Brookland Avenue

Brookland’s street names have changed over the 123 years since the neighborhood was founded. Many of the names were never really used, but survive on subdivision maps from the early years. Developers named the streets, so they could vary from subdivision to subdivision.

The original 1887 plat map of the first subdivision, called simply “Brookland” contained street names based on trees – Elm St., Pine St., Walnut St., etc. Those were soon changed. The street names were altered at least twice before the city officially changed them in 1901 to their present incarnations.

There are discrepancies on different early maps, but the following chart seems to give the best indication of the original names and how they changed. The name of the street that became Lawrence is unreadable on the original plat map:

Linden St. –> Newark –> Fort –> Otis
Laurel St. –> Milwaukee –> Providence –> Newton
Elm St. –> Lowell –> Lansing –> Monroe
Unreadable – Keokuk –> Hartford –> Lawrence
Pine St. –> Joliet –> Frankfort –> Kearny
Walnut St. –> Indianapolis –> Dover –> Jackson
Cedar St. –> Hartford –> Concord –> Irving

The numbered cross streets also changed around this time. According to a 1901 story in the Washington Post, 9th St. was originally Queen St., 10th St. was Wallace St., 12th St. was Duncan St., 13th was Burns St. and 14th was Argyle St.

Also at this time Bunker Hill Rd. was changing to Michigan Ave. as it was widened and paved.

So clearly, even though the city had approved the final name changes in 1901, they weren’t in effect yet as of April, 1902. The 1901 story said the names would go into effect when they were formally recorded in the office of the surveyor, so I guess that took a while. It must have been awfully confusing during those first fifteen years of Brookland.

Catholic University of America by Bob Malesky

(Bob Malesky is a 40-year Brookland resident and previous poster to Brookland Avenue who has just completed a new book. It’s a photographic history, entitled “The Catholic University of America,” for Arcadia Publishing. He offered to write a little preview for Brookland Avenue.)

Almost all the pictures in the book come from the CUA Archives, or to give it its full name, the American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives. It’s a great resource, and the school’s archivists are all first rate and extremely helpful. I spent most of last summer there, going through box after box of photos. I found most everything I wanted to find, with a few exceptions. The founder of Catholic University was a young heiress, Mary Gwendolen Caldwell. You would think the archives would have had a picture of her, but they didn’t. I began a concerted search of other sources. For a long time, the closest I was able to get was this engraving from an 1889 edition of Harper’s Weekly:

Mary Gwendolen Caldwell

As you can see, it’s far from perfect. For one thing I wanted a real photo, not an engraving, plus it’s small and fuzzy and wouldn’t reproduce well, even if I found a better copy. Ms. Caldwell had no children, so there were no descendants to contact about family photos. After months of looking, I finally located one photo in an 1889 magazine. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was a photo, and my publisher was willing to accept it because of its rarity:

Mary Gwendolen Caldwell

Mary Gwendolen Caldwell was only 21 years old when she pledged $300,000 to start the school, and she had the final say on where the school would be located. The majority of the nation’s bishops voted for the campus to be in Washington, D.C. and Ms. Caldwell agreed. After looking at available properties, they chose the grounds of the Middleton estate. Next door was the estate of Jehiel Brooks. Occasionally I’ve heard the question asked, which came first, Catholic University or Brookland? The answer is they started at the same time. Ms. Caldwell offered her financial pledge in 1884, but the school didn’t become official until Pope Leo XIII approved it, and that didn’t happen until 1887. Jehiel Brooks died in 1886, and his heirs sold the land to developers the next year, so both CUA and Brookland started in 1887.

St. Anthony's

Finding good pictures of Brookland was harder than anticipated. The CUA archives had some, mostly of the buildings of the various Catholic institutions that affiliated with the school. I used many of those pictures, but wound up going to the Library of Congress, the Historical Society of Washington and other sources for a few other photos. Here’s one of the original wooden frame St. Anthony’s church from about 1905.

