The U Street Corridor, sometimes called Cardozo/Shaw or Cardozo, is a commercial and residential district in
Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, most of which also constitutes the Greater U Street Historic District. It is centered along a nine-block stretch of U Street from 9th to
18th Streets, which from the 1920s until the 1960s was the city's black entertainment hub, called "Black Broadway"
and "the heart of black culture in Washington, D.C.".
[ After a period of decline following the ]1968 riots 1968 riots may refer to:
* Orangeburg massacre, February 8, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina
* King assassination riots, April and May, across the United States, including:
** 1968 Washington, D.C., riots, April 4–8, ...
, the economy picked up with the 1991 opening of the U Street Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
station. Subsequent gentrification diversified the population, which is 67% non-Hispanic White and 18% African American (as of 2017). Since 2013, thousands of residents have moved into new luxury apartment buildings. U Street is now promoted as a "happening" neighborhood for upscale, "hip", and "eclectic" dining and shopping, its live music and nightlife, as well as one of the most significant African American heritage districts in the country.
Geography and name
The U Street Corridor is bounded by:
* on the north, Florida Ave. NW and Columbia Heights
* on the south, S St. NW and the Logan Circle and Shaw
Shaw may refer to:
Places Australia
*Shaw, Queensland
Canada
*Shaw Street, a street in Toronto
England
*Shaw, Berkshire, a village
*Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton
*Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...
neighborhoods
* on the east, 9th St. NW and LeDroit Park
LeDroit Park ( or ) is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. located immediately southeast of Howard University. Its borders include W Street to the north, Rhode Island Avenue and Florida Avenue to the south, Second Street NW to the east, and Howar ...
, Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
and the Shaw neighborhood
* on the west, 15th St. NW and the Adams Morgan
Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., centered at the intersection of 18th Street NW and Columbia Road, about 1.5 miles (2.54 km) north of the White House. Notable establishments in the neighborhood include the ...
and Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW ...
neighborhoods and the Strivers' Section and Sixteenth Street historic districts
In addition to U Street itself, the intersecting 14th Street is a major retail, dining, and entertainment corridor. Retailers located on 14th near U include Room and Board
Room and board is a phrase describing a situation in which, in exchange for money, Manual labour, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis. It commonly occurs as a fee at h ...
, West Elm, and Lululemon
lululemon athletica inc. (; styled in all lowercase) is a Canadian multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in British Columbia and incorporated in Delaware, United States. It was founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and ot ...
.
Name and identity
The area is often referred to as the U Street Corridor, and has been known by other names:
*Part of Shaw: The 1966 Shaw School Urban Renewal Area plan covered the neighborhood now commonly known as Shaw
Shaw may refer to:
Places Australia
*Shaw, Queensland
Canada
*Shaw Street, a street in Toronto
England
*Shaw, Berkshire, a village
*Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton
*Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...
, but also the U Street Corridor, Logan Circle, that for decades were also considered part of Shaw.
*Cardozo: in the 1990s the U Street Corridor was often referred to as Cardozo/Shaw, a name that the DC planning department still uses. Google Maps labels the neighborhood Cardozo. In both cases this is defined as a neighborhood separate from the Shaw neighborhood proper. The Cardozo Education Campus
Cardozo Education Campus, formerly Cardozo Senior High School and Central High School, is a combined middle and high school at 13th and Clifton Street in northwest Washington, D.C., United States, in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. Cardozo i ...
is located adjacent to the U Street Corridor but is actually in Columbia Heights neighborhood.
History
1862–1900: Origins
U Street is a largely Victorian-era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...
neighborhood, developed between 1862 and 1900, the majority of which has been designated as the Greater U Street historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
.
At the time of the Civil War, the area was woods and open fields. The Union command chose this area for military encampments including Camp Barker near 13th and R streets and others in what is now the Shaw neighborhood proper. The encampments were safe havens for freed slaves fleeing the South, and thus the area became a popular one for African Americans to settle.
