Orange Line Project: Eastern Market III

I’ve never gone to the Banana Cafe but I really want to. This place is on Barrack’s Row, Eastern Market’s cafe/restaurant/bar area. As you can see, Capitol Hill/Eastern Market is pretty leafy throughout…and if you’ve read my blog for a while, you know I’m all about trees and vegetation. Nothing like trees to make a neighborhood seem livable!

Cafe/restaurant scene across from Eastern Market. Attractive, traditional architecture, bikes, and restaurants/shops you find in upwardly mobile liberal urban areas.

You know things have gone too far when there are food trucks not only for humans but for dogs as well. As much as I love my dog, I draw the line at doggy restaurant dining.

My sister was telling me she went on a tour of her neighborhood and the tour guide said there are alleyway neighborhoods scattered throughout Capitol Hill. This is one such neighborhood, located in an alleyway cul-de-sac.

The other side of the alleyway cul-de-sac. One of the things I love about Europe — which is missing from a lot of U.S cities — is homey, charming little hidden alleyways that you stumble upon seemingly out of nowhere. I love t his!

Generally speaking, there are some many nice, tree-lined residential streets and hidden alleyways in Capitol Hill (I have a preference for narrow streets) but there are some wider avenues/boulevards.

Young urban bikers using D.C’s bike share program. The Capitol Hill/Eastern Market neighborhood definitely attracts a certain kind of demographic (Think mature parents with advanced degrees, good jobs and liberal politics) but there is also a sizable yuppie population. And a couple hipster types scattered throughout.

I have no idea what this is. A boat bike? This dude was blaring music too and looked like he was having a grand old time. Another thing I miss about Europe or bigger U.S cities…seeing weird things. Yes, we have the occasional street musician,fake statue, colorful-character types in D.C, but you don’t see things like this all that often.

An old church converted into an apartment building. Someone actually gets to enjoy that stained glass window everyday! The romantic in me loves this kind of thing…the old and forgotten restored and converted into something relevant and useful.

Thank you to my brother (check out his urban design/architecture blog here) for being the photographer on this urban adventure, and to my sister for knowing her neighborhood well enough to give us an hours-long tour. Hope you all enjoyed this Eastern Market/Capitol Hill neighborhood stroll. I still have 23 metro stops to go, so let me know if you’d be interested in coming along sometime! Click here to read my blog post on the Eastern Market food and craft markets, here to read about neighborhood demographics, Frager’s Hardware Store and Capitol Hill Books and here to read about what $8 can get you at the Eastern Market Farmer’s Market 20 minutes before closing.

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‹ Orange Line Project: Eastern Market II

Getting Back in the Swing of Things ›

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Categories: D.C, D.C Culture, D.C Neighborhoods, Orange Line Project, The Urban Anthropologist Files

Tags: Alleyway neighborhoods of Capitol Hill, Banana Cafe Eastern Market, Barrack's Row restaurants, Cafe/bar/restaurant scene on Barracks Row, Cafe/restaurant/bar scene in Capitol Hill, Church converted into apartment building in Capitol Hill, D.C bike share program, D.C in summer, D.C neighborhoods good for raising a family, D.C neighborhoods with a lot of vegetation, D.C vegetation, Dog food truck in Capitol Hill, Eastern Market Metro Station, Food truck for pets in D.C, good D.C neighborhoods for families, leafy neighborhoods in D.C, leafy streets in Eastern Market, the district, tree-lined neighborhoods in D.C, yuppies in Capitol Hill, yuppies in Eastern Markets

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• Orange Line Project: Eastern Market I: Capitol Hill Books and Frager’s Hardware Store