Columbia Heights

Columbia Heights is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C. Located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., Columbia Heights borders the neighborhoods of Shaw, Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, Park View, Pleasant Plains, and Petworth. Howard University is on the eastern side.

Once farmland on the estate of the Holmead family, Columbia Heights was part of Washington County, District of Columbia. Upscale development in Columbia Heights circa 1900 was designed to attract upper level managers of the Federal government, U.S. Supreme Court justices, and high-ranking military officers. In the early 1900s, Columbia Heights was the preferred area for some of Washington’s wealthiest and most influential people. In 1999, the city announced a revitalization initiative for the neighborhood focused around the Columbia Heights Metro station, which opened that year. Within five years, the neighborhood had gentrified considerably, with a number of businesses.

Middle-class residents settled in the neighborhood. Unlike some gentrified neighborhoods in the city, Columbia Heights has not become homogeneous: as of 2006, it is arguably Washington's most ethnically and economically diverse neighborhood. Housing includes high-priced condominiums and townhouses, as well as public and middle-income housing.