Historic Alleyways Guided Walking Tour of Washington DC
*2025 Schedule - Tour is offered the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month at 2pm.
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.
Options
Historic Alleyways Guided Walking Tour of Washington DC
What's included in Historic Alleyways Guided Walking Tour of Washington DC
(Subject to Option Inclusions)Itinerary
Blanche K. Bruce was the first African American to serve a full term as Senator, and rose to his position during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War. The tour starts as the location of his residence while he was serving his Senatorial term.
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.
The tour makes a pit stop at this popular coffee spot.
Inclusions
- Up to 2 hours of a unique walking tour experience by a knowledgeable guide.
- Coffee and/or Tea
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Meet
Pickup and Dropoff
You will make your own way to the meeting points
Meeting / End Points
- The northwest corner of M Street and 9th Street NW
