This photo essay, mounted on a construction fence at 13th and U Streets, chronicles the history of the area, describing the celebrities who were fond of the corridor’s nightlife and performance venues, and the resident scholars, educators, politicians, and activists who contributed to the neighborhood’s illustrious past.

The exhibit, funded by local businesses and foundations, is a collaboration of the Historical Society of Washington, DC, The U Street Festival Foundation, the Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.  Many of the photos in the exhibit come from Shaw’s own Robert H. McNeill, who covered the neighborhood as a newspaper photographer during the 1930’s and 40s. The exhibits curator is urban historian, Kathy Schneider Smith, past president of the Washington Historical Society.

Source: www.PBS.org