Trinidad (Washington, D.C.)

Trinidad is a neighborhood located in Ward 5, in the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., and is a largely residential area. It is bounded by West Virginia Avenue NE, Florida Avenue NE, Mount Olivet Road NE, and Bladensburg Road NE.

Geography

Trinidad is to the east of West Virginia Avenue, north of Florida Avenue, and west of Bladensburg Road. To the north of Trinidad is the more industrial neighborhood of Ivy City. To the west is Gallaudet University and the Florida Market (D.C.'s wholesale food district, also called the Capital City Market or more recently Union Market). To the east lies Carver Langston. To the south of Trinidad is Old City, so named because it was part of Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the city, and generally referred to as either Near Northeast or Capitol Hill North. Located immediately south of Trinidad is the H Street Corridor. The eastern portion of the H Street Corridor is sometimes referred to as the Atlas District, part of a neighborhood branding campaign centered on the revitalized Atlas Theater.

History

The area got its name from 19th-century speculator James Barry, who had once lived on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. A street in the neighborhood bears the name of Trinidad Avenue NE.

The land passed to and from the Corcoran family, who used it as a country estate, to Columbian College, which later became George Washington University, and then to the Washington Brick Machine Company.