By Andrea Rouda
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, September 6, 2008
After many years living in Georgetown and Columbia Heights, Lynda Couvillion and Michael Seidman were certified city dwellers, accustomed to close-in living.
Seeking easier transportation options for their then-teenage daughter, they moved in 1992 to their duplex in North Cleveland Park in Northwest Washington. Today Seidman commutes to his job in Baltimore, but Couvillion retired three years ago from the Department of Agriculture, and she said she appreciates urban life even more now.
"I use the whole city, but we have so many good friends right here," she said, explaining that, like neighbors everywhere, they watch out for one another, pet-sit when necessary and borrow the occasional cup of something.
She said she realized just how supportive her community is when her oven broke down one November, just as she was beginning to prepare the big Thanksgiving meal.
"Since one of my neighbors was away for the holiday, I was able to do all my cooking over there. Of course, I left them a note explaining why their house might smell like turkey when they got home!"
While similar good-neighbor stories could be found anywhere, North Cleveland Park has the bonus of those three special features touted so often by real estate agents: location, location and location.
Served by three Metro stops and by buses along Connecticut and Wisconsin avenues, and with shops and restaurants within walking distance, North Cleveland Park really is in the middle of everything.
The neighborhood is a mix of several subdivisions built shortly before World War II. As its name implies, it's north of the better-known community of Cleveland Park. The homes in North Cleveland Park are more modest and newer than those just to the south but older than those in Chevy Chase and American University Park, neighborhoods that were built during and immediately after the war.
There are three primary clusters of housing types. At the southern end, along Reno Road, is a three-block enclave of upscale detached houses, some with swimming pools, ornate gardens and the occasional private tennis court, that share the designation of Springland Farm. Then there are the large brick duplex townhouses lining Veazey, Van Ness, Warren and Windom streets, built in the 1920s. Finally, there are modest townhouses and a small number of detached houses filling in the spaces. Also, a part of the neighborhood is taken up by the large multinational embassy complex along Van Ness Street.
While the 90 single-family houses on Upton and Tilden streets and Springland Lane can be considered part of this neighborhood, as Springland Farm they share a common history.
Chuck Ludlam, a retired Capitol Hill lawyer, moved to the neighborhood 21 years ago as a single man and began researching the history. He soon learned that his property sat on what was once a family-owned vineyard that included the two streets next to his own. "We are bound together by history; otherwise we are just three random streets, but it is literally part of an historic place," Ludlam said. "For example, there's an old spring house on Springland Lane, and it's one of only three remaining in the District."
Ludlam and his wife, Paula Hirschoff, a writer and editor who teaches at the University of the District of Columbia, are both two-time Peace Corps volunteers. Their more recent experience, living in Senegal for 2 1/2 months, impressed on them, Hirschoff said, the "basic human need to have a community."
They are devoted to fostering that feeling in their neighborhood. Ludlam is passionately trying to get the area designated as a separate historical district under the name Springland Farm.
He has worked for years to stop drivers from using his street to cut from Wisconsin Avenue to high-speed Reno Road, which essentially bisects the neighborhood. He and a group of his neighbors banded together and appealed to the city to study their case.
After five years, the District finally recommended the installation of three speed bumps and altered traffic patterns at the Wisconsin Avenue end of the street. The residents thought that did not go far enough to quell the "racetrack feel." After further petitions, a permit was finally secured to allow for the creation of a "traffic calming island" at the intersection of Upton Street and Reno Road. While the city paid for the construction of the island, the $7,000 cost of landscaping the small plot of land was shared among 27 neighbors.
That kind of commitment to the neighborhood is prevalent throughout North Cleveland Park and adds to its value, according to Susan Schneider, a real estate agent and local resident. "Despite the down housing market, houses in North Cleveland Park sell relatively quickly," she said.
Schneider and her family moved from Capitol Hill 26 years ago. Her best friend also moved to the same street at the same time because the two families had grown close and were committed to staying together.
"We didn't want to break up a good car pool," said Schneider, in all seriousness. So they looked for a block where there were two houses for sale. "We were lucky to find a big house on a big lot, but it needed everything," she said.
Sarah Rosen Wartell and her husband, Ted Wartell, both grew up in Manhattan apartments, so to them, their home in North Cleveland Park feels downright rural. "Most houses on our block are duplexes, but ours is fully detached, so we have a pretty big yard," said Rosen Wartell, an executive at a Washington think tank. She considers her backyard a vital extension of the home's living space, enjoying the fruits of her small vegetable garden as much as any farmer would. This year's crop is mostly tomatoes and cucumbers.
The family moved to their home in 1988, during a housing boom: "We were one of seven bidders and paid $35,000 over the asking price," Rosen Wartell recalled.
Almost from the first day, they had friends in the neighborhood when they learned that the former owner of their home had traditionally handled the arrangements for the annual block party. "People said, half jokingly, that the job transferred with the deed," she said. "By now, the block party is pretty much self-executing; all I have to do is order the MoonBounce and the clown."
Rosen Wartell said she particularly enjoys the outdoor life of the neighborhood. "People here really use their front porches," she said. "When spring arrives, the kids hit the street and stay there until winter. And with a mix of ages and so many nannies in the neighborhood, there's always someone keeping an eye out on the kids."
On Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings, there is a small farmers market in the Sheridan School's parking lot, which offers organic fare and another opportunity to catch up with the neighbors.
And getting downtown is easy enough. "We are between two Metro stops, and it's a seven-minute walk to both, all downhill: We walk down to one in the morning and then coming home, we get off the train at the other stop and walk down the hill again to our home," Rosen Wartell said.
The family has completed many upgrades to the home, including renovating two bathrooms, putting in new flooring, and finishing the basement as an au pair suite.
"We think we can live here for a long time," Rosen Wartell said. "My husband says he's not moving until he can't do stairs anymore."
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