 The 700 block of H Street NW inChinatown. Constructed in the 19th century, the buildings are designated ascontributing properties to theDowntown Historic District. | |
 Interactive map of H Street Northwest and Northeast | |
| Maintained by | DDOT |
|---|---|
| Length | 3.8 mi (6.1 km)[1] |
| Location | Northwest andNortheast,Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°54′0.7″N77°0′32.4″W / 38.900194°N 77.009000°W /38.900194; -77.009000 |
| West end | New Hampshire Avenue inFoggy Bottom |
| Major junctions | Pennsylvania Avenue inDowntown New York Avenue inPenn Quarter   US 1 /US 50 (6th Street) in Penn QuarterMassachusetts Avenue inJudiciary Square North Capitol Street inNoMa |
| East end |  US 1 Alt. /Florida Avenue /Benning Road at Starburst Plaza |
| North | I Street |
| South | G Street |
| Construction | |
| Commissioned | 1791 |
H Street is a set of east–weststreets in several of thequadrants of Washington, D.C. It is also used as an alternate name for theNear Northeast neighborhood, as H Street NW/NE is the neighborhood's main commercial strip.
In the 19th century, H Street around North Capitol was the center of a small settlement calledSwampoodle which became an entire neighborhood by the 1850s. It played an important role in the construction of Washington, D.C. by providing the workforce needed to build projects such asUnion Station.[2]
H Street was separated in two with the railway track where it intersected with Delaware Avenue when Union Station started to be built in 1907. This split created distinct neighborhoods east and west of the railway which have grown independently.[3] In 1902, it was originally planned that H street NE would be cut for 600 feet (180 m) at Delaware Avenue. Thanks to involvement of the Northeast Washington Citizens' Association, the plan was changed to having a 750-foot (230 m) tunnel built to retain the connection between the two sides of the track.[4][5][6]
The H Street NE/NW neighborhood was one of Washington's earliest and busiestcommercial districts, and was the location of the firstSears Roebuck store in Washington.[7] H Street NE went into decline afterWorld War II and businesses in the corridor were severely damaged during the1968 riots. This part of the street did not start to recover until the 21st century.[8]
In 2002, the District of Columbia Office of Planning initiated a community-based planning effort to help revitalize the H Street NE corridor. Because it is nearly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, the resulting H Street NE Strategic Strategic Development Plan divided H Street into three districts: the Urban Living district (between 2nd and 7th Streets NE), the Central Retail District (between 7th and 12th Streets NE), and the Arts and Entertainment District (between 12th and 15th Streets NE).
In the mid-2000s, the Arts and Entertainment District began to revitalize as a nightlife district. TheAtlas Theater, aModerne-style 1930smovie theater that had languished since the 1968 riots—was refurbished as a dance studio and performance space where Mosaic Theater Company of DC and Step Afrika! are in residence, and is now the anchor of what is now being called theAtlas District.
H Street NE rapidly re-developed after 2007. The same forces that led to the redevelopment of the neighboring NoMa neighborhood acted on the H St NE neighborhood[9] The median sales price of houses on or near H Street NW from July to September 2009 was $417,000.[8] H Street NE was voted the sixth-most hipster place in America byForbes magazine in September 2012.[10] This process ofgentrification led to tensions with some previous residents, who felt that they were becoming less welcome as the neighborhood changed and worried about being priced out.[11][12]
As H Street NE continued to develop, its annual neighborhood festival, the H St Festival[13] has grown into the largest neighborhood celebration in the city. It is often chronicled in DC news outlets such as these articles from 2008[14] 2010[15] 2016[16] 2017[17] 2018[18] 2019.[19]
H Street NE is also home to the country's firstAmerican Sign Language friendly Starbucks location[20] on the 600 block of H St NE due to its location in the vicinity ofGallaudet University.
InNorthwest Washington, H Street is the main street inChinatown and one of the major east-west streets downtown. WhenPennsylvania Avenue in front of theWhite House was closed to vehicular traffic in the 1990s, crosstown traffic that had formerly used Pennsylvania Avenue was rerouted to H and I streets. The street also passesLafayette Park and through theGeorge Washington University campus and theFoggy Bottom neighborhood before terminating atRock Creek.
In Northeast Washington, H Street continues uninterrupted from North Capitol Street (crossing over train tracks just north ofUnion Station on the "Hopscotch Bridge") to 15th Street NE, where it terminates in what is known as the "starburst intersection", where it meets Bladensburg Road, 15th Street, Benning Road, Maryland Avenue, and Florida Avenue.[21]
After this intersection, there is a gap of two blocks where the street is interrupted by Hechinger Mall.[a][22][23] H Street continues for a short segment between 17th and 24th Streets NE as part of theCarver Langston neighborhood. The road does not continue east of theAnacostia River.
TheH Street Corridor is the part running from 2nd Street NE to Starburst Plaza and is also known as theAtlas District andNear Northeast. It includes the part north of H Street NE to Florida Ave NE and south to F Street NE. The second portion of H Street (after Starburst Plaza) is not considered part of the H Street Corridor.[24]
Some of the significant buildings included:
Thecity plan on which D.C. was laid out provides for a parallel H Street in the southwest and southeast quadrants of the city. Subsequent government actions, most notably the construction ofI-395/I-295, disconnected the southern H Street in several places. In its current form, it does not run consecutively for more than two blocks at any point except for its easternmost extremity, nearFort Dupont Park.
Notable residents who lived on H Street include:
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