It may be hard to believe that Bryant Street was once an untamed piece of land, but that was exactly the case when the Powhatan people of the Algonquian tribe called it home. That is, until the 17th century, when lawyer George Thomas and other Europeans moved in and seized the land to create more space for agriculture.
The land was eventually divided up into two tracts named for an iconic European organization and city: Scotland Yard and Rome. In modern-day DC, these areas are now the Eckington and Edgewood neighborhoods, respectively. It wasn’t until the late 18th century that Congress established the city of Washington, D.C. and both areas of land were absorbed into the city’s boundaries. Over the ensuing decades, the area played host to a gypsy encampment, a 19-acre orphanage, and, eventually, a large shopping center. Today, it’s simply home for the residents of Coda at Bryant Street!