It was the feeling of quiet prosperity that shocked me. On a trip back to Washington DC to see how the city has changed since I lived there in the mid-1990s, I expected some differences, but was blown away by the change.
25 years ago, the US capital was a deeply divided city, where government officials and foreign diplomats lived nervously next to the blighted suburbs that made the District of Columbia notorious as the “murder capital”.
Today, Washington exudes an unrecognizable air of safety and thriving business, where locals insist there are no no-drive zones and taxi drivers are happy to go anywhere. Visitors who used to worry about entering the wrong areas now find shopping streets teeming with families and young workers, as well as restaurants and bars with a mix of students, locals and tourists.
The pulse and dining options are very different because today’s visitor is actually coming to three different cities merged into one.
Most famous is the world’s “New Rome,” the federal capital consisting of monuments, museums, and seats of government, all surrounded by official buildings and lobby offices, whose residents support one of the most extensive arrays of fine dining in the United States. States.
Seats of power: Former Washington DC resident Peter Wilson recently returned to the US capital for the first time in 25 years and was “overwhelmed” by how much the city has changed. Pictured is the imposing Capitol where Congress is located
The Caribbean menu at Bammy’s is one of the more affordable, with options ranging from an excellent marinated chicken starter to a tasting menu featuring the chef’s favourites.
The second face of Washington is the normal working city with bustling suburbs filled with sports bars and restaurants.
The pandemic innovation of sidewalk canopies, which provide restaurants with al fresco tables, has been sustained in must-visit areas like Adams Morgan and leafy Georgetown, adding extra life to the streetscape.
There is also an ever-growing Latin American population, and according to locals, the most dynamic food trend is Latin American cuisine, ranging from Ecuadorian to Venezuelan. Sample Peruvian fare at Pisco Y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar near Dupont Circle, where a flight of three passionfruit, pomegranate and traditional pisco cocktails pair well with a sampler of delicious tostones—twice-fried plantains—and a crunchy seafood main course fits.
The Third Side of Washington is one of the nation’s largest college towns, where universities like Georgetown and George Washington bring a vibrant youth scene and bars like the Takoda restaurant and a rooftop beer garden to a once-somber neighborhood near the Anacostia Flow brings. It’s open until 2am on weekends and offers 15 beers on tap, more frozen cocktails and a good quality pulled pork sandwich.
A hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus pass gets you past the city’s monuments and museums with little fuss, but the best way to see them is on a guided bike tour.
Adjacent to major attractions, the National Mall is flat and easily navigable by bike, with surprisingly few interactions with traffic. Based out of The Wharf, Unlimited Biking offers a three-hour tour of the area, as well as electric bike and Segway options.
While the Lincoln Memorial celebrated its 100th anniversary last May, other memorials are still being created or updated.
Street Life: The vibrant Adams Morgan neighborhood is a must
“Today, Washington exudes an unrecognizable atmosphere of security and thriving activity,” writes Peter. Pictured is the “green” Georgetown
EARLY SPACE PIONEERS…AND SPOCK’S EARS
A must-see attraction in Washington is the National Air and Space Museum.
It has been undergoing a $1 billion renovation since 2018, but the west side is now open and the east flank will follow in 2024.
The massive renovation included a major overhaul of the exhibits to try to appeal to a wider audience, with a greater focus on women’s and minority contributions to aviation history.
The Wright Brothers’ first airplane at the National Air and Space Museum
And while it houses true aviation treasures like the Wright Brothers’ Wright Flyer and the Apollo 11 Command Module, it also pays homage to popular culture with displays of Star Wars and Star Trek.
“We had a heated argument about whether our Star Wars vehicles that can’t actually fly and things like Spock’s ears should be included,” said Russell Lee, curator of aviation.
“But in the end, we decided that these programs had captured the imagination of generations of pilots and engineers and that their inclusion would appeal to many viewers.”
An eye-catching addition tucked away on a display shelf is the balsa wood and tissue paper toy kit that the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, used as a boy to build model airplanes as he dreamed of one day flying .
Spock’s ears from the original Star Trek are on display
The Korean War Memorial received a new memorial wall in July 2022, and this trip was the first time I saw the massive stone tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. saw, a poignant sculpture unveiled in 2011.
The Mall already has the Capitol and a wonderful array of museums, and with the pound trailing the dollar, it’s a relief that the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum, education and research complex, offers free admission. The biggest challenge is planning routes carefully if you want to make the most of the 21 museums and galleries and the National Zoo.
For example, it is a mistake to go to the Museum of African American History and Culture and expect it to be taken in quickly. The staff warn that it gets crowded on Fridays and weekends, especially in the summer, and that it takes three hours after queuing to properly tour the slavery exhibit, so it can’t be easily fit into a day from touring museums.
You must also reserve in advance to take the elevator to the Washington Monument Observation Deck.
An alternative is the view from the Old Post Office Tower at the intersection of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Ave, NW. It has shorter lines, free entry and a glass elevator. Although the observation deck, at 270 feet, is barely half the height of the 554-foot Washington Monument, it still offers an excellent view, as a 1910 law limited DC buildings to 40 feet, or about 11 floors.
This boundary gives the city a more human feel than New York and lends a sense of cohesion to redeveloped areas such as the Navy Yard neighborhood.
The Thompson Washington DC Hotel, which opened in 2020 in the former Navy Yard area, takes advantage of its prime visibility with a rooftop cocktail bar overlooking the Anacostia River and a top-notch restaurant called Surveyor, which serves classics like thick Maryland crab cakes and grilled prawns served. of New Orleans.
A downtown hotel option for political junkies is Hotel Zena, whose lounge walls are covered in campaign badges and images of feminist icons like Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Rooms start from around £210 per night (viceroyhotelsandresorts.com).
Washington’s streets are filled with political color and history that are free to try. Black Lives Matter Plaza is a two-block mural on a pedestrianized area of 16th Street near the White House that became a permanent fixture after Donald Trump ordered police to clear the street of protesters in 2020. There is not much to see, but it is worth a short visit.
Martin’s Tavern on Wisconsin Ave, Georgetown’s busiest shopping street, has even more interesting stories to offer. In booth 1 JFK worked on his inaugural address, in booth 3 he proposed to Jackie, and in booth 2 Richard Nixon often ate meatloaf.
Upstairs is Hotel Zena, “a downtown hotel option for political junkies.”
Rooms at Hotel Zena start from around £210 per night
A stay in Room 214 of the Watergate Hotel, which was used by Nixon’s accomplices when they broke into the nearby Democratic Party office in 1972, costs around £1,300 a night. But if it’s not booked and you ask politely, they’ll show you to the room, which is equipped with 1970s binoculars, a manual typewriter and a tape recorder (thewatergatehotel.com). For another angle on this scandal, an eight-minute cab ride from the hotel takes you to the parking lot at 1816 North Nash Street, where reporter Bob Woodward met with his “Deep Throat” contact about the secret briefings Nixon would let fall. Look for the marker outside.
The city’s most historic hotel, the Willard, just down the street from the White House, has a small museum in the lobby—admission is free, but tipping the staff is appreciated.
Lincoln signed his first presidential paycheck at the hotel to settle an unpaid bill, and 102 years later, Martin Luther King Jr. in the lobby making final edits before delivering his “I Have A Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. .
In this lobby, Ulysses S. Grant, President from 1869 to 1877, put a lasting name on the influential peddlers who still help keep Washington’s restaurants and bars busy today. Forbidden by his wife, Julia, to smoke cigars in the White House, Grant often retired to a quiet cigarette and a cognac at the Willard, where he taunted the self-promoters who harassed him as … lobbyists .
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
