PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE
9th Street SE to the Anacostia River

13th Street to 15th Street
 
 

1903
 1300 Block 
Development patterns in the area surrounding the Capitol fanned from that great building outward.  Those segments of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE closest to the Capitol developed earlier than those segments closer to the Anacostia River, with the exception of structures intended to take advantage of the River for its potential as a port.  In 1900, the largely undeveloped 1300 block physically marked the end of the Pennsylvania Avenue association with Capitol Hill. 

1400 Block 
Although a few buildings dotted the center of this block on both sides, empty lots comprised the greatest area of the segment.  However, the triangular block to northwest between 14th Street and Potomac Avenue was well developed with attached residences by the turn of the century.
 

1954
 1300 Block 
On the south side, at the block’s center, stand a cluster of brown, brick structures which still retain their historic storefronts with transom windows, signboards, and recessed entries.  These attached commercial buildings, still standing today, date to the late 1920s or early 1930s. Both sides of the corridor were densely lined with vernacular, attached structures by 1954. 

1400 Block
By mid-century, this block was densely filled with attached structures, although a large, corner piece of the south side’s western end was notably vacant. 
 

1998
 1300 Block 
Housing the Chamberlain Career Development Center, the block formed by Potomac Avenue and Fourteenth Street and Ives Place (I Street, SE), contributes one side to the rectangle shaped by L’Enfant’s intersection.  The segment of this block nearest to Pennsylvania closely resembles the typical development pattern of the corridor. The lot most closely related to Pennsylvania is a large mixed-use building, flanked by a large empty lot to the west.  Domestic rowhouses file down either side of the triangle in two rows, one heading south, the other southwest. 
Due to the visual impact of the plaza surrounding the Metro stop, the large parking lot directly south of the stop, as well as the lot to the west, the space does not successfully carve the geometric form in three dimensions. The paved brick plaza at the entry to the subterranean Metro station is an attractive, yet unfitting space in the rhythm of the corridor.  Slightly removed from the formal Avenue, its openness nonetheless subtracts from the cohesion of the study area.  In addition, perhaps the most disruptive factor in the flow of the space, the diagonal cross of traffic through the center, splits the shape into two disjointed triangles.  The visual disintegration of the street patterns is so severe, that these basic geometric forms are not readily apparent from the pedestrian perspective. 
 

The mirror image of the block between Potomac and Fourteenth, the area bound by Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Pennsylvania ties its presence to the Avenue through contemporary big box construction surrounded by parking.   At this intersection, a modern Pizza Hut detracts from the cohesion of the rectangular space – and from the rhythm of the rowhouses.  At this time, maintenance is also an issue for the southern block.   Brick townhomes continue to display simple vernacular architectural details such as heavy lintels and arched window and fan light openings, although boarded windows evidence the state of disrepair.  This unkempt residential section also loses coherence with two empty lots mid-block along the Avenue frontage.  In contrast to the poor condition of the buildings and the irregular setback, the mature trees of this block provide a regulating element. 

The north side of Pennsylvania Avenue to the east of 15th Street also borders the northeastern path of Potomac Avenue.  The western edge of this block creates the eastern edge of the formal space at the intersection of the Avenues.  A mixed use, brick building with a relatively large footprint combines apartments and commercial space at this site.  It holds to the pattern established by the rows of townhouses extending to both the northeast and southeast from this pivotal location. True to the pattern found in many of the blocks of this section, the eastern corner fronting Pennsylvania hosts the modern intrusion of a Kentucky Fried Chicken, as well as the restaurant’s associated parking lot and drive-through. With the exception of the KFC, this block maintains its historic density and cohesiveness, as well as an active street life. Aesthetically the north side of the 1400 block presents an inharmonious pallet of color, style and alterations that, in the absence of substantial vegetation, produce a hectic quality. 

1400 Block 
The large block between 13th and 14th Streets accommodates the direction of the Avenue through the angled corner it presents to Pennsylvania. Today, the south side of the 1300 block features rowhouse structures used as a mixture of commercial and office space.  A uniquely shaped building hugs the southern corner of 13th and Pennsylvania, while the adjacent lot on the Pennsylvania front is empty, creating an obvious void in what is a very dense block.  Mature trees along the street and in the median soften the appearance of the many dilapidated buildings.  Uses in this section run the range of residential, commercial, and industrial.  Within the core of the block’s north side, resides the District of Columbia Street Lighting Department.  Variety in setback and façade are apparent in the Pennsylvania Avenue segment of this area, where two buildings incorporate bay windows, and another cluster are uniformly recessed from the established line.  On the north side another corner structure, with a shallow setback, transitions the block from Pennyslvania Avenue to G Street.  Across G Street from the preceding structures, a small, triangular block of rowhouses still functions as a residential enclave, with the exceptions of the restaurant at the Northwest corner, and three retail spaces at the Southeast corner.  A larger triangular block lies between 13th Street and Potomac Avenue.  Fronting Pennsylvania Avenue rowhouses serving as office, commercial, and residential space shape the character of the Northwest portion of the block.  In great contrast, a large parking lot, massive for the scale of the block, makes up the eastern portion of the triangle.  This lot serves as a park and ride facility for the Metro stop located diagonally across the Pennsylvania / Potomac Avenue intersection to the Northeast. 


Gas stations and convenience stores dominate these blocks.

Stores on the north side of the Avenue.

A neighborhood Italian restaurant.

A used car lot on the north side.
 

An old neighborhood hardware store.