Brookland, also known as Little Rome or Little Vatican, is a neighborhood located in the Northeast (NE) quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is best known for its numerous Catholic institutions, including schools, religious communities, shrines, institutes, and other organizations built and based around the Catholic University of America.
Historically centered along 12th Street NE, Brookland is bounded by Taylor Street NE and Michigan Avenue NE to the northwest; by Rhode Island Avenue NE to the southeast; by South Dakota Avenue NE to the northeast; and by subway (Washington Metro's Red Line) and train (CSX) tracks to the west.
The western boundary of the railroad tracks originated with the completion of the former Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873, which now incorporates the Washington Metro's Red Line. Brookland’s boundaries stretches to the National Shrine and includes Catholic University.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) provides public transportation services to and throughout Brookland, with two subway stations and several bus lines. Most of the Brookland neighborhood is served by the Washington Metropolitan Area Red Line Brookland–CUA Metro station, located between Monroe Street NE and Michigan Avenue NE. A small portion of the Brookland neighborhood located on Rhode Island Avenue NE is served by the Red Line Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station.
History
In 1632 the English Crown unilaterally took the land from the Piscataway Natives who inhabited the Potomac-Anacostia region. King Charles I of England in turn granted the land, which was to become the state of Maryland, to George Calvert, whose interest in the colony lay in "the sacred duty of finding a refuge for his Roman Catholic brethren." It took until about 1675 for English settlers to reach what is now the DC area, after defeating the Powhatans in 1645 by spreading diseases that reduced the Native American numbers by roughly 90 percent.
Colonel Jehiel Brooks married into the land when he married Ann Margaret Queen, daughter of Nicholas Queen, and they received a 150-acre estate. In 1722, the Queen Family raised a Roman Catholic Church, which morphed into St. Francis de Sales Parish in 1908.
For most of the 19th century the area was farmland owned by the prominent Middleton and Queen families. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad later connected this portion of Washington County to downtown. Bellair, the 1840 brick Greek Revival mansion built by Colonel Jehiel Brooks, still stands. It is referred to as Brooks Mansion. It is the site of offices and production facilities for the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia, the city's Government-access television (GAVT) channel known as DCTV.
Change came rapidly during and after the American Civil War. First, Fort Slemmer and Fort Bunker Hill were constructed as defenses against the Confederate Army, and later the Old Soldiers' Home was constructed to the northwest. The population of the city itself increased with the expansion of the federal government, and the former Brooks family estate became a housing tract named "Brookland."
Growth continued throughout the 1870s when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad opened its Western Branch Line in the developing Brookland neighborhood. With the construction of nearby Sherwood, University Heights, and other tracts and with the expansion of Washington's streetcar system, a middle-class streetcar suburb developed. Eventually its expansion southward met Washington's northward expansion. Many Queen Anne style and other Victorian homes still stand.
The transition from a country estate towards a residential development beginning in 1887 "marked the extension of suburban growth into the rather isolated reaches of the northeastern sector" of D.C. In its early days, the Brookland community was marked by "spacious lots and single family homes" which appealed to middle-class families and provided a "small town atmosphere."
Education
Archbishop Carroll High School
Brookland Middle School
Brookland Violin Studio
Bunker Hill Elementary School
Capital Village Public Charter School
Catholic University of America
Champions at Edgewood Elementary Campus
DC Prep PCS Edgewood Elementary School
DC Prep PCS Edgewood Middle Campus
John Burroughs Elementary School - DC Public School
Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School (LAMB) Lee Montessori Public Charter Schools The Sojourner Truth School St. Anthony Catholic School Saint Vincents Home and School for Girls Shining Stars Montessori Academy Washington Yu Ying PCS