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Get to know Cleveland Park

Cleveland Park was once considered so far away and distant from downtown D.C. that it was mainly known as a bucolic spot to build summer estates. But with the Rock Creek Railway line’s arrival in 1892, this formerly remote patch of land became accessible to commuters, and developers created a suburban-style idyll in D.C.’s Northwest quadrant. Much of Cleveland Park has curvilinear streets that follow the neighborhood’s natural contours instead of the rigid grid of most of D.C. This gentle road layout matches the peaceful atmosphere of the leafy streets and stately homes. Since its earliest days, Cleveland Park has attracted well-known architects, and one can find notable residences here in almost every style — with choices including Queen Anne Victorians, apartments in the historic Broadmoor, or an International Style house designed by I.M. Pei.

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Living in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., is a beautiful city with gorgeous architecture and a vibrant cultural life that also just happens to be the nation’s capital. Of course, Washington, D.C., is a company town — the company being the American government — but only a quarter of Washington, D.C., residents are federal employees, with the biggest employers being the major hospitals and universities. Washington, D.C., is an exemplar of urban planning, thanks to the vision of military engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant. L’Enfant’s plan symbolically put the people in charge by placing Congress, and not the White House, at the pinnacle of the city, with D.C.’s wide boulevards radiating out from the “People’s House” on Capitol Hill. L’Enfant also laid out the National Mall, which stretches for more than two miles from Capitol Hill to the Potomac River, creating a public space for marches, monuments, and museums.