Heading northeast along the District’s Michigan Avenue, it’s clear the road bears no similarity to its namesake in Chicago. As the rolling, snow-covered landscape widens out and unfolds from the congestion of city streets, the distinctive architecture of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Trinity College and the Catholic University of America resemble the Vatican City more than the Windy City in Illinois.
Off the avenue, the well-established Northeast neighborhoods of Brookland and Michigan Park offer affordable homes, spacious parks and the feel of a close-knit community just minutes from downtown.
“Michigan Park is a little suburb in the center of the city,” said Kymber Lovett-Menkitti, who owns her own real estate company and is a resident. “People in Columbia Heights looking to spread out are buying over here. There’s space to grow.”
Often considered part of the larger Brookland community, Michigan Park possesses a character all its own. It is bordered by Gallatin Street to the north, Taylor Street and Michigan Avenue to the south, Sixth Street to the west, and South Dakota Avenue to the east.
Tucked back from the road on rolling hills, the neighborhood consists of all-brick, single-family, Colonial-style row homes and duplexes, some semi-detached and others that stand alone — many with finished basements.
Turkey Thicket community recreation center, St. Anselm’s Abbey School and Providence Hospital, chartered by Abraham Lincoln in 1861, are notable landmarks.
A little to the south, Brookland offers a more diverse range of home styles including Victorians and Bungalows.
“From old-fashioned homes on large lots from the early 1900s to charming brick town houses, Brookland is a paradise for first-time homebuyers, young families and longtime D.C. residents from Dupont Circle and Capitol Hill who are looking for some elbow room,” said Abigail Padou, editor of the Brookland Heartbeat, a local Web site.
The Metro’s Red Line serves both neighborhoods and is closest to Brookland. The neighborhood is framed by Ninth Street to the west, Rhode Island Avenue to the south and South Dakota Avenue to the east. Michigan Avenue is the northern boundary between Ninth and 14th streets.
Originally farmland owned by the Middletown and Queen families, the neighborhood owes its name to Col. Jehiel Brooks, who built Bellair, an 1840 brick Greek Revival mansion that still stands. The area became known as Brookland after the estate was converted into a housing tract. President Lincoln kept a summer cottage in the vicinity where he could get away from the White House to gather his thoughts.
“So many people move to Brookland to start a family or so their dogs have plenty of room to play. Large, single-family houses are affordable in Brookland relative to other neighborhoods in D.C.,” Padou said.
