About 1871, a real estate development known as "East Washington Heights" began. Citizens in the area wanted a bridge to reconnect "their" Pennsylvania Avenue (which ran through the center of their neighborhoods) with the Pennsylvania Avenue "in the city". Building a new bridge over the Anacostia River only slowly became an issue for them, and it was not until 1875 that the EWCA began agitating for one. A new bridge, the EWCA pointed out, would save residents of East Washington in travel every time they visited the city center on the other side of the river. On February 19, 1886, the EWCA formed a committee to lobby the Commissioners of the District of Columbia (the city government) and Congress on the issue.