Blagden Alley y Naylor Court
Barrio Shaw
The neighboring alleys of Shaw were designated a historic district by the National Park Service. The photogenic and modern Blagden Alley is home to the open-air DC Alley Museum, a series of colorful murals painted on garage doors and building walls that include By Lisa Marie Thalhammer LOVE mural, a massive musical tribute to Sun Ra and Erykah Badu and mosaic images paying homage to the working-class immigrants and black families who once called the street home.
Tiger Fork
There’s even more to Blagden Alley than meets the eye: Remodeled mobile homes hide some of the city’s most revered culinary destinations, the outlines of which are visible within renovated entrances, restaurant walls or decorative murals. La ColombeThe district’s first coffee roasting stand has maintained many of its original architectural features, making it a must-visit on anyone’s list of hidden gems in this famous alley.
Through the doors of a contemporary farmhouse you will find The DabneyMid-Atlantic cuisine cooked in a wood-fired oven. Spot the black and white parakeet mural on the side of the Cause/Amazonwhich touts award-winning Peruvian food and a low-key rooftop bar. Next door, the Hong Kong-inspired bar Tiger Fork can be seen through an octagonal window inserted into an old garage door.
For a secret, sultry cocktail in the basement, you’ll have to walk past a loading dock and through a kitchen to reach Never Looked Better. For a secluded garden setting with an antique greenhouse, check out Calico.
SUNDEVICH
Architectural studios and private homes are prevalent along Bladgen Alley’s smaller, U-shaped neighbour, Naylor Court. Keep an eye out for a vestige of former inhabitant E.J. Adams & Co. Stables and don’t forget to stop by. Sundevichwhich transports customers to a different city around the world with each menu item.
Cady Alley and Blues Alley
Georgetown neighborhood
If Blagden Alley and Naylor Court cater to food gurus and art lovers, Cady Alley It’s for design enthusiasts and people watching. This path lined with bricks and stones is the heart of Georgetown Design Districtwhere 20 showrooms and boutiques inhabit the skeletons of industrial properties. Antiques, precious stonesluxury clothing and DC brand. SCOUT Scholarships are among the treasures you will find.
cady The alley also contains many options to round off your shopping excursion. Step into the modern Kyojin for a top-notch sushi tasting experience. Or keep it quaint with old school. Café Leopoldwhere you can spend a European afternoon sipping a special Austrian coffee on the patio. Visitors can access the walkway from 3300 M Street NW or from M and 33rd or 34th streets.
The next alley has less foot traffic (and fewer designer shoes), but has hosted many of the greats in its namesake destination: Blues Alley Jazz Club. The other occupant of this small street is Hinckley Potterya locally owned and operated ceramics studio and shop housed in a 125-year-old horse stable.
Bonus: Just before you reach the busy intersection of Wisconsin and M, turn onto the narrow alley next to Abercrombie and Fitch for a Belgian beer in The sovereign.
NE+ Library Court
Capitol District
Take a stroll through the Capitol Hill neighborhood to discover some of DC’s historic alleys, planned by Pierre L’Enfant to provide access points for working-class citizens to discreetly enter the homes of their elite employers. In the shadow of the Library of Congress between 3rd and 4th Streets NE lies one of the area’s most notable (and narrow) residential streets. Three courts (Library, Millers, and Frederick Douglas) weave their way through one another, barely wide enough to fit a car and, at points, with enough greenery to suggest a path less traveled. Residential homes along these corridors provide a window into life among the district’s busy streets; keep strolling down the picturesque streets and you’ll likely come to a street with landmark status.
Morse Street Alley
Noma District / Union Market
Between 4th and 5th Streets NE, in the center of the former wholesale center, you’ll find an easy-to-miss gem inside the 200-year-old Union Market District. At first glance, it appears to be nothing but back entrances, garage doors, and walls covered in colorful graffiti. Upon closer inspection, you’ll find a curly white arrow painted on the brick indicating the door to Bread Alley – the bakery responsible for the famous bread served at Le Diplomate.
Pearl street
The dock district
While most of The Wharf’s small DC streets are closed to traffic, Pearl Street best captures the hidden gem feel of some of DC’s trendiest alleys. In the evenings, outdoor tables spill out onto the street under crisscrossing string lights and you can often hear music coming from the two spots that call the street home: Pearl Street Warehouse (in Spanish and English) and by Bonding stagePeople-watch with a Cuban sandwich or cocktail in hand at Tienda Colada, which features folding tables and a covered patio.
Continue your tour of DC’s colorful street art and grab some other photogenic spots while you’re at it.