After the war, horse-drawn streetcar lines opened, running north from downtown Washington along 7th, 9th and 14th streets, making the area an easily accessible place to live. The lines were later turned into cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems:
* Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable
** Aerial tramway
** Chairlift
** Gondola lift
*** Bi ...
s. Both blacks and whites lived here, gradually shifting to a predominantly African American population between 1900 and 1920.[
The area's oldest buildings are ]Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
, Second Empire Second Empire may refer to:
* Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783
* Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396)
* Second French Empire (1852–1870)
** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
and Queen Anne-style row house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house (British English, UK) or townhouse (American English, US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings party ...
s built rapidly by speculative developers in response to the city's high demand for housing with the post-Civil War growth of the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
.
1900–1968: "Black Broadway" and Hub of Black Washington
Until the 1920s, when it was overtaken by Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
, the U Street Corridor was home to the nation's largest urban African American community. The area was home to the Industrial Bank, the city's oldest African American-owned bank, and to hundreds of black-owned and black-friendly businesses, churches, theaters, gyms, and other community spaces. Natives of the area included jazz musician Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
, opera singer Lillian Evanti
Lillian Evanti (August 12, 1890 – December 6, 1967), was an African American opera singer. Evanti was the first African American to perform with a major European opera company Life
She was born in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Armstron ...
, surgeon Charles R. Drew
Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to devel ...
, and law professor Charles Hamilton Houston
Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950) was a prominent African-American lawyer, Dean of Howard University Law School, and NAACP first special counsel, or Litigation Director. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Law ...
.
In its cultural heyday – roughly consisting of the years between 1900 and the early 1960s – the U Street Corridor was known as "Black Broadway", a phrase coined by singer Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...
. Performers who played the local clubs of the era included Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
, Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer.
Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
, and Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...
, among many others. During Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, U Street was also home to many of the capital's 2,000-3,000 speakeasies
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
, which some historians credit for helping integrate a city long divided between black and white.
From 1911 to 1963, the west end of the U Street neighborhood was anchored by Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW.
The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...
, home of the District's baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
team, the Washington Senators. The Lincoln Theatre opened in 1921, and Howard Theatre
The Howard Theatre is a historic theater, located at 620 T Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. Opened in 1910, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
In its heyday, the theater was known for catering to an African-A ...
in 1926. Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
's childhood home was located on 13th street between T and S Streets.
The Green Book, a travel guide for black travelers (1933–1963) listed many sites along U Street NW by Green Book Travelers.
1968–1986: Decline
While the area remained a cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
center for the African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
community through the 1960s, the neighborhood began to decline following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American clergyman and civil rights leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at 7 ...
on 4 April 1968. The intersection of 14th Street and U Street was the epicenter of violence, 13 deaths and damage to 1,200 homes and businesses during the 1968 Washington, D.C. riots, which rampaged for four days after King's murder. Following the riots, and the subsequent flight
Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
of affluent residents and businesses from the area, the corridor became blighted. Drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
rose dramatically in the mid-1970s, when the intersection of 14th and U Streets was an area of drug trafficking in Washington, D.C.[ Lusane, Clarence ''Pipe Dream Blues: Racism and the War on Drugs'' South End Press, Boston 1991, ]
1986-2010: Redevelopment and demographic change
Following the economic downturn the area faced following the 1968 riots, the community and DC government launched numerous redevelopment efforts.
Examples include:[Kreyling, Christine. "Something Old, Something New," ''Planning''; August/September 2006, Vol. 72 Issue 8, p34-39, 6p. Retrieved April 4, 2007.]
* The Reeves Center, built in 1986 at 14th and U, which houses city agencies and represented a $50 million investment, and which includes an urban plaza and weekly farmer's market
* Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
and bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
stops on U Street for increased accessibility by transit
* Capital Bikeshare
Capital Bikeshare (also abbreviated CaBi) is a bicycle-sharing system which serves Washington, D.C.; Arlington County, Virginia; the cities of Alexandria, Virginia and Falls Church, Virginia; Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Virg ...
stations
* 1998 Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...
grants funding "Remembering U Street" signage marking 15 historic properties, as well as façade improvements to 150 dilapidated storefronts on U and 14th streets
* New construction and rehabilitation projects providing more quality, affordable housing, including Section 8-qualifying units and senior citizen communities.
