H Street, Northeast had a lousy 40 years to close the 20th Century, but the beginning of the 21st has been great to it. It was one of the streets that burned in DC's 1968 race riots, and was part of the city's infamous ghetto for decades after. But no more. Now it's one of DC's most vibrant up-and-coming neighborhoods, and is in competition with 14th Street to be capital of the city's hipsterati.
No small part of the transformation has been the promise of a streetcar, slowly under construction and in planning for a few years, and now rapidly approaching its expected Christmas/New Year's opening. I snapped some cell phone pictures of the construction on Sunday.
Here's the same block, 10 years apart:
Strips that used to be gray and boarded up are now vibrant and bright (and expensive).
And of course, there's the new stuff.
The streetcar tracks were initially put in a few years ago, when the city repaved the road. Only this summer has construction on the rest of the details really picked up.
Crews are now adding the power substations, pocket tracks for turnarounds at either end, etc.
Power substation:
The railyards and maintenance barn will be here:
Right now H Street is covered by one of WMATA's busier bus routes.
The first 3 streetcars are being tested right now in Anacostia. 3 more are still at the factory being built.
The gray/blue/yellow streetcars in the background here are for Tuscon. DC, Tuscon, and Portland have a joint order.
Photo from
DCstreetcar on flickr.
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