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Reviving H Street NE
Riot corridor begins to attract new business
(Published April 5, 2004)

By STEPHANIE BRINSON
Special to The Common Denominator

Walter Ross was working in his upholstery shop one day when he noticed a man drive up in a Cadillac outside. The man jumped out of the car, threw a brick at the window of a furniture store across the street and began leaping through the shattered opening, stealing pieces of furniture.

Later, that shop and one adjacent to it were both set aflame.

Ross, who moved his business to H Street NE from North Capitol Street in 1961, clearly remembers the riots that erupted in 1968 throughout the District of Columbia following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The heat from the burning buildings across the street shattered windows in rooms above Ross’s shop, the only damage the business sustained during the tumultuous three days of rioting. But the devastation of those few days was enough to drive the already-declining H Street commercial corridor into a 30-year economic slump.

Now, several organizations are taking action to restore the corridor to the lively community it once was by bringing back a variety of retailers, increasing residential development and rejuvenating the cultural attractions of the area.

Since the 1968 riots, H Street merchants and neighboring residents have only reminisced about the days when the lights of the Atlas Theater lit up the street and the corridor ranked among the city’s top three commercial districts.

Like many longtime residents and business owners in the area, Ross remembers H Street’s former life as vibrant and exciting – a corridor that satisfied virtually every resident’s need for shopping, dining and entertainment.

"H Street was second to downtown," Ross said. He gestured through the shop window to the street outside, stating that on a similar Saturday 50 years ago, the sidewalks would be bustling with people.

The 15-block stretch from North Capitol Street to the intersection of Benning Road and Maryland Avenue supported schools, movie theaters, restaurants, shops, churches and a synagogue. Streetcars carried people up and down the corridor, and after a day of shopping, residents could see a movie at the Atlas Theater – 25 cents for adults, 15 cents for children.

Suburban competition and rapid population losses contributed to the decline of H Street in the late 1950s and early ’60s, which the ’68 riots only accelerated.

Today, the immense commercial potential of H Street cries out through its numerous vacant storefronts and abandoned buildings.

On the 1300 block, the Atlas Theater seems to ooze rust out of every crack on its decrepit façade. One corner of its weathered marquee appears as if a chunk had been burned off, the metal shards broken and crumbled, folding in upon each other. Underneath the awning, large wooden planks boarding the entrance hold colorful posters advertising movies, music and Clorox bleach.

A few doors down, the valance of the H Street "Boulevard" Mini Mall still hangs intact. But, a wooden board secures the doorway and metal grating covers the windows lined with paper, shielding view of the inside.

Further west along the corridor, past even more lifeless shop windows and just as many barbershops, beauty salons and carryout restaurants, the Ohio Restaurant still promises to offer Southern-style home cooking. A sign in the window persistently announces, "Yes, we’re open," despite the metal bars encasing all the windows and the main entrance to the establishment.

What H Street lacks and what residents, city officials and business owners are pushing to create is a greater variety of businesses in the area. Currently, beauty salons, barbershops and carryout restaurants dominate the strip. But Anwar Saleem, board chairman of the H Street NE Main Street program, said he always thought that "H Street was a retail-starved corridor."

According to the D.C. Marketing Center, the average home within a one-mile radius of the H Street corridor earns $60,000 to $65,000 a year, and people are looking for good retail stores to spend their money, Saleem said. The area, he said, only looks run down.

"The only thing that’s gonna make H street come back [is that] you gotta do it like Georgetown," said Ross, speaking of Georgetown’s diverse collection of stores and restaurants.

Kevin Palmer is among neighboring residents working to revive the area. Palmer moved to the area in 1999 and created the hstreetdc.com Web site to keep community members updated on changes in the neighborhood.

"My number one hope is to go out the door and never have to leave the neighborhood to do any of my shopping," he said.

In February, D.C. City Council adopted the H Street Northeast Strategic Development Plan, which seeks to establish commercial diversity, as well as cultural and housing opportunities in the neighborhood.

In the plan, construction on the H street corridor follows four thematic zones that build upon existing characteristics within the areas.

Construction in the Western Gateway, to be located from North Capitol Street to Sixth Street NE, will take advantage of the proximity to Union Station by building housing units.

In the Central Retail District between Sixth and 12th streets, retail aims to be strengthened, consolidated and diversified. On-street parking restrictions also will be removed to enhance parking in the area.

The Eastern Gateway, between 12th Street and Maryland Avenue, will focus on adding businesses complementary to the existing artistic and cultural sites there, such as sitdown restaurants, coffee houses and music venues.

Two potential uses are still being debated for the old Sears site, just north of Hechinger Mall – the final section on the H Street corridor’s eastern end. The options for the 5-acre space include a large retailer or 50 units per acre of residential development.

The Strategic Development Plan is currently awaiting zoning approval, which proponents hope to receive by fall.

In the meantime, the D.C. Department of Transportation is working to improve transportation along the H Street corridor that will support the area’s growing redevelopment.

The Strategic Development Plan has several more months before it begins to be implemented. But changes are already occurring along the corridor that seek to further economic and cultural growth.

Phishtea restaurant, one of the area’s first new sitdown restaurants in a long time, recently opened next door to the Atlas Theater, said Saleem.

A farmers’ market will also open in the first week of June. Fresh Market, to be located in the 600 block of H Street, will sell locally grown, organic foods.

Renovation of the Atlas Theater is currently underway. Vacant since 1976, the Atlas will be restored and rebuilt as a performing arts center, slated to open in 2005.

The H Street Playhouse, located on the same block as the Atlas, re-opened two years ago and has since held sold-out shows and received four prestigious Hayes Awards.

"Bit by bit there are positive things happening on H Street," said Cody Rice, a member of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A. "The wheels do seem to be turning."