In the 1990s, revitalization of Adams Morgan
Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., centered at the intersection of 18th Street NW and Columbia Road, about 1.5 miles (2.54 km) north of the White House. Notable establishments in the neighborhood include the ...
and later Logan Circle began. More than 2,000 luxury condominiums and apartments were constructed between 1997 and 2007. As the area improved and became more attractive Washingtonians of all races and ethnicities, and of higher incomes and wealth, to live there, the ethnic mix of the neighborhood changed dramatically: in 2000 it was roughly 20% white and 60% black; while by 2010 that had reversed and the it was roughly 60% white and 20% black (see ''Demographics
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
'' below).
U Street Corridor today
Redevelopment continued further into the 2000s and 2010s, along with rising concerns about gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
.
Since 2013, more than 700 residential units have been added to the neighborhood in large luxury buildings with street-level retail. This represents a significant population increase versus the population of 4,572 registered in the 2010 census.
In 2011, U Street NW was designated a Great Street among Great Places in America by the American Planning Association
The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...
. It is said to have been selected for in recognition of the street return to its grandeur after several decades of difficulties. Once again, the street hosts the arts, food, and businesses. The community works to embrace its historical significance for the African American community of Washington, D.C. during segregation.
1923 14th St NW in DC.jpg, 1923 14th St NW before 2014-8 renovation
1925 and 1923 14th Street NW, March 2019.jpg, 1923 14th St NW after renovation
Retail and new apartment buildings along 14th St. NW, U Street Corridor, Washington, D.C., February 2019.jpg, Retail and new apartment buildings along 14th Street, 2019
Retail on east side of 14th Street between S and T streets.jpg, Retail on east side of 14th Street between S and T streets
House at 13th and Wallach - Greater U Street HD - Washington DC.jpg, Row house at 13th and Wallach with taller new buildings rising in the background, 2010s
1602-1612 U Street NW.jpg, Commercial buildings on the 1600 block
Historic landmarks and architecture
The neighborhood's landmark buildings are nearly all the works of prominent early 20th century African American architects, including:
* Ben's Chili Bowl
Ben's Chili Bowl is a landmark restaurant in Washington, D.C., located at 1213 U Street Corridor, U Street, next to Lincoln Theatre (Washington, D.C.), Lincoln Theatre, in the U Street Corridor (a.k.a. Cardozo/Shaw neighborhood) of Northwest, W ...
(1213 U Street NW), housed in the former Minnehaha nickelodeon theater
The Nickelodeon was the first type of indoor exhibition space dedicated to showing projected motion pictures in the United States and Canada. Usually set up in converted storefronts, these small, simple theaters charged five cents for admissi ...
(P. A. Hurlehaus, 1909, NRHP-listed) staying open during the 1968 riots, Ben's Chili Bowl continues to host customers and serve local residents.
* True Reformer Building
The True Reformer Building is an historic building constructed for the True Reformers, an African American organization founded by William Washington Browne. The building is at 1200 U Street (Washington, D.C.), U Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C ...
(1200 U Street NW) by John A. Lankford, then known as the "Dean of Black Architecture", built in 1902, NRHP-listed. It is an "architectural testament to black economic development" as headquarters of the Grand United Order of True Reformers, which offered members insurance that white-owned firms would not sell them.
* Industrial Savings Bank
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
(11th and U) by Isaiah T. Hatton
Isaiah T. Hatton (1883–1921) was an architect in the United States known for his designs of buildings for his fellow African Americans. Several are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hatton was the only son of Isaiah and Mary S ...
, 1917
* Prince Hall Masonic Temple (1000 U Street NW) by Albert Cassell
Albert Irvin Cassell (1895–1969) was a prominent mid-twentieth-century African-American architect in Washington, D.C., whose work shaped many academic communities in the United States. He designed buildings for Howard University in Washington D ...
, 1922.
