Throughout DC’s history, alleyways have been a critical feature of neighborhood life. In the early twentieth century, DC’s hidden alleyways housed the majority of the city’s Black and immigrant populations, creating unique patterns of segregation. The grand residential blocks housed two distinct communities: White households lived in the street-facing homes and Black households occupied the same lots in interior alley houses hidden from the street. While city officials condemned life in the alleyways as dangerous, dirty, and diseased, they were in fact a place where communities sustained each other and provided security. This 90-minute walking tour, easily accessible from the Washington Convention Center, takes participants through the Blagden Alley/Naylor Court Historic District and reveals their secrets. Included in the price is a hardcover copy of Hidden Alleyways of Washington, DC: A History by Kim Prothro Williams, a local architectural historian and city planner.

Note: Tour will include significant amounts of walking so weather appropriate clothes and comfortable shoes are a must. Semi-casual attire is recommended.

Registration: $10.00 

*If you have already registered, you can add the course by searching your name and Registration ID under “Edit Existing Registration”.