U Street Corridor

U Street Corridor, Washington, DC – Known as the heart of DC’s African American community and home to an eclectic mix of people who share a love of music, art, theater, and food, U Street – after decades of neglect – has been the focus of a major resurgence since the late 1990s.

With historic landmarks like the Lincoln and Howard Theaters, where Duke Ellington and Miles Davis once claimed the stage, and the famed 1920s jazz club Bohemian Caverns (also an Ellington favorite), U Street has managed to hold onto its roots while making way for dozens of new and culturally diverse restaurants and bars, modern loft spaces, independent shops, and organic markets.

Live music is a big draw in this area, where Black Cat, 9:30 Club, DC9, and Velvet Lounge showcase a huge range of musical styles every night, while freshman ravers in plaid are long familiar with the cork dance floor and electronic beats at U Street Music Hall.

Fashionable singles on the prowl, meanwhile, make their way through the standing-room-only rooftop bar at Local 16 to show off their latest finds from the nearby boutiques and handmade jewelry stores, as eccentric jocks check in at Nellie’s Sports Bar and try to “beat the clock” at Happy Hour, when drink prices rise every hour.

Intricate cocktails at Marvin and The Gibson are a big draw for the mixology crowd, and Tabaq’s three-dollar brunch cocktails nurse hungover partiers every weekend.

At the center of it all stands the acclaimed Ben’s Chili Bowl, a Bill Cosby favorite and neighborhood institution that has been serving colossal chili dogs to hungry late-night revelers since the 1950s.

An array of music haunts, eclectic bars, and eateries – combined with the ongoing gentrification – has turned the U Street Corridor into an ever-growing microcosm of DC's melting pot character.    ← read less