Mount Rainier Real Estate | MD

Mount Rainier Features & Amenities

Though population and popularity had declined by the 1970’s, the 1980’s saw a rebirth of the neighborhood as homebuyers recognized in Mount Rainier the same values it promised in its early days. The city is now part of the Gateway Arts District which offers housing incentives to artists hoping to live and work there, and utilizes the Art Lives Here program. Residents can take advantage of local haunts such as the Glut Health Food Co-op and Joe’s Movement Emporium, and the Mount Rainier Nature & Recreation Center.

Mount Rainier History & Housing

Mount Rainier sits primarily on what was the farm of Thomas Clemson, for whom the University in South Carolina is named. Planning and development began in the late 19th century when passenger train service began to be extended beyond the District of Columbia, in this case, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In 1910, after a dramatic 2,000% population increase in less than a decade, Mount Rainier was incorporated as a town in Maryland. Citizens began immediately to take advantage of this new status and began improvements immediately and by 1945, Mount Rainier had applied for and gained status as a city. Built in the 1930’s, what appears today to be a circular city center, was originally a loop that allowed streetcars to turn around.

This town, which locals say is named for the volcano that presides over the state of Washington because the early developers hailed from the Pacific Northwest, is more likely so named because neighboring Takoma Park takes its name from the American Indian name for Mount Rainier. In either case is fittingly hilly. With elevations ranging from 20 to 150 feet above sea level Mount Rainier has long provided views of DC and relief from its often stifling heat, attracting residents who crave the provisions of the city and the ease of rural life.

Today, the rural is nearly gone, but the ease remains. Housing options reflect this, including single-family homes on beautiful tree-lined streets: bungalows, cottages, foursquares, Queen Annes, farmhouses, and mail-order houses by Sears, Roebuck & Co. An impressive twelve of these remain, showcasing eight different designs. Nearly all housing in Mount Rainier arise one- to two-story, save for a few modest apartment complexes built in the 1940’s; two of which were built with their own shopping centers.

Mount Rainier Transportation & Location

Mount Rainier has no Metrorail station, but is serviced by multiple bus lines and Rhode Island Ave provides quick access into the District, cutting through the up-and-coming Brookland neighborhood on its way to the Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood Metro Station on the Red Line.