U Street: living legacy of sounds and spirits

During the Roaring '20s, U Street in northwest Washington, D.C. was the place to go for live jazz.

Blacks and Whites alike flocked to the area to see performances by Cab Calloway, Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald. The famous Crystal Caverns was a favorite hang-out spot for jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, and the Lincoln Theatre was the most fashionable place to see and be seen.

The hot nightlife of "Black Broadway" became nothing but a distant memory when the 1968 "race riots," provoked by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., literally burned the area to the ground. The decimated neighborhood, which had once served as a bustling mecca for African Americans who were segregated from other parts of the city, became a hotbed for the drug trade, and the area's economic decline lasted for decades.

But today's U Street has reclaimed some of the swinging nightlife of yesterday. It is still the single best place in D.C. for live music, although the repertoire has expanded from jazz to include hip-hop, punk rock, alternative folk, techno and everything in-between.

The Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW), a club that features themed dance nights and hosts a variety of musical talents, has been around since the early 1990s, when gentrification projects were just beginning in the U Street corridor. The club's owner, who goes by "Dante," feels the U Street area has always had more "flavor" than other parts of the city.

"There is a pretty diverse group of bars and clubs," he said. "Unlike Georgetown or Adams Morgan, [U Street] is more of a destination point. It's harder to bar-hop here [...], but it's not as jam-packed. There's more of a small-business feel."

The U Street-Cardozo Metro station, located on the Green Line, has become a popular one for visitors of all ages. During the day, tourists visit the quirky shops that line U Street, tour the African American Civil War Museum (1200 U St., NW) and pass by Duke Ellington's childhood residence (1212 T. St., NW). At night, a slightly younger crowd heads to the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club (815 V. St., NW) or the Velvet Lounge (915 U St., NW).

Visitors can still catch jazz shows at Bohemian Caverns, formerly Crystal Caverns (2001 11th St., NW) and the newly renovated Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., NW), or attend jam sessions at HR57 (1610 14th St., NW), named for the 1997 Congressional resolution to preserve jazz as a "national treasure."

No visit to U Street would be complete without tasting a chili dog at the famous Ben's Chili Bowl (1213 U. St., NW), one of the few businesses to survive the '68 riots. The 1950s-style restaurant draws all types, from the blue-collar workers grabbing breakfast in the morning to the dozens of college kids and hipsters who line up outside for fries and a milkshake at 3 a.m. Ben's is both a living landmark and a record of the rise, fall and resurrection of U Street.

With soaring property values and newly renovated, in-demand real estate, U Street is a far cry from the dilapidated ghetto of the '70s and '80s. Although the Metro system's completion was a boon to the neighborhood, the 10 years of its construction were slow and painful.

"[The U Street corridor] was just a big hole in the ground," said Scott Pomeroy, executive director of the 14th and U Street Initiative. "Less than 10 percent of businesses survived that period [of construction]."

Gentrification projects began in the early '90s, alleviating some of the area's worst crime problems and bringing money into its crippled economy.

Groups like the 14th and U Street Initiative, which was formed in 2002, have taken on the task of rehabilitating the area's historic buildings, strengthening its economy and marketing its assets to investors. Since the late '90s, the area has undergone rapid flux, creating both benefits and downsides.

"[Residents] are rapidly feeling the pressures of change," said Pomeroy.

Dante opened the Black Cat in 1993, and has since watched the neighborhood evolve into a revitalized but more expensive area.

"The area used to be a lot rougher," said Dante. "It's a lot safer [now], but the vibe is a little more limited. I hate to say it, but it's lost a lot of its flavor."

According to Dante, who has lived in D.C. his entire life, there was a period of "middle-ground" for U Street, when small start-up businesses and "weird little bars" were able to thrive amidst affordable real estate.

"There's so much change, it's hard to say what's going to happen," said Dante. "But it's definitely a very interesting up-and-coming area."