Adams Morgan
Where: Columbia Road, NW, between 16th and 18th Streets.
What’s in a name: Named for DC’s first segregated schools, the all-black Thomas P. Morgan Elementary School and the all-white John Quincy Adams Elementary School.
Thumbnail: Eclectic Adams Morgan is where buttoned-up DC lets its hair down. Long home to immigrant communities from Africa, Asia and South and Central America, the neighborhood today is a global village, lined with restaurants serving cuisine from around the world.
Calling cards: Catch live bluegrass on Wednesday nights at Madam’s Organ or swing by Habana Village to show off your salsa moves (or take a free lesson). On Saturdays, check out arts and crafts by local artists at Western Market.
Getting there: Take Metro to the Woodley Park/ Zoo/ Adams Morgan station or take a taxi. Parking is difficult at night.
Explore the Neighborhood
Get to know Adams Morgan's history as home to elite colonial families, revolutionaries and immigrants through Roads to Diversity: Adams Morgan Heritage Trail, a self-guided bilingual tour of the neighborhood's colorful murals, ethnic restaurants and beautiful architecture.
Trail highlights include:
- The site of the first Toys ‘R' Us, opened in 1948
- The luxurious embassies of 16th Street
- The once-prestigious Lanier Heights, which became a haven for radicals, activists, and left-wing leaders in the 1960's
- The handsome row houses and grand apartments of Kalorama Triangle and Victorian townhouses of 18th Street
