Blair Ruble recalls the historic past of Washington D.C.'s U Street

Blair Ruble discussed his book, "Washington's U Street" with local jazz dj Rusty Hassan at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., last month.

Before the Harlem Renaissance, Washington, D.C. was the cultural capital of black America. Among the intellectual figures who lived in the Shaw neighborhood where U Street is located in the early part of the 20th century were Carter G. Woodson and Charles Houston.

listen to ‘Around 1900, a remarkable generation of people were born ’ on Audioboo

Washington, D.C. has had an important black presence throughout its history. "By the start of the Civil War, D.C., Baltimore and St. Louis were the only cities that had a majority free African-American population," Ruble noted. "The community here was much larger and already had institutions such as schools and churches."

Shortly after the Civil War, Howard University was established near the Shaw area. The school had an important influence on the neighborhood since it brought people like Mordecai Johnson, Howard's first African-American president, and historian Rayford Logan. Sterling Brown also taught at the university.

listen to ‘Sterling Brown was a wonderful writer and important mentor to a lot of people’ on Audioboo

The neighborhoods two high schools, Armstrong and Dunbar, were among the few places where African-Americans with Ph.D.s could teach, Ruble said, which meant the schools offered a superb education. Duke Ellington was a graduate of Armstrong High School, which was actually a technical school.

Shaw was also home to Griffith Stadium, where the Washington Senators and the Washington Redskins played. Naturally, the games brought many whites into the neighborhood."There was a lot of interaction (between races) that didn't happen in other neighborhoods around town," said Ruble.

In addition, the U Street area was a mecca for musicians like Jelly Roll Morton, who played in its clubs. It became known as the black Broadway and the Howard Theatre was its crowning glory. Opened in 1910, it was the first legitimate theater in the country that was open to blacks. Over the course of 60 years, just about every top entertainer performed there.

listen to ‘The Howard Theatre showcased the best black talent in the country’ on Audioboo

The stars would hang out at the neighborhood restaurants, get their shoes shined and their hair cut, said Ruble, adding that they were really part of the community. But the area started to decline after desegregation prompted middle-class families to move away. At the same time, urban renewal displaced thousands of poor people who'd been living in South West Washington, many of whom ended up in Shaw.

The 1968 riots about a decade later devastated the neighborhood. It didn't recover for decades. The construction of the Metro station there in the late 1980s hampered efforts to revive it since the construction project made the area impassible. Just three businesses survived from the mid-60s until after the Metro opened in 1991: Lee's Flower Shop, the Industrial Bank and Ben's Chile Bowl.

The new Metro station made gentrification inevitable though, Ruble said. U Street is younger, wealthier and more diverse than ever before. Indeed, the latest Census showed that some parts are now majority-white.