Hub, Home, Heart: Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail
Former DC Mayor Vincent Gray poses with fellow H Streeters Preston Herald, Jr., and Marquis Lyons at the unveiling of Hub, Home, Heart: Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail, September 15, 2012. [Photo courtesy the DC Government's website.]
Hub, Home, Heart: Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail invites you to follow the tracks of history through the working-class neighborhoods that formed around Washington's Union Station. Take in the Beaux-Arts grandeur of Union Station and the National Postal Museum, then wind your way through the row houses that sheltered railroad porters and engineers, community and spiritual leaders, and immigrant entrepreneurs. See the place where the football huddle was invented and witness H Street's most recent renewal, spurred by the Atlas Performing Arts Center.
Hub, Home, Heart: Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail consists of 18 illustrated signs that take you through yesterday's baseball stadiums, breweries, and convents. It is Washington, DC's 13th Official Walking Trail. The first sign is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and First Street, NE, across from the Union Station Metro entrance. Because the trail can be walked in any order, you can also find it at the NoMa-Gallaudet U (New York Ave) station on the Red line, or ride the X2 Metrobus to H and 3rd Street, NE. The trail is 3.2 miles long and offers approximately two hours of gentle exercise.
The self-guided tour treks east from Union Station along F Street NE before turning north up Third Street. It then follows Florida Avenue before looping around to H Street. Walkers are encouraged to follow the trail at their own pace, sampling businesses and restaurants along the way.
For more information, email us at info@CulturalTourismDC.org or call 202-355-4280.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE
You'll meet Dr. Granville Moore, who for 50 years practiced medicine and often provided free services to keep the community healthy. You'll also encounter:
– The site of the Beatles' first U.S. performance
– Gallaudet University, the premier institution for deaf and hard-of-hearing students
– Swampoodle, whose residents helped build the Capitol and the White House
– Union Station, the world's largest railroad terminal at the time of its opening
– The Atlas Performing Arts Center
– Union Terminal Market, purveyor to the city
– The route British forces marched on their way to burn the White House and Capitol in 1812