Not so very long ago, Washington DC was regarded as America's "murder capital". It had an affluent white minority corralled in leafy north-western DC, while the rest of the city was mostly rundown and, the further south and east you went, frequently dangerous.
The great "Black Broadway" of U Street, along with other African-American commercial neighbourhoods such as 14th Street and H Street, was burned down in the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King in April 1968. For decades, all that replaced them were shuttered shops, vacant lots and, in the 1980s, crack dens.
A new Metro station, creeping gentrification and proximity to northwest DC, mean that, for the past 10 years, U and 14th Streets have increasingly been studded with chichi furniture stores, hip bars and high-end galleries. But the latest district to arrive on the social map is across town on the H Street Corridor, behind Union Station in previously no-go northeast DC.
In the past four years, around 90 new businesses have opened here, most following the lead of entrepreneur Joe Englert, who spotted the area's potential in 2002 and now owns six bars and restaurants on H Street. The city government has also decided the time is right for an H Street renaissance and is putting money into a new tram system and arts venues for the area. Until the credit crunch, developers were opening luxury condos nearby.
Being a district on the cusp means there are still cheque-cashing businesses and liquor stores along H Street, and the Trinidad neighbourhood a few blocks away still sees the occasional shooting. Because there is no Metro line, several venues put on a shuttle bus from Union Station to encourage punters to visit on Friday and Saturday nights.
Dissident Display
DJ Adrian Loving and designers Eric Brewer and Ayo Okunseinde opened the Dissident Display gallery in 2006 to give a physical locale to their hepcat world of underground parties, daring sunglasses and online art musings. It specialises in contemporary film, painting and photography along with multimedia works, often with an African-American bent. The art often mingles with dance parties, and recent exhibitions have included a 25th anniversary celebration of the seminal hip-hop movie Wild Style.
• 416 H Street (001 202 332 3346, dissidentdisplay.com)
Palace of Wonders
The first venues to rediscover H Street tended towards a tattoo-tastic clientele. The Palace of Wonders suited such punters down to the ground, being a kind of punk burlesque theatre and oddities museum with attached bar. On its two floors it hosts comedy, oddball vaudeville sword swallowers, fire jugglers and the like, as well as themed burlesque nights - think goth strippers - and assorted freakish sights.
• 1210 H Street (+202 398 7469, palaceofwonders.com)
Granville Moore's
Granville Moore was a local doctor who used to provide pro bono treatment to the district's poor. Now there's a Belgian-themed gastropub named after him. This restaurant, which opened in 2007, marks a departure in the development of H Street, in that although it's still minimally decorated with exposed brick and reclaimed furniture, it's more about food than drinking (although it does carry 80 Belgian beers). And it doesn't have a voodoo lounge/Chelsea Hotel/burlesque aesthetic, so you don't have to be pierced.
• 1238 H Street (+202 399 2546, granvillemoores.com)
Rock & Roll Hotel
If the Atlas Arts Center is the anchor tenant for H Street's highbrow revival, then the Rock & Roll Hotel is the epicentre of the twenty- and thirtysomething underground scene that first rediscovered northeast DC. Don't be fooled by the name: it's not actually a hotel, so you can't stay there. Instead, this former funeral parlour is a live music venue - Glasvegas played there last month - with a capacity of 400 and a bar/restaurant. Upstairs there are lounges and practice spaces that can be hired by bands. There are shabby-chic antiques, a bordello-tinged room named after My Bloody Valentine and a presidential suite dedicated to the Ramones.
• 1353 H Street (+202 388 7625, rockandrollhoteldc.com)
Atlas Performing Arts Center
In 2002, with the support of the DC city government, a non-profit community arts group bought a nice old 1930s art deco cinema complex that had been closed since 1976. More than US$20m was spent in a two-year renovation programme that produced four theatres, three dance studios, a cafe, and production and rehearsal spaces. The Atlas is home to the African Continuum Theatre Company and the Capital City Symphony as well as dance companies, choral groups and arts education programmes.
• 1333 H Street (+202 399 7993, atlasarts.org)
Sova Espresso & Wine
You can tell which way a neighbourhood is going when its coffee shops start putting on sing-along live music for customers in (expensive) pushchairs. Thankfully, the "Boogie Babies" sets are strictly a morning thing. The rest of the time this cosy little coffee shop and wine bar is a daytime laptop-lounge hangout (it has free Wi-Fi) and a place to grab a pre-gig (it closes at 9pm) glass of wine or Californian microbrew. Local artists' work adorns the walls and little of the furniture matches.
• 1359 H Street (+202 397 3080, sovadc.com)
