DC REAL ESTATE 

DUPONT CIRCLE

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Dupont Circle Neighborhood

The Dupont Circle neighborhood offers Metro. dining and shopping, a Sunday farmer’s market, museums and galleries, embassies and outstanding architecture. Beware that infamous traffic circle!

Dupont Circle is a dynamic and culturally rich neighborhood renowned for its historic charm, diverse community, and vibrant social scene. The neighborhood centers around the iconic traffic circle with a fountain at its center, surrounded by tree-lined streets, historic row houses, and a mix of architectural styles ranging from Victorian to Beaux-Arts.

A hub for art, nightlife, and culinary experiences, Dupont Circle is home to numerous art galleries, embassies, trendy boutiques and restaurants, contributing to its lively atmosphere.

Dupont Circle rowhouse roofline

The real estate market in Dupont Circle is diverse, offering a mix of historic row houses, condominiums, and apartments, showcasing both classic and contemporary designs. The demand for real estate in Dupont Circle is driven by its central location, cultural vibrancy, and accessibility to downtown D.C. and public transportation. The neighborhood appeals to those who appreciate the blend of historic architecture, cultural amenities, and the cosmopolitan atmosphere that Dupont Circle has to offer.

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Why We Love It

  • Central to many neighborhoods
  • Metro
  • Rows of beautiful attached homes
  • A wealth of amenities

Nearby

  • Logan Circle
  • Kalorama
  • West End
  • Meridian Hill Park
  • Georgetown

Dupont Circle Market Data

Dupont Circle History

Early History

Early Dupont Circle started out as a brickyard and slaughterhouse. The neighborhood creek, Slash Run, began near 15th Street and Columbia Road and ran from 16th Street near Adams Morgan, through Kalorama within a block of Dupont Circle. The Board of Public works under Alexander “Boss” Shepherd paved the way for the development of Dupont Circle. Nevada Senator William Morris Stewart led the “California Syndicate” that purchased tracts of undeveloped land. They quickly set about designing a fashionable neighborhood. Stewart set the standard by building his own grand mansion in the 1870s.

Architecture

Examples of the architectural style of early Dupont Circle are the Christian Heurich Mansion at 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, a c.1804 Victorian designed by John G. Meyers for the owner of the Heurich Brewery;  Stanford White of McKim, Mead and White designed the Thomas Nelson Page House at 1759 R Street c. 1896 (Colonial Revival) designed by Stanford White; Embassy of Columbia at 1520 20th Street c. 1906 (French country Chateau) by Jules Henri deSibour; The Beaux Arts Perry Belmont House c. 1901 by Samson and Trumbauer at 1618 New Hampshire Avenue and the Boardman House (Embassy of Iraq) at 1801 P Street by Hornblower and Marshall c. 1890. The Weeks House (Women’s National Democratic Club) was designed by Harvey Page in 1892 with an addition by Nick Satterlee in 1966. Another large, commanding building is St. Matthew’s Cathedral and Rectory at 1725-39 New Hampshire Avenue designed by Heins and LeFarge in 1893.

Not all the lovely homes in Dupont Circle were grand mansions. The neighborhood’s popular pre-1900 rowhouses were built in a variety of styles from the 1880s into the first decade of the 20th century. Styles include Queen Anne, Dichardsonian Revival, Renaissance and Georgian Revival. Variations on Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque were most common in this neighborhood. Some of the rows were designed as a unit by a single architect while others were individually built and designed. The row on the south side of the 1700 block of Q Street, designed in 1889 by T.F. Schneider, is one of the most impressive Richardsonian rows in the area. The north side of the 2000 block of N Street is one of the finest Second Empire rows in the District, built 1879 to 1881 by Christopher Thom. The charming 2000 block of Hillyer Place offers a variety of styles including Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque. One of the most varied and architecturally intact blocks is the 1700 block of N Street which reflects the breadth of architectural talent in the area.

