shaw-u street corridor

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Map of Shaw-U Street Corridor

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Shaw is not a legal neighborhood but lies in the northern section of the Old City neighborhood and in LeDroit. It is also referred to as U Street Corridor, 14th and U, or Cardozo.

REAL ESTATE

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     As of September 30, 2008, 12 single-family homes were for sale in Shaw and the U Street Corridor, ranging from $400,000 to $1.45 million. Three listed for less than $900,000 were under contract. In the third quarter of 2008, 23 homes sold between $225,000 to $1.35 million.

     In the first half of 2008, 70 single-family homes sold in Shaw and the U Street Corridor. In 2007, there were 124 sales, while 142 homes sold in 2006. The average sale price in the first half of 2008 was $659,600. This compares to $638,355 and $730,456 in 2007 and 2006, respectively. The average list price was $683,067 in the first half of 2008, $655,065 in 2007, and $746,163 in 2006. Listed below are the sales by price range.  Be advised that since Shaw/U Street is not a legal subdivision of Washington, boundaries are estimates.

    The number of condominiums and cooperatives that sold in the third quarter of 2008 totaled 39, with 22 under contract. There were 83 condos and coops for sale as of September 30, 2008. For the first half of 2008, 79 condos/coops sold, 194 for the year 2007, and 174 in 2006. The average sales price was $476,003 in the first half of 2008, $535,740 in 2007, and $493,500 in 2006. Listed below are the sales by price range.

     Many of the elegant Victorian and other townhouses have been restored. Several buildings, including the Old Shaw Junior High School, have been converted while attempting to retain the neighborhood's character. There has also been new construction of small and midsize condominiums such as the Lincoln Condominiums, Harrison Square, and Ellington Plaza.

HIGHLIGHTS

     Shaw is alive  and has attracted new homeowners, developers, up-scale restaurants, and innumerable retailers. The Washington Post in 2005 reported that over the past few years more than 120 new businesses and about $500 million in new investments have found their way to the area. The neighborhood is also keeping its roots and remains famous for its jazz clubs, theaters, and nighttime entertainment. Still operating today are the Lincoln Theater which was built between 1921 and 1923 and the Howard Theater built in 1910. The Bohemian Caverns, another famous nightclub, was recently restored. A plethora of new clubs and restaurants providing jazz entertainment have opened in Shaw including Jojo, U-topia, HR-57, Twins Jazz, The Islander, and others. Several other renowned businesses have survived through the neighborhood's transitions, including Ben's Chili Bowl and Lee's Flower and Card Shop, both on U Street.

     History thrives in Shaw. The O Street Market, a landmark built in 1886, was reopened in 1980.  Buildings designed by the famous black architect, John Lankford, including the Whitelaw Hotel and several churches, are located in Shaw. Other points of interest in the neighborhood are the African-American Civil War Memorial, the Duke Ellington Mural, the Center for the Preservation of Jazz and Blues, the Black Fashion Museum, and the Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage.

     The neighborhood renewal led Washingtonian Magazine in 2005 to name the U Street Corridor as one of the top neighborhoods for singles, noting that trendy restaurants seem to open every month. The neighborhood is also attractive to families and is home to Garnet-Patterson Middle School and Cleveland Elementary School. The Academy of Learning through the Arts, a public charter school, opened fall 2005 in the U Street area. The Shaw branch of the Maya Angelou pubic charter high school is located on 9th Street. For everyone's convenience is the U Street/Cardozo Metro station.

HISTORY

      When Washington was formed in 1791, five men, including real estate developer Samuel Blodgett and Georgetown tobacco merchant Robert Peter, owned what is today's Shaw. It was used largely for farming and orchards. Not until the Civil War did the area realize any development. During the war years, the Union Army had an encampment in Shaw. By the end of the war, property owners, who were connected with the building trade or real estate concerns, began to subdivide their land. The Territorial Government's Board of Public Works spent funds in 1872 to grade and pave U, 11th, and 14th Streets and provided easy transport to areas north of downtown. It also planted shade trees and installed gas lamps, water mains, fire plugs, and sewers, and erected telegraph lines for telephones. The city's street cars arrived by 1887. Among the real estate speculators and developers in the area was Thomas Franklin Schneider, who constructed over 2,000 homes in Washington and built the entire 900 block of Westminister and T Streets. All classes and races of people moved into the area. A building boom occurred during the 1920s and 30s, but by the 1930s most middle-class whites moved to the newly available western sections of the city.

     As Shaw became predominantly black, black businesses and institutions began to flourish. After World War I, U Street was targeted for a white mob riot against blacks. Over 2,000 blacks gathered to protect their homes and the rioters stayed away. By the 1920s U Street became known for its theaters, nightclubs, jazz clubs, billiard halls, and restaurants. It attracted entertainers such as Nat King Cole, Pearl Bailey, Jelly Roll Morton, Ray Charles, opera singer Madame Evanti, and Duke Ellington. The latter two's families lived in Shaw. U Street became known as The Great Black Way, the Black Broadway, and the Blackman's Connecticut Avenue.

     With desegregation, many middle-class blacks moved from Shaw for the suburbs. Single-family homes were converted to multiple-family use thereby increasing the population density. By the early 1960s, Shaw was economically depressed. City planners met with the Model Inner City Community Organization led by Rev. Walter Fauntroy. In 1966 the borders of the Shaw Urban Renewal Area were established by the National Capital Planning Commission which used the attendance boundaries of Shaw Junior High School to designate the neighborhood of Shaw. The School and the neighborhood were named after Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the first black regiment in the Civil War. In 1999 the area became a local and National Register historic district.

ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS

NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES

NEIGHBORHOOD LINKS

Shaw Community News and Information
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Map of Shaw/U Street Corridor

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