Then and Now by the House History Man is a series by Paul K. Williams. Paul has been researching house histories in DC since 1995, having completed more than 1,500 to date. Read Paul’s previous post here.
Many people can’t imagine Cleveland Park without its leafy canopy of trees, but the reality is that it was developed in the early 1900s just a suburban tract is today; trees clear cut for the most part, and the new homes surrounded by young saplings and little else. This 1904 view of Newark Street, NW from the Moore & Hill Real Estate brochure shows what the original residents would have seen when they moved in. The Tudor house on the right at 2941 Newark was built at a cost of $8,000 by the Cleveland Park Company in 1898 and was designed by Robert Head. Behind it is 2945 Newark, which was built by John Sherman in 1902-1903 at a cost of $5,500.
Today one can barely see some houses from the street, and mature trees provide privacy between each house. This photograph from 2002 from the same front yard illustrates the change during the last 100 years, from open yards to a lush treed setting.
(Photographs from Washington Then & Now by Paul K. Williams and T. Luke Young (Arcadia, 2002). Contemporary photograph by T. Luke Young)
Wow – I love seeing the history surrounding our streets. Keep it coming!
Wow $5500 was a bargain! The inflation calculator I used (only goes back to 1913 so not perfect) says that would be $127,675.00 in today’s money.
That being said, salaries have to be adjusted as well. People were paid much less even adjusting for inflation..meaning it was probably still an exclusive neighborhood that the majority of ppl couldnt afford even at $127k
Good point. I love old movies and it always amazes me that the chick with all the zingers who gets the guy in the end usually only makes about $5 a week in the 30s.
Yes – even in her early 1970s sitcom, Mary Tyler Moore’s character was excited about a $20 per week raise!
I grew up about 4 houses up from those pictured. Newark street was and is gorgeous.
Is it just me, or have the overhead wires gotten thicker in the intervening years?