The area was envisioned as part of the capital city by Pierre Charles L’Enfant's 1791 plan; by 1852, plans were drawn up for 11 squares subdivided by streets. But the rural landscape remained largely uninhabited until the latter half of the century. Development began in the 1870s, encouraged by a north-south streetcar line along nearby 14th Street, and accelerated from about 1890 to 1910. Early residents including working-class people and professionals, African Americans, and whites. But the area became most strongly identified with the African American elites who were attracted by public transit and the nearby Howard University. Today, the Strivers' Section is still largely occupied by the Edwardian residences that have populated the area since its initial development, along with some apartment and condominium buildings, and a few small businesses. The area includes some 430 buildings constructed between 1875 and 1946 that are contributing properties to the historic district. It is the home of the national headquarters of Jack and Jill of America, which seeks to help children, especially African American children, obtain cultural opportunities, develop leadership skills, and form social networks.
Notable residents
Among its most notable residents was Frederick Douglass, runaway slave, abolitionist, orator, writer, and civil servant. Douglass built the southern three buildings of a five-house, Second Empire-style row located at 2000-2008 17th Street in 1875-76. Douglass' son inherited the houses and lived at 2002 17th Street from 1877 until his death in 1908. Other notable residents have included:
Calvin Brent, the late-19th-century architect lived on V Street.
James C. Dacy, editor, realtor and D.C. Recorder of Deeds in 1904-10, also lived in the area.
James E. Storum, the educator and entrepreneur who founded the Capital Savings Bank, the first African American-owned banking institution in the nation's capital, lived at 2004 17th Street.
Prominent figures who lived within a few blocks of the historic district boundaries include:
Langston Hughes, Harlem Renaissance poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright, lived at :File:Langston Hughes residence.JPG|1749 S Street, NW.
Charles Hamilton Houston, dean of Howard University's Law School, lived at 1744 S Street, NW.
Georgia Douglas Johnson, author and poet of the Harlem Renaissance, lived at 1461 S Street, NW.