It opened in 1896. For a few years before that, masses had been held in the home of Antoinette Margot, who had a large house at 10th & Bunker Hill Rd. When the new church was opened, Ms. Margot built a new home directly across 12th St. from it, about where the Brookland Post Office is today. She called it “Villa Marie,” and lived there for the rest of her life. I did find a photo of Villa Marie in the CUA archives. You can see the steeple of St. Anthony’s across the street:

Miss Antoinette Margot House

I was surprised and pleased when I found a photo of my house on Newton St. from 1911, when Sisters of Mercy were living there as they attended Sisters College. I managed to find an excuse to put it in the book. That was fun. And there were a few pictures I didn’t use. Here’s one of another house on 12th St. This was next door to Villa Marie on 12th St., near the intersection with Monroe. At the time, Dr. Charles McCarthy lived there. I love the design of this one, especially the turret:

Dr. Charles McCarthy Brookland House

Nonetheless, I couldn’t find a good reason to include it in the book. I just wish there were more photos of early Brookland available, particularly from the very first years. I imagine descendants of the Brooks family have some, and probably some of the other older Brookland families. Perhaps someday someone will write one of these books just about the neighborhood, and maybe then we’ll be able to see more of old Brookland.

I’ll include one last picture that is in the book. This is the National Shrine as it is was approaching completion in the late 1950s. After three decades with just the foundation level and crypt church completed, construction finally zoomed along from 1954-58. It must have been fun for the neighborhood to watch. The Shrine was dedicated in 1959.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

The book was published on Monday, May 17th. It’s available now from Amazon as well as other online sources, and should be in the local bookstores too.

– Bob Malesky

Links:

• Acardia Publishing
• The Catholic University of America (Campus History) @ Amazon.com
• CUA Photo History Book about to be Published @ www.lib.cua.edu

1930(ish) Map of Brookland Avenue and CUA

Photoset of 1930 era Brookland from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library Washingtoniana map room.

1930(ish) Map of 12th Street in Brookland

The maps featured in this set features Catholic University of America, Monroe Street, 12th Street Corridor, Brookland Avenue (now John McCormack rd.), and surrounding areas.

1930(ish) Map of Brookland

One thing is that is interesting in these and other older maps of Brookland is that some streets have their previous names listed.

1930(ish) Map of Monroe Street and Brookland

Monroe Street is also listed as Lansing, Newton Street is listed as Providence, and Lawrence Street is list as Hartford. This brings up a good question, when was Brookland incorporated into the DC grid with the current street names?

Mayor Walter E Washington is Coming to Brookland

Douglas Willinger has been posting a lot of great information on his great blog A Trip Within the Beltway about the infamous 1-95 freeway that was to cut through Brookland and DC in the 1970s. Douglas’s posts containing images, posters, and other information from the Emergency Committee on the Transportation Crisis give an historical picture of local opposition to unwanted freeways cutting through the urban landscape and neighborhoods of Washington DC.

The above poster announcing “Mayor Walter E. Washington is Coming to Brookand” was likely for a 1968 or 1969 meeting against the freeway. It was sponsored by Brookland members of the Emergency Committee on the Transportation Crisis and the Brookland Civic Association. This poster is a great find, the original version can be seen along with other ECTC creations on on A Trip Within the Beltway

Also check out the DC Library’s Guide to the Records of the Emergency Committee on the Transportation Crisis, ca. 1960-1978 for more information. Plus there are a number of other Freeway Fights and Revolts from around the country for an even broader view.

McMillan Silos

The McMillan Sand Filtration Plant is a 25 acre parcel of land that is part of the McMillan Park along with the McMillan Reservoir located in the Bloomingdale neighborhood in NW Washington DC. The site is located just below the Washington Hospital Center complex and between 1st NW and North Capital.

