19th century

Once farmland on the estate of the Holmead family (called "Pleasant Plains"), Columbia Heights was part of Washington County, District of Columbia. (It was within the District but outside the borders of the city of Washington; the southern edge of Columbia Heights is Florida Avenue, which was originally called "Boundary Street" because it formed the northern boundary of the Federal City.) In 1815 an engraver from England, William J. Stone, purchased a 121-acre tract of the Holmead estate—east of Seventh Street Road (present-day Georgia Avenue), and north of Boundary Street—and established his own estate known as the Stone Farm. Nearby, construction of the first building for Columbian College, now George Washington University, was completed in 1822 on the campus which was bounded by Columbia Road, 14th Street, Boundary Street (Florida Avenue) and 13th Street. The area began developing as a suburb of Washington soon after the American Civil War, when horse-drawn streetcars delivered residents of the neighborhood to downtown.

The northern portion of modern-day Columbia Heights (i.e., north of where Harvard Street currently lies) was, until the 1880s, a part of the village of Mount Pleasant. The southern portion still retained the name of the original Pleasant Plains estate, though it was also known as "Cowtown."

In 1871, Congress passed the D.C. Organic Act, which eliminated Washington County by extending the boundaries of Washington City to be contiguous with those of the District of Columbia. Shortly afterward, in 1881–82, Senator John Sherman, author of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, purchased the land north of Boundary Street between 16th Street and 10th Street, including the Stone farm, developing it as a subdivision of the city and calling it Columbia Heights in honor of the college at its heart. (The neighborhood's eastern, major traffic artery, Sherman Avenue, is named after its early developer.) Much of Sherman's purchase was land belonging to Columbian College.

The college moved to the center of Washington's downtown business district and in 1904, changed its name to The George Washington University, in an agreement with the George Washington Memorial Association. By 1912 Columbian, now George Washington, relocated its major operations to Foggy Bottom. The federal government purchased some of the college's former land and built Meridian Hill Park in the early 20th century. The park, also known as "Malcolm X Park", contains many statues of historic international and United States figures, including Joan of Arc, Dante Alighieri, and James Buchanan.

20th century

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. An imposing mansion known as "Belmont" marked the entrance to the neighborhood between Florida and Clifton Streets. The mansion was emblematic of the confidence that the affluent placed in the concept that Columbia Heights represented the ideal suburb. In the early 1900s, many of Washington's wealthiest and most influential people lived in the neighborhood. Residents included authors Jean Toomer,^[10] Ambrose Bierce,^[11] Sinclair Lewis, Chief Justice Melville Fuller, and Justice John Marshall Harlan.

In 1901, the Commissioners of the District of Columbia renamed streets all over the District in accordance with a newly adopted street-naming system.^[12] In Columbia Heights, Clifton Street, Roanoke Street, Yale Street, Princeton Street, Harvard Street, Columbia Road, Kenesaw Avenue, Kenyon Street, Dartmouth Street, and Whitney Avenue were renamed Adams Street, Bryant Street, Channing Street, Douglas Street, Evarts Street, Franklin Street, Girard Street, Hamlin Street, Hooker Street, and Irving Street, respectively.^[12]

1903 Baist Atlas of Columbia Heights, Washington, DC development^[13]

In 1902, there was a building boom in North Columbia Heights, with the expansion of the streetcar down 11th St, 14th St and 16th St. Homes were being built for between $2,000 and $5,000 and a total of five million dollars' worth of homes were being built.^[14]

Advertisement for 1201 Clifton St. NW, Washington, DC – 1910^[15]

In 1904, the Columbia Heights Citizen's Association published an illustrated brochure entitled "A Statement of Some of the Advantages of Beautiful Columbia Heights." (PDF ) The publication describes Columbia Heights as a "residential section populated by public and spirited citizens." Residents at that time were "ever alive to the mental, moral, and spiritual advancements of their homes surroundings." The neighborhood organization sponsored competitions for landscaping house lots and offered prizes to the best kept lawn and garden, at the same time fought the erection of street poles and overhead telegraph and telephone lines. 1904 was also the year that Congress authorized changing the names of streets to align with the alphabetical and orderly naming convention of the Old City (i.e., below Boundary Street, now Florida Avenue). The name changes were put into effect the following year.^[16]

By 1914, four street car lines served the section providing transportation to downtown Washington in twenty minutes. The neighborhood also became the home of the Washington Palace Five professional basketball team.

J.C. Barker Motor Co., 14th & Irving St. NW in Washington, D.C. (1920s)^[17]

The popularity of the neighborhood resulted in the construction of several large apartment buildings during the beginning of the twentieth century that changed the suburban character of the area into a more urban and densely populated district. As of mid-century, however, Columbia Heights retained much of its upscale residential appeal, supporting establishments such as the ornate Tivoli Theatre movie house (completed in 1924).

J. Willard Marriott and his wife opened an A&W Root Beer franchise on 14th street in 1927, before creating the Marriott hotel chain.^[18] The neighborhood was adjacent to Washington's thriving middle-class black community and came to be home to some of its most notable citizens by the 1930s.

In 1949, during the era of racial segregation in the public schools, Central High School, a white high school that bordered the southern edge of Columbia Heights, did not have enough students. It was renamed as Cardozo High School and designated as a "colored" high school to accommodate the growing African-American population in the neighborhood. Significant demographic changes began in the late 1940s when African-American residents began to buy apartment buildings previously owned by whites, and in the 1950s blacks bought individual homes in ever increasing numbers. The neighborhood was a strong middle-class African-American enclave in Washington, along with the nearby Shaw neighborhood and Howard University, through the mid-1960s.

The neighborhood was featured in various clips, and as the home of protagonists Helen and Bobby Benson, in the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still.

In 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the 1968 Washington, D.C., riots ravaged the 14th St. Corridor in Columbia Heights, along with the commercial U Street corridor nearby, and many other Washington neighborhoods to the east. Many middle-class residents moved out to the suburbs, resulting in a drop in business. As a result, many homes and shops remained vacant for decades. Some remaining residents could not afford to move, and struggled with problems of poverty and violence related to drugs. In addition to African Americans, the neighborhood had an increasing number of Latino immigrants and their descendants as residents.

1999-present

In 1999, the city announced a revitalization initiative for the neighborhood focused around the Columbia Heights Metro station, which opened that year. The opening of the Metro station served as a catalyst for the return of economic development and residents.^[19] Nearby, Giant Food supermarket opened, and Tivoli Square, a commercial and entertainment complex, dating from the 1920s was renovated.^[20]

There had already been positive developments along lower 14th Street and the U Street corridor.^[21]

On March 5, 2008, DC USA, a 546,000-square-foot (50,700 m²) shopping mall across the street from the Columbia Heights Metro station opened. It includes many stores and restaurants as well as 1,000 spaces of underground parking.^[22]

As of 2018, approximately 22% of the housing stock in the neighborhood was reserved for low income renters.^[23]