U Street Corridor

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A former silent movie house on U Street has been the home of Ben's Chili Bowl since its establishment in 1958.

The U Street Corridor is an historically black commercial strip in Washington, D.C. The corridor extends along U Street, N.W., and is bounded approximately by 9th Street on the east and by 18th Street and Florida Avenue on the west. This corridor became commercially significant when a streetcar line operated there in the early 20th century. A part of the larger Shaw neighborhood, it has long been a center of Washington's music scene with a variety of clubs including many historic jazz venues. In its cultural heyday it was known as "Black Broadway." Duke Ellington's childhood home was nearby on the 1200 block of T Street.

The U Street Corridor became a blighted area after the 1968 riots. Gentrification began in the mid-1980s, prompted by spillover development from then-trendy Adams Morgan and later from Logan Circle. Mayor Marion Barry sought to hasten the renewal of the corridor by locating a major municipal building, the Reeves Center, at 14th and U. In 1998, the African American Civil War Memorial was unveiled on U Street at the intersection with Vermont Avenue. As of 2005, the U Street corridor is known for restaurants, nightlife such as the nightclub Republic Gardens and eclectic stores.