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About the City
Mount Rainier, Maryland, is recognized for its historical significance as a primary streetcar suburb, characterized by a rich collection of Sears Houses and Craftsman-style homes. It was named by a group of developers after the famous mountain in the State of Washington.
In 1910, the residents around the streetcar station petitioned the Maryland State Legislature to incorporate Mount Rainier, and the city was officially incorporated on April 14, 1910.
Today, the City boasts a vibrant arts scene and hosts engaging community events, making it an attractive location for artists and residents alike. Mount Rainier is part of the Gateway Arts District, which also includes the City of Hyattsville, the Town of Brentwood, and North Brentwood. This district is a project of the Gateway Community Development Corporation and aims to rejuvenate a two-mile stretch along U.S. Route One/Rhode Island Avenue in Prince George's County, Maryland, just north of the Washington, D.C. border.
Mount Rainier is a city of contrasts. Known as a busy urban gateway to the nation's capital, it is also known for its intimate, tree-shaded neighborhoods. Mount Rainier's greatest asset-the source of its vibrant community life-is its ability to nurture and sustain a variety of interests.
Old and new, progressive and conservative, Bible-belt fundamentalists, rock-ribbed traditionalists, activists, recluses, empty nesters, and young families: all are at home in Mount Rainier. Patterns of civic behavior established early in the city's 100-year history laid a foundation of tolerance that persists to this day.
Successive generations of government workers, trades people, artisans, and service professionals have lived in the one- and two-story bungalows built by the first Mount Rainier families. They inherited, too, a small-town infrastructure, complete with retail stores, churches, schools, and narrow streets. Decades-old elm trees dominate the neighborhoods, where cozy front porches vie with well-traveled sidewalks as venues for good conversation.
With most of its buildings built prior to 1939 and in good enough shape to be considered, in preservationist terminology, "contributing resources," Mount Rainier was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Visitors are not surprised. The city looks and feels like the old trolley town that it is. But when newcomers are drawn into the life of the city, they quickly realize that it is well endowed to thrive in the 21st century. Mount Rainier's enduring embrace of its institutions and its people is only enhanced by the passage of time.
- Mount Rainier's Population - 8,333
- 225+ Local Artists
- $354,400 Average Home Closing Price
- 85.1 Diversity Index: a quantitative measure that reflects how many different types (such as species) there are in a dataset (a community), and simultaneously takes into account how evenly the basic entities (such as individuals) are distributed among those types.
- 35 median age
- 16 parks and playgrounds
- 15-minute drive to downtown DC.
- 82 walk score
- 22k+ average daily traffic volume (2013 MD State Highway, Mount Rainier)