The U Street Neighborhood Association reaches from 16th Street to 8th Street and from S Street to Florida Avenue / W Street / Barry Place.  Overlapping with our great U Street neighborhood is MidCity DC, stretches down 14th Street from Belmont to Thomas Circle and along U Street from 9th to 17th.

 

Both areas are filled with local restaurants, music venues, galleries, shops and boutiques. It's a destination for so many great and unique D.C. things - art, theater, music, fashion, furniture, food and has such a strong community of artists and entrepreneurs. Once again this year, a big number of local U Street businesses were picked by Washington City Paper's readers and staff writers as the Best of D.C.!

 

The U Street Neighborhood Association joins our many neighbors, and the MidCity Business Association in congratulating this year's winners.

 

 

The Department of Public Works (DPW) has announced that daytime mechanical street sweeping will resume in scheduled, signed residential neighborhoods on Monday, March 22, 2010. Alternate-side parking restrictions in these areas will go into effect as well. Parking tickets, which carry a $30 fine, will be issued, beginning March 29, to vehicles parked during street sweeping hours in areas posted with “No Parking/Street Cleaning” signs.

Beginning March 29, vehicles parked in the restricted areas during sweeping hours also may be towed to allow the sweepers access to the curbside. Generally, parking is prohibited for two hours while sweeping is underway.

“The snow has melted and there’s now quite a bit of litter and debris in certain areas,” said DPW Director William O. Howland Jr. “Residents are again reminded to observe the street cleaning signs so our sweepers can resume cleaning residential streets.”

DPW street sweepers cover about 4,000 lane miles monthly, removing litter and pollutants. The sweeper also emits a fine spray of water to help control dust. Street sweeping is suspended during winter as the sprayed water can freeze and become ice on the street. DPW also sweeps commercial corridors year-round.

Learn more about Residential Street Sweeping .

On Friday, February 26, Cultural Tourism DC offered DC residents and visitors a new way to rediscover the historic U Street corridor with the grand opening of the Greater U Street Neighborhood Visitor Center, 1211 U Street NW. The visitor center will serve as a front door to the U Street area, a historic African American neighborhood in Washington, DC. To accompany this new venture, Cultural Tourism DC will introduce an audio tour, City Within a City: Greater U Street Heritage Trail, along with an updated version of the Heritage Trail guidebook.

The Greater U Street Neighborhood Visitor Center features maps, shopping and dining information, and other helpful information about the Greater U Street area. On the walls are historic photographs, quotations, and a timeline that highlights the major developments in the neighborhood and in the city. The center is located above Ben's Next Door and next to the nationally renowned Ben's Chili Bowl. “We are thrilled to offer U Street visitors an accessible and entertaining way to explore the community,” says Linda Harper, Cultural Tourism DC executive director. “The visitor center and audio tour are excellent ways to learn and appreciate the historic U Street neighborhood.” The City Within a City: Greater U Street Heritage Trail audio tour and the updated guidebook will provide visitors and residents an audio and visual journey through the historic U Street neighborhood.

The audio tour features Korva Coleman of National Public Radio as the narrator/guide along with community leaders, business persons, and others who live and work in the neighborhood. More than 20 guest narrators give their perspective as they describe the past and present. Among those featured are Kamal Ben Ali, co-owner, Ben's Chili Bowl; Warren Brown, founder and owner, CakeLove and Love Café; Father Patrick Smith, pastor, Saint Augustine Church; and Frank Smith of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum.

For the first half of the 20th century, the neighborhood surrounding U Street, NW was the center of the rich social, civic, and cultural life of Washington's African American community. In addition to shaping the lives of thousands of black Washingtonians—from Duke Ellington to civil rights theorist Charles Hamilton Houston—the neighborhood also played a major role in the intellectual and cultural life of African Americans throughout the nation.

 

All business scheduled for the February 2010 regular meeting of the U Street Neighborhood Association, scheduled for Thursday, February 11 has been moved to the Thursday, March 11, 2010 regular meeting due to the continuing inclement weather.

 

The regular March meeting will be held at Source, 1835 14th Street, NW, in the 2nd floor rehearsal room at 7 PM.