Pleasant Plains (Washington, D.C.)

Pleasant Plains
Pleasant Plains within the District of Columbia
Pleasant Plains within the District of Columbia
Coordinates: 38°55′44″N 77°01′24″W / 38.9288°N 77.0233°W / 38.9288; -77.0233
CountryUnited States
DistrictWashington, D.C.
WardWard 1
Government
 • CouncilmemberBrianne Nadeau

Pleasant Plains is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C. largely occupied by Howard University. For this reason it is also sometimes referred to as Howard Town or, less frequently, Howard Village.

It is situated in the Northwest quadrant of the city and bordered by 2nd Street, and McMillan Reservoir to the east; Florida Avenue and Barry Place to the south; Sherman Avenue to the west; and Harvard Street to the north. It is flanked on the eastern side by the Washington Veteran Affairs Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center, and by the Columbia Heights and Park View neighborhoods on the west and north sides.

Pleasant Plains, Howard University notwithstanding, is a residential neighborhood. A large portion of its residents are Howard affiliates, either students or employees. One of its major community anchors is the Banneker Recreation Center on Georgia Avenue, which reopened in July 2007 after a year of renovations. The adjacent Benjamin Banneker Academic High School has ranked among the 100 best public schools in the United States.[1]

Pleasant Plains is in Ward 1.

  1. ^ "Almost No Blacks at Many of the Nation's Highest-Rated Public High Schools". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (41): 60–62. January 1, 2003. doi:10.2307/3133768. JSTOR 3133768.