Sunday Stroll in Shaw

This last Sunday I spent the day exploring a lesser-known neighborhood of the city. Twice a year, the city hosts a series of walking tours highlighting famous people, geographic locations, architecture, and history (see Cultural Tourism DC for more). I decided it would be interesting to venture out from my northern Virginia home and unearth some stories about a part of the city that I don't know very well. Actually, I have to say that I didn't know it all -- with the exception of my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Lalibela, that is located in the vicinity. Now, thanks to an expert tour guide, I am a bit more familiar.

Shaw is a neighborhood downtown that is located north of the capital. It spans from K Street to Florida/U Street along 9th and 7th near Howard University and the Convention Center.


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The neighborhood is historically black and is full of the ghosts of famous folks such as Duke Ellington, Carter Wooson (father of black history), Langston Hughes, Phillips Randolph, and more. In fact it was named after the Civil War commander of a black infantry. The area witnessed the 1968 riots in DC and has been largely run-down until the last years in which folks have started projects and building campaigns to revive this area of the city.

Highlights, for me, included

• seeing the architecture of homes built around the turn of the century
• discovering the term "pocket park" for small parks built on empty lots between buildings
• the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA (now used as residences for women)
• the Howard Theatre where all the important folks used to play (Duke Ellington and later more modern groups such as The Supremes) -- one woman on our walking tour could actually remember her visit to the theatre, which sadly is now abandoned and in serious disrepair
• visiting what is now a bar and used to be the Scurlock Studio of photography. Notably, I realized I had already visited Nellie's Sportsbar before and that I had seen a photo exhibit at the National Museum of American History with pictures of the neighborhood and prominent figures all taken by the Scurlock Studio.

All in all, I learned a lot this Sunday out and about. If only all of my wanderings were as educational!

In line with my summer resolutions, I finish this post with a bit of poetry, most appropriately from Langston Hughes.

Dream Variations

To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance!  Whirl!  Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.