* The Thurgood Marshall Center in the Twelfth Street YMCA Building
Twelfth Street YMCA Building, also known as Anthony Bowen YMCA, was home to the first African American chapter of YMCA, founded in 1853 by Anthony Bowen. It is located at 1816 12th Street NW in the U Street Corridor (Cardozo/Shaw) neighborhood of ...
(William Sidney Pittman
William Sidney Pittman (April 21, 1875 – March 14, 1958) was an American architect who designed several notable buildings, such as the Zion Baptist Church and the nearby Deanwood Chess House in the Deanwood neighborhood of Washington, DC. He w ...
, 1912; NRHP-listed) is a community center that displays and preserves the stories of African American leaders and communities that faced discrimination through history; Previously it housed the first African American YMCA.
* The Whitelaw Hotel
The Whitelaw Hotel is an historic structure located in the U Street Corridor (a.k.a. Cardozo/Shaw) in Northwest Washington, D.C. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
History
The Whitelaw was built as an upscale apar ...
(Isaiah T. Hatton
Isaiah T. Hatton (1883–1921) was an architect in the United States known for his designs of buildings for his fellow African Americans. Several are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hatton was the only son of Isaiah and Mary S ...
, 1919; NRHP-listed) served well-known entertainers who were performing near U Street as well as African American visitors drawn to Washington for meetings of national black organizations, all of whom were unable to rent rooms in the city's luxury hotels because of discrimination and segregation. Guests included Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...
, Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
and Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
. It closed as a hotel in 1977 and reopened as an apartment building in 1992.
Other landmarks include:
* Lincoln Theatre, opened in 1922 as one of the largest integrated movie houses and ballrooms, closed in 1983. The theatre was placed on the NRHP
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1993, and was renovated and reopened in 1994 as a performing arts center. The Lincoln Colonnnade was a public hall behind and below the theater, hosting balls and other events.
* Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
's former residences at 1805 and 1816 13th Street NW, where the artist spent his teenage years (1910-1917)
Cultural Tourism DC has placed signs on a self-guided Greater U Street neighborhood heritage trail and operates the Greater U Street Visitor Center at 1211 U Street NW.[
]
Music, arts and culture
U Street has long been a center of Washington's music scene, with the Lincoln Theatre (1922), Howard Theatre
The Howard Theatre is a historic theater, located at 620 T Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. Opened in 1910, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
In its heyday, the theater was known for catering to an African-A ...
, Bohemian Caverns (1926), and other clubs like on 9th Street at Harrington's, and Chez Maurice Restaurants and historic jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
venues. The 9:30 Club, the Black Cat
A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...
, DC9, U Street Music Hall
U Street Music Hall was a dance club and live music venue founded in 2010 and located in the U Street Corridor of Washington, D.C.. Artists and DJs booked at U Street Music Hall spanned the spectrum of electronic music, including house, disco, tec ...
, and the Velvet Lounge musical venues are located on the corridor, which is also home to the D.C. music collective Spelling for Bees. U Street also hosts the annual Funk Parade, a festival and celebration of funk music, community arts, and creativity. Public art, street art
Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.
Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...
or graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
and murals can be found on almost every corner along U Street.
Economics
Residential
Since 2013 numerous large mixed use
Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
residential buildings with retail on the ground floor have been built into the corridor including:
* 13, U (2017, 129 units, 16,000 sq. ft. of retail including RiteAid
Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. The company ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 li ...
drugstore branch and restaurant The Smith)
* The District (2013, 125 units, Ted's Bulletin restaurant)
* Elysium Fourteen (2016, 56 units residential, Lululemon
lululemon athletica inc. (; styled in all lowercase) is a Canadian multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in British Columbia and incorporated in Delaware, United States. It was founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and ot ...
and Orange Fitness branches)
* Louis at 14th (2014, sold for $76 million, 268 units residential, Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California ...
supermarket)
* The Harper (2014, 144 units, Madewell
J.Crew Group, Inc., is an American multi-brand, multi-channel, specialty retailer. The company offers an assortment of women's, men's, and children's apparel and accessories, including swimwear, outerwear, lounge-wear, bags, sweaters, denim, dr ...
clothing store branch)
* Sonnet Apartments, a 2018 288-unit complex as part of the overhaul of the former Portner Place, which was a 48-unit HUD ( Section 8) complex
Retail
Retailers located on 14th Street near U Street include Room and Board
Room and board is a phrase describing a situation in which, in exchange for money, Manual labour, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis. It commonly occurs as a fee at h ...
