 The area is also bisected by the heavily traveled Baltimore Avenue (U.S. Route 1).The city of College Park is located to the north, the town of University Park to the east across Baltimore Avenue, and Hyattsville is located to the south and southwest.The area was first developed in 1801 when a Belgian aristocrat, Henri Joseph Stier, purchased 800 acres situated between two tributaries of the Anacostia River, known as the Paint and Northwest branches.