Shepherd Park facts for kids
Shepherd Park is a friendly neighborhood located in the northwest part of Washington, D.C.. After World War II, old rules that stopped some groups, like Jewish and African American families, from buying homes here were no longer used. Because of this, the neighborhood became a place where many Jewish and African American families lived.
Over the last 40 years, the number of Jewish families went down, but it is now growing again. The neighborhood has always been a strong home for many middle and upper-class African American families. Groups like the Shepherd Park Citizens Association worked hard to keep the neighborhood diverse in the 1960s and 1970s. Thanks to them, Shepherd Park has stayed a place where people from different backgrounds live together. It has very active and welcoming community groups.
Well-known people live in Shepherd Park, including Benjamin Jealous, a former leader of the NAACP. Many judges, teachers, reporters, and doctors also call this community home. Muriel Bowser, who used to represent this area on the Council of the District of Columbia, became the Mayor of the District of Columbia in 2014.
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Geography of Shepherd Park
Shepherd Park is bordered by several important roads and areas. To the north, Eastern Avenue NW separates it from Silver Spring, Maryland. To the south, you'll find the Parks at Walter Reed, which used to be a large army medical center. Georgia Avenue NW forms the eastern border, and 16th Street NW is on the west.
Many of the streets that run east-west in Shepherd Park are named after beautiful flowers, shrubs, and trees. For example, you can find Iris Street, Kalmia Road, and Geranium Street.
The main shopping area near the neighborhood is along Georgia Avenue. You can also easily walk to Downtown Silver Spring or Rock Creek Park, a large natural area. Buses run along Georgia Avenue and 16th Street, making it easy to get around. The Silver Spring and Takoma Park Metro stations are both about one mile away.
The houses in Shepherd Park show different building styles. You can see homes built in the Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, and Spanish Colonial Revival styles. There are also many bungalows and other early 20th-century homes. Some houses are even "kit homes" from companies like Lewis Manufacturing and Sears, which were ordered from catalogs and built from pre-cut pieces.
History of Shepherd Park
The neighborhood gets its name from a famous person who lived here: Alexander Robey Shepherd. He was the governor of the District of Columbia from 1873 to 1874. The area was first known as Sixteenth Street Heights. In 1926, a builder named L.E. Breuninger renamed part of it Shepherd Park. He planned to build 200 new homes, and his first model house was at 7707 13th St., NW.
Before becoming governor, Alexander Shepherd built a grand Victorian-style house in 1868. It was near Floral and 14th Street. He chose this spot because it was high up and close to Rock Creek. Shepherd called his large country home "Bleak House." He named it after a book by Charles Dickens that he and his wife were reading. The mansion was taken down in 1916.
Shepherd owned a plant nursery in Washington, D.C. This nursery helped him plant 60,000 trees around the city. His nursery also explains why many streets in Shepherd Park are named after flowers.
In 1917, the Shepherd Park Citizens Association was formed. This group worked to get the government to build a neighborhood elementary school. They also asked for 16th Street to be paved between Alaska Avenue and the District line.
Around 1911, developers bought the land and designed it for large homes. They advertised it as a "high-class" neighborhood. They made sure to keep the big trees when building the streets. At first, the land had rules that stopped it from being sold to Black or Jewish families. These rules were called "covenants."
After World War II, the Supreme Court said these covenants were against the law. Then, some people tried to make money by causing fear. They would move a Black family into a house on a block where only white families lived. Then, they would tell the white families that their property values would drop quickly. This would pressure the white families to sell their homes cheaply. These people would then sell the homes to other Black families for a lot more money. This practice was called "blockbusting."
Starting in 1958, the Shepherd Park Citizens Association and Neighbors Inc. worked hard to stop "blockbusting." They wanted to keep the neighborhood integrated, meaning people of all backgrounds living together. Their efforts in the 1960s and 1970s helped Shepherd Park remain a diverse community. It is one of the few neighborhoods on the east side of Rock Creek Park where many white families did not move away during those years.
In 1985, residents found out that a fast-food restaurant was planned for a spot on Georgia Avenue. The community protested, saying they needed a library more than another fast-food place. The District Council agreed to build a library there instead. The library opened in 1990. It is named the Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Library, honoring a local activist who led the effort to get the library built.
Neighborhood Institutions
Shepherd Park is home to several important community places:
- Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue
- Congregation Tifereth Israel
- Alexander Shepherd Elementary School
- Shepherd Park Citizens' Association
- The Washington Ethical Society
- Former Hanafi Madhab Center at 7700 16th Street NW
- Shepherd Park Christian Church
Education in Shepherd Park
Public schools in Shepherd Park are part of the District of Columbia Public Schools system. The District of Columbia Public Library operates the Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library. This library opened in 1990 and serves the community.
Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library
The Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library is a branch of the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) System. It first opened its doors to the public on July 29, 1990.