Walking Across McMillan

The land was in active use until about the mid 1980s. The filtration plant was innovative for its time. Sand was used to purify and filter 75 million gallons of water per day for Washington DC. The McMilllan Reservoir located across 1st Street from the filtration plant is still in active use.

McMillan Silo

The reservoir was part of the McMillan Plan developed by the McMillan Commission, both were named for Senator James McMillan of Michigan . Some of the greatest architects of the day served on the commission including Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. who designed McMillan Park which was intended to be part of the city’s park system.

Silo Sand Filtration

The very unique looking “structures” are silos used that were part of the sand filtration system and washed the impurities out of the city’s water supply. The vines and plants located on the silos were intentional and placed for aesthetic purposes.

McMillan Vault Entrance

The plant itself sits on top of hollow vaults of sand running the length of the property and over 15 feet deep. The vaults only light is from the entrances and the 5000 or so man hole covers located on top of the vaults. Most of the sand used for the vault was donated from James McMillan’s home state of Michigan.

Inside the Vault

The site is destined for development and there is a plan to redevelop it in the near future. The plant is very unique from a historical and architectural perspective and one hopes at least some of that will be preserved when the site is redeveloped.

McMillan Stump

Below are a number of additional photos of the McMillan Sand Filtration Plant taken during a recent tour.

View the complete photoset

Brookland photo collection from Sean Parks a Chicago native and current windy city resident who was a former long time Brookland resident from 1961-1996. Sean lived predominately on Kearny street and attended Slowe Elementary, St. Anthony’s Elementary, Archbishop John Carroll High, and Catholic University. While attending CUA Sean picked up a camera with serious intent and he’s been shooting ever since. His fantastic photos can be seen at seanparksdesign.com and on Flickr.

Sean’s photos for Brookland and DC give a a complete sense of nostalgia for the neighborhood at that time. Below are are selection from the series My Home Town by Sean Parks

Murry and Paul’s 1984

Murray and Paul's 1984 by Sean Parks

Great Hopperesque photo inside Brookland’s own greasy spoon on 12th Street.

Sterling Brown 1980

Sterling Brown 1980 by Sean Parks

Below is caption from Sean about the above photo and about meeting Sterling Brown.

Mr Brown was a poet and retired Howard University professor when I lived a just a few doors down from him.
One day he invited me to come by later that evening and meet a friend who was visiting. When I arrived he introduced me to a very flamboyant and cape clad James Baldwin, who along with a documentary film maker, was helping to chronicle the migration of blacks from the Deep South to Harlem.
I won’t ever forget that evening, which was rich with ideas and conversation, nor will I forget Mr. Brown’s kindness to a young man just starting out in the world.

The Brookland Area Writers and Artists have a good write up about Mr Brown Including a great response to a Washington Star article about Brookland. Wikipedia also has a entry on Sterling Brown

Lefty’s 1983

Lefty's 1983 by Sean Parks

Before it was Bobby Q’s, before it was Nate’s Comfort Zone it was Lefty’s.

Brookland Shoe Sign 1983

Brookland Shoe Sign by Sean Parks

Brookland shoe repair while you want.

Brooks Mansion 1983

Brooks Mansion 1983 by Sean Parks

Great shot of Bellair the former residence of Colonel Jehiel Brooks commonly referred to as Brooks Mansion.

Newton Street 1979

Newton Street 1979 by Sean Parks

Photos of the Mediterranean style house on Newton street that was made into apartments after World War II. Still one of my favorite houses in Brookland. Look closely and you can see a woman next to the house.

Early Morning Sweep 1983

Early Morning Sweep 1983 by Sean Parks

Early morning street sweeping in Brookland.

Late for School 1983

Late for School 1983 by Sean Parks

Neighborhood kids on their way to school.

Kearny Street 1979

Kearny Street 1979 by Sean Parks

Great high contrast black and white shot of Kearny Street with snow in 1979. I wonder if this is from the 1979 blizzard I remember as a kid.