and 23rd Streets N.W., Scott named the house "Belair."
The residence was rechristened "Kalorama", Greek for "beautiful view", by its new owner, American author Joel Barlow, who lived in the home until shortly before his death in 1812. Barlow commissioned White House architect Benjamin Latrobe to enlarge the house and elevate its design. Kalorama (the residence) was destroyed by a fire during the American Civil War while it was used as a Union hospital. The residence was rebuilt and returned to a single-family home until 1887, when it was leveled by the District of Columbia government for the extension of S Street N.W.
Presidents William Taft, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt all called the neighborhood home at some point in their public service lives. Woodrow Wilson, the only former President to relocate to Washington (as his official residence) following his immediate departure from office, chose the neighborhood for his home. Following the death of Wilson's widow, Edith Galt Wilson, The Wilson House, located at 2340 S Street N.W., became a museum dedicated to the memory of Woodrow W. Wilson. , Current Kalorama residents include U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former Secretaries of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Robert McNamara.
Other highlights of the neighborhood include a number of embassies (the Embassy Row section of Washington is largely situated on Massachusetts Avenue, the northeast side of which is the boundary of Kalorama), the official residence of the French Ambassador at 2221 Kalorama Road, and the William Howard Taft Bridge, with its imposing concrete lions, which were scavenged from the demolished Penn Station in Manhattan. Much of the architecture is either Victorian or Art Deco.
[edit] External links
- Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District
- Sheridan-Kalorama ANC Website
- Kalorama Historic Triangle
- Kalorama Triangle Brochure
