H Street

Thanks to a resurgence of investment in the early 2000s, the H Street neighborhood’s evolution continues as developers push new retail and condominiums further eastward. The “Hopscotch Bridge” over the tracks of Union Station takes you away from the formality of Capitol Hill to a 1.5-mile stretch of colorfully diverse street life, where carefully restored row houses mingle with new luxury apartment buildings.

The heart of H Street Corridor is brimming with restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and cultural attractions, such as the newly revived Atlas Center for Performing Arts. Named a Great American Main Street by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the corridor’s independently owned shops and galleries are quickly being joined by large mixed-use development and refreshing retail.

NOMA

Stretching from Union Station to the south and Q and R streets NE to the north, the rapidly developing area takes its name from its location north of Massachusetts Avenue NE. It is best known as a transportation hub and the home of Union Market, a restored grocery and specialty food hall that’s at the epicenter of DC’s gourmet scene. It’s also home to Gallaudet University, the nation’s first college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and National Public Radio.