There is no more aptly named Washington neighborhood than Forest Hills. Stroll through its serene blocks and you can’t help but notice the trees. “It’s maintained a surplus of tree-lined streets,” said 11-year resident Robert Epstein as he walked home down Ordway Street carrying shopping bags. “As you can see, it’s very quiet back here. It almost feels like a suburb in the middle of the city.” Northwest Washington draws people who want a respite from urban annoyances without losing all the city has to offer. People searching for that holy grail of District real estate tend to gravitate to Forest Hills, an under-the-radar neighborhood with areas that sometimes are mistakenly labeled Cleveland Park or Van Ness. The unofficial boundaries are 36th Street to the north, Rock Creek Park to the east, Klingle Road to the south, and Connecticut Avenue to the west.
| At a glance |
| January 2011 |
| Average sold price for homes sold in ZIP code 20008: $782,800 |
| Average list price for homes sold in ZIP code 20008: $838,173 |
| Average days on market for homes sold: 77 |
| January 2010 |
| Average sold price for homes sold in ZIP code 20008: $900,179 |
| Average list price for homes sold in ZIP code 20008: $943,607 |
| Average days on market for homes sold: 61 |
“We were living in the bustle of Chinatown and were looking for a home, not a condo, in a quieter neighborhood,” said Adam Tope, a member of the Ward 3 Advisory Neighborhood Commission that covers Forest Hills. “Walkability, Metro accessibility, safety and reasonably good schools were important. Forest Hills offers all of that. I’m an eight-minute walk from two Metros.”
With a variety of stores within walking distance, Tope said his family rarely drives. “The appeal to us was being able to walk to stores and restaurants, have a big yard and still be able to get to work in 20 minutes,” he said.
Forest Hills offers an array of housing options, ranging from rental apartments to soaring mansions.
“The architectural diversity of the neighborhood is totally unique to Washington,” said Jean Hanan, an agent with TTR Sotheby’s International Realty who has been selling property in Forest Hills for five years. “It has everything in it: single-family homes, town houses, Tudors, Cape Cods, Federals. It’s probably the neighborhood in the Washington area that has the most modern architecture. Some of the condos and co-ops and apartments were built in the 1930s, so they have this great Art Deco appeal to them.”
The area, originally settled by the Algonquin Indians, saw its first development in the early 1800s.
In 1942 Joseph Davies, a former ambassador to the Soviet Union, and his wife, Marjorie Merriweather Post, purchased a Georgian mansion near what is now Linnean Avenue. The heiress to the Post cereal fortune bequeathed the spectacular home and gardens to the public upon her death in 1973. Now named the Hillwood Museum, it shares the neighborhood with the Levine School of Music, Howard University Law School, and Edmund Burke Elementary School.
Sam’s Park and Shop, on Connecticut Avenue at the Cleveland Park Metro station, was built in 1926 and served as the model for many strip malls. It continues to be a shopping destination for residents who flock to Petco, City Fitness and Weygandt Wines, among other stores. California Tortilla and the well-known restaurant Palena also occupy space in the center.
Despite the host of eateries and retail stores that line the east side of Connecticut Avenue, it’s amazing how sleepy life can seem just a block or two away.
“There’s a calmness to it even though it’s in the middle of the city,” said Pat Spellacy as he walked with his grandchildren, Kofi and Lucy, on Chesapeake Avenue, destined for the Forest Hills playground. “We took the kids trick or treating and it reminded me of the little town I grew up in, in Minnesota.”
Top reasons to live in Forest Hills
Transportation
The western edge of Forest Hills runs along Connecticut Avenue, home to the Cleveland Park and Van Ness-UDC stations on Metro’s Red Line.
Peace and quiet
Walk along almost any Forest Hills street and all you’ll hear are birds chirping and leaves rustling. The constant din of engines and horns seems miles away, even though the main thoroughfares are quite close.
Location
Northwest Washington is home to Rock Creek Park and many of the city’s finest restaurants, universities and museums. Travel one direction on Connecticut Avenue and you’ll reach the National Zoo, Woodley Park and downtown. Go the other way and you’ll find Chevy Chase, the Maryland suburbs and the Capital Beltway.