“Strivers Section”

As development spread further from the circle, a sub-neighborhood dubbed “The Strivers’ Section” was born. This enclave of upper-middle-class Black Americans, often community leaders, grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name is taken from a turn-of-the-20th-century writer who described the district as “the Striver’s section, a community of Negro aristocracy.” Residences in The Strivers’ Section are primarily late 19th and early-20th century rowhouses from the Edwardian era. These stately, symmetrical homes have become some of the most appreciated and recognizable in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. The Strivers’ Section Historic District (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) boundaries are roughly Swann Street on the south, Florida Avenue on the north and west, the 16th Street Historic District on the east, and 19th Street on the west. Today, the Strivers’ Section Edwardians are joined by some apartment and condominium buildings along with small businesses. The area includes some 430 buildings constructed between 1875 and 1946 that are contributing properties to the historic district. It is the home of the national headquarters of Jack and Jill of America, which seeks to help children, especially African American children, obtain cultural opportunities, develop leadership skills, and form social networks. In 1871 the Army Corps of Engineers started construction on what was planned as “Pacific Circle,” but 1882 Congress authorized a memorial statue of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis duPont in recognition of his Civil War service. The bronze statue was placed in the center of DuPont Circle 1884. Several prominent duPont family members who deemed the tribute too small to honor their ancestor petitioned to have the statue moved to Rockford Park in Wilmington, DE in 1917. The statue was replaced in 1921 by a double-tiered white marble fountain designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon. Three classical figures, symbolizing the Sea, the Stars and the Wind are carved on the fountain’s central shaft.

15 Dupont Circle

One of the grandest mansions in Dupont Circle is the marble and limestone Patterson Mansion at 15 Dupont Circle. This Italianate icon of marble and limestone is the sole surviving residence of the many mansions that once ringed the circle. Built in 1901 by New York architect Stanford White for Robert Patterson, editor of the Chicago Tribune, and its heiress, his wife Nellie. In the early 1920s, ownership of the house passed to daughter Cissy Patterson. It served as temporary quarters for President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge in 1927 while the White House underwent renovation. The Coolidges hosted Charles Lindbergh after his historic transatlantic flight. Lindbergh and the Pattersons became friends with shared isolationist and pro-German views. Cissy Patterson later acquired the Washington Times-Herald and used it to attack Franklin D. Roosevelt from 15 Dupont Circle. She continued throughout World War II to push her policies, which were echoed in the New York Daily News, run by her brother Joseph Medill Patterson, and the Chicago Tribune, run by their first cousin, Colonel Robert R. McCormick.

Growth In Dupont Circle

1872 brought a new British embassy on Connecticut Avenue at N Street. By the 1920s, Connecticut Avenue had become a retail corridor. Some residences, including Senator Philetus Sawyer’s mansion at Connecticut and R Street, were razed in favor of office buildings and shops. Patterson House, at 15 Dupont Circle, served as a temporary residence for President Calvin Coolidge while the White House was being repaired in 1927, bringing additional cachet to the neighborhood. In 1933, the National Park Service took over administering the circle. Connecticut Avenue was widened in the late 1920s to accommodate increased traffic and medians and traffic signals were installed in 1948 to separate the through traffic on Mass Avenue from local traffic. In 1949, traffic tunnels and an underground streetcar station were built beneath the circle as part of the failed Capital Transit project. The tunnels allowed trams and vehicles traveling along Connecticut Avenue to travel quickly past the circle. Streetcar service ended in 1962, the entrances to the underground station were filled in and paved over. Only the traffic tunnel remained.

Decline And Resurgence

The Dupont Circle neighborhood fell into decline after World War II, along with many other Washington DC luxury neighborhoods, especially following the 1968 riots. In the 1970’s, Dupont Circle experienced a resurgence when “urban pioneers” who sought stylish, affordable properties moved in. Dupont Circle built a reputation as an historic locale in the development of American gay identity. DC’s first gay bookstore, Lambda Rising, opened in 1974 and gained national recognition. With this influx of homeowners who improved and restored neglected homes, Dupont Circle re-emerged as a valuable, luxury neighborhood.

Dupont Circle Schools

ROSS ELEMENTARY

Public • Grades PK-5

FRANCIS STEVENS

Public • Grades PK-8

JACKSON-REED

Public • Grades 9-12

For a full, updated list of schools, visit EBIS. Click the cap to go to school website. School data by SchoolDigger

Homes For Sale In Dupont Circle

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