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In 1791, after surveying the area on horseback, Pierre L’Enfant drew a master plan for George Washington showing a new federal city along the Potomac where it joined the Eastern Branch. The plan showed a grand boulevard— Pennsylvania Avenue—connecting the president’s house with Congress’s building; the path of Pennsylvania Avenue ran close to a lovely natural port on the Eastern Branch, where L’Enfant envisioned docks for ocean-going ships. To connect the port area to Pennsylvania Avenue, L’Enfant drew a bold line and 8th Street, S.E., was created.
In 1799, the harbor was claimed by President John Adams for the Washington Navy Yard where ships, torpedoes, bombs, and guns were manufactured until 1961. Two years later, Thomas Jefferson sited the Marine Barracks on 8th Street, S.E., one block north of the Navy Yard; John Phillip Sousa took music lessons on 8th Street, and the last known address of one of the plotters in Lincoln’s assassination was on 8th Street.
Today, the Barracks Row/Eighth Street corridor showcases the cuisines of cultures from around the world. First, join leader Sharon Bosworth for a short history walk; then, restaurants will serve up sample portions of their ethnic specialties along with stories of their cultures and cuisines.
Restaurants are Belga Cafe (Belgian), Las Placitas (Salvadorean), and Capitol Hill Tandoor (Pakistani/Indian).
This tour is from 2 to 5 p.m., meeting at the top of the escalator at the Eastern Market Metro (Blue and Orange lines)
This tour includes some walking. Menus are at the discretion of the restaurants, and special diets cannot be accommodated on this tour.
