Thu, 06/14/2007 - 11:32am

Mt.P. Keep your eyes out for this little white bumper sticker on the backs of cars and motor bikes because you are soon going to want to follow it home. You have to really love a place to put a neighborhood bumper sticker on the back of your car and few areas in D.C. can match the devotion and pride felt by its residents as Mt. Pleasant. Veering left off 16th and onto Mt. Pleasant Street, there is an immediate sense that one has shifted environments, arrived at a street which is more a destination than a means of getting somewhere. Park your car and start your walk north up this bustling main street. A Saturday morning stroll is the perfect way to take in one of D.C.’s most diverse, vibrant and overlooked neighborhoods.

Mt. Pleasant, once a bucolic country village, is bordered to the west by Rock Creek Park and to the east by 16th street, a geographic location which lends to its unique character. Its streets meander and twist, deviating from L’Enfant’s city design of parallel streets and diagonal avenues and creating a neighborhood whose natural focal point is the main street. Locals flock to the area on the weekends to shop for anything from second hand clothes to locally grown organic arugula. Mt. Pleasant Street businesses cater to their neighbors. This is not the place to come for high end boutiques and tourist knick knacks, this is a place to experience a real, live, breathing, functional main street. In many ways, Mt. Pleasant is more like a small town than a neighborhood, where neighbors bump into each other and shop owners both work and live. The main street, now serviced by the 42 bus, was once serviced by the 40 and 42 streetcars. The arrival of the streetcar created the corridor of businesses which sprouted up along the line.

Making your way north up the street, you will sense the vibrancy and energy created by a street which is as much about the social scene as it is the commerce. Groups of men stand around chatting in front of the Seven Eleven (ironically right under the “no loitering sign”). Young couples walk with baby strollers and a woman sells papayas, mangos and coconuts from out of her truck. In many ways, the area feels more like somewhere in Central America than in Washington D.C. Reggaeton beats thump from passing cars and the Spanish language is ever present. Since the 1970s, Mt. Pleasant has been at the heart of the Latino Immigrant community and its many bodegas and restaurants testify to its enduring Latino presence. If the street had an official dish, it would undoubtedly be the Pupusa, a thick tortilla stuffed with combinations of cheese, meat and beans and topped with a pickled-cabbage relish and hot pepper.

As you continue north, to your left lays the residential area of Mt. Pleasant. The tree-lined streets are perfect for meandering and appreciating the colorful rowhouses found in one of D.C.’s most aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods. If you are interested in learning more about the history of the neighborhood, follow the Mt. Pleasant Heritage Trail. The trail was established this year and is made up of 17 illustrated historical markers. The walk takes about 90 minutes and sheds light on the richness of the neighborhood’s history and shares interesting little bits of information like how Theodore Roosevelt used to skinny-dipped in Rock Creek.

Continuing along the street, one arrives at Lamont Park, once the turnaround for the streetcars and now home to a Saturday Farmer’s Market. Locally grown food is brought in each week and sold by the farmers. The market is open from nine to one and is a great place to find seasonal fruits and vegetables, naturally raised meat, fresh cut flowers and fresh baked bread.

After loading up on produce and coming to the end of the main street, head over to Heller’s Bakery across the street from the market for coffee and pastries. The original bakery was founded by a pair of German brothers and, as advertised by the huge mural on the side of the building, has been around since 1928. Few places in this city are patronized by as eclectic and diverse customer base as Heller’s. Everyone gets their coffee at Heller’s, white collar, blue collar, neighborhood hipsters, gentrifiers, old time residents, the homeless… it makes for a great place to sit back with a cup of coffee, people watch, and take in the sights, smells, and tastes of a Saturday morning in Mt. Pleasant.

About the author
Matthew Craig Peterson

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• Attractions