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Historic Alleyways Guided Walking Tour of Washington DC

Name: Historic Alleyways Guided Walking Tour of Washington DC
Brand: Wonderplan
Rating: 5.0 (38 reviews)

★★★★★ 5.0 (38 reviews)

1h 30m – 2 hours

About This Experience

Check out one of DC's most unique features, less than a mile away from the National Mall, in the historic Shaw neighborhood, near the Convention Center.

The Alleyways of DC served a distinct purpose as a city planning feature, but they also provided a hidden safe space where escaped enslaved people and the poor could find inexpensive housing and live their lives away from prying eyes. 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.

Tour is 1.5 hours with a halfway stop at La Colombe Coffee.

Tour Itinerary

30 min

Blagden Alley is one of DC's most well-preserved historic alleyways. Once the subject of a study of DC alleyways, it is now the site of art galleries, hidden-away restaurants and coffee shops.

15 min

The tour makes a pit stop at this popular coffee spot.

5 min

Beginning in 2015, a series of works were commissioned by artists with a history in the Shaw neighborhood and in Blagden Alley — They created a stunning display of new works painted directly on the garage doors of several buildings in Bladgen Alley.

30 min

Naylor Court is a former site of alleyway stables, and later old fashioned garages. It is a part of the Blagden Alley - Naylor Court Historic District.