Bloomingdale/LeDroit Park

The influences of Howard University run deep in D.C.'s Bloomingdale & LeDroit Park. With the help of realtor Suzanne DesMarais, John and Christine guess listing prices of three homes across both areas and gain a new appreciation of exposed brick and turrets. Local residents also share their history and perspective on these two fascinating adjacent neighborhoods.

A long exposed brick hallway draws John and Christine into this 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit in a converted Bloomingdale, DC rowhome. With original architectural features, good sized bedrooms, and a move in ready kitchen, it's perfect for roommates or a couple.

Longtime residents of LeDroit Park in Northwest Washington discuss the changes they have witnessed in their neighborhood. Once the home to Black intellectuals like Mary Church Terrell, Anna J. Cooper, and Paul Laurence Dunbar, the community saw the influx of drugs and crime in the 1980s. More recently, the community has rebounded but grapples with the impacts of gentrification.

"You feel that sense of age in this house, in the great way," says John as he and Christine explore this 4 bedroom, 2 bath house in the LeDroit Park Historic District, just down the block from where Duke Ellington grew up. Spacious front bedrooms offer views of Howard University and natural light coming in from a courtyard make the updated kitchen feel bigger. What's not to love?

From top to bottom, consistent design elements tie this fully renovated Bloomingdale Victorian rowhouse together. With 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths and 3,000 square feet of living space, there's plenty of room to spread out. Plus, the view of the city from the upper level is "like looking at a painting."