, West Elm, Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California ...
and Lululemon
lululemon athletica inc. (; styled in all lowercase) is a Canadian multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in British Columbia and incorporated in Delaware, United States. It was founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and ot ...
.
Public transportation
The Corridor is served by the U Street station
U Street is a rapid transit station on the Green and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro in the U Street neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
U Street station is located in northwest Washington and serves the U Street neighborhood; nearby attra ...
of the Washington Metro
The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,[Google Books search/preview ...](_blank)
(subway), with service on the Green Line and during rush hours on the Yellow Line as well. WMATA
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
buses run along both U and 14th streets, and the DC Circulator
The DC Circulator is a bus system in Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia Department of Transportation operates the service in a public–private partnership with RATP Dev.
The DC Circulator buses are similar to shuttle buses since they op ...
Woodley Park-Adams Morgan-McPherson Square line stops at 14th and U. Capital Bikeshare
Capital Bikeshare (also abbreviated CaBi) is a bicycle-sharing system which serves Washington, D.C.; Arlington County, Virginia; the cities of Alexandria, Virginia and Falls Church, Virginia; Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Virg ...
and various scooter-sharing system
A scooter-sharing system is a shared transport service in which Motorized scooter, electric motorized scooters (also referred to as e-scooters) are made available to use for short-term rentals. E-scooters are typically "dockless", meaning that t ...
s have stations/vehicles in the area.
Demographics of census tract 44
Census tract 44 is bounded by 14th, S, and 7th streets and Florida Av. NW, thus including the entire U Street Corridor plus four blocks east of 9th St. NW. This tract counted a population of 5,385 in the 2017 American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, more than double the 1990 population, an increase reflecting among other things residents of new luxury complexes in which since 2010, 700 new residential units were added (see '' #Residential'' above). The official census count was 4,572 in 2010, an 87% increase from only 2,450 in 2000, thus reversing the trend of a decreasing population from 2,951 in 1990 and 3,598 in 1980.
6.8% were children in 2010, sharply down from 27% in 1990. Seniors also showed a decline at 4.8% in 2010, down from 8.6% in 1990. The foreign-born population was 18% in 2011–15, up from only 2.3% in 1980.
The per capita income in 2017 was est. $110,175 ±$10,961, more than double the average in D.C. ($50,832 ±$645); the Median household income was est. $166,071, more than$166,071, more than double the D.C. average of $77,649.
The racial change in the tract's population has been dramatic; black non-Hispanic population was 18% in 2017, down from 22% in 2010, and sharply down from 58% in 2000 and 77% in 1990; corresponding to an increase in the white non-Hispanic population (67% in 2017, 61% in 2010, 22% in 2000, 8.7% in 1990). The Hispanic population was 9.1% in 2010, down from 17% in 2000 and 12% in 1990, and the Asian/Pacific Islander population was 6.8% in 2010, up from 1.7% in 2000 and 1.6% in 1990.
See also
* Mary Ann Shadd Cary House
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Northwest Quadrant, Washington, D.C.
References
External links
City within a City: Greater U Street Heritage Trail, DC Cultural Tours
Black Broadway on U
a multimedia project about the area's African American history
*
historical guide to U Street
provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...
Edelson, Harriet, "U Street corridor preserves its roots as it blossoms in new directions", Washington Post, 18 March 2016
{{Coord, 38, 55, 1.2, N, 77, 1, 46.5, W, display=title
African-American history of Washington, D.C.
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
Gay villages in Washington, D.C.
Streets in Washington, D.C.
Art Deco architecture in Washington, D.C.
Renaissance Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.
Romanesque Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.
Queen Anne architecture in Washington, D.C.
Italianate architecture in Washington, D.C.
Articles containing video clips
1862 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Streets of African American history