Hillcrest is a residential neighborhood in the

southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

quadrant of Washington, D.C.,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Hillcrest is located on the District-

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

line in Ward 7, east of the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Poin ...

Boundaries

The

National Capital Planning Commission The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is a U.S. government executive branch agency that provides planning guidance for Washington, D.C., and the surrounding National Capital Region. Through its planning policies and review of developmen ...

defines Hillcrest as bounded by Branch Avenue SE, Gainesville Street SE, 32nd Street SE, and Alabama Avenue SE. It is bordered on the west by Hillcrest Park, which contains the Winston Education Center, Hillcrest Park Public Tennis Center, Hillcrest Recreation Center, and Washington Seniors Wellness Center. Originally, a separate and much more exclusive neighborhood, Summit Park (bounded by Suitland Road SE, Alabama Avenue SE, and Branch Avenue SE), existed to the east of Hillcrest. But by the late 1960s, it was generally considered to have been absorbed by Hillcrest. ''The Washington Post'' takes a far more expansive definition of Hillcrest, claiming the boundaries of the neighborhood to be a vast area of east-of-the-river bounded Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Southern Avenue SE, and Naylor Road SE/28th Street SE. The newspaper's definition would include the neighborhoods of Fairfax Village, Good Hope, Naylor Gardens, and

Randle Highlands Randle Highlands is a neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., east of the Anacostia River. History Born in 1859, Colonel Arthur E. Randle was a late nineteenth and early twentieth-century real estate developer, who earned some recognition ...

in "Hillcrest". This definition of Hillcrest is generally rejected. The Hillcrest Community Civic Association defines the neighborhood as the area surrounded by Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Southern Avenue SE, Naylor Road SE, and 30th Street SE.

History

Born in 1859, Colonel Arthur E. Randle, was a late nineteenth and early twentieth-century real estate developer, who earned some recognition for building the Congress Heights neighborhood, before developing Hillcrest and other areas, east of the Anacostia River. Moving his family into a large, Greek Revival house - later nicknamed "The Southeast White House" - in what is, now, the Randle Highlands, Randle encouraged more Washingtonians to follow and build grand homes, along Pennsylvania Avenue. Today, Hillcrest is a residential neighborhood. Nearly all the residences are single-family dwellings on sizeable lots, although there are a few apartment buildings. Architectural styles include American Craftsman bungalow, Federal Revival, Mid-Atlantic Colonial Revival, and

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

. The aesthetics and quality of the structures are generally excellent, equal to those of the upper-middle-class neighborhood of

Cleveland Park Cleveland Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is located at and bounded approximately by Rock Creek Park to the east, Wisconsin and Idaho Avenues to the west, Klingle and Woodley Roads to the so ...

. Most of the homes near the intersection of Highview Terrace SE and 34th Street SE were constructed as luxury houses in late 1937 and early 1938, and was originally called "Fairfield".

Residents

Two Mayors of the District of Columbia,

Marion Barry Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as the second and fourth mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served ...

and

Vincent C. Gray Vincent Condol Gray (born November 8, 1942) is an American politician who served as the mayor of the District of Columbia from 2011 to 2015. He served for one term, losing his bid for reelection in the Democratic primary to D.C. Council member M ...

, have lived in Hillcrest. Former Congressman and Presidential candidate

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran fo ...

purchased a house in 2009.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Hillcrest neighborhood Web site
Neighborhoods in Southeast (Washington, D.C.) {{WashingtonDC-geo-stub