Alleys of Washington, DC: A Hidden City’s Past, Present and Future (English Edition)

Alleys of Washington, DC: A Hidden City’s Past, Present and Future (English Edition)

The first ever book to explore the alleys of Washington, DC's hidden world of extensive alley networks, with detailed, mapped, and beautifully illustrated walking tours. Discover the history of alleys and why they matter, especially in relation to the capital city's complicated race relations. Celebrate the lives of a group of remarkable women, many African-American, and a few notable men who deserve to be recognized in our public places. The author designates the many unnamed alleys on his tour after worthy but otherwise unheralded Americans. Why Alleys Matter? They provide:—-a reminder that our older cities began as “walkable” places where residents lived near their places of employment.—-lessons about the growth patterns from inner core walkable city to ever- widening residential neighborhoods, an expansion made possible by the development of public transit.—-a tangible connection to the city’s past, providing a glimpse into the life of European immigrant working classes of pre-Civil War Washington.—-a way of understanding African-American migration patterns following the Civil War. —-reminders of how much of the city’s food system was centered in the alleys, where the horses were stabled and the delivery carts were stored, both used to haul produce, meat and dairy to market. —-insights into the roots of and conflicts brought on by gentrification of the city’s neighborhoods.— examples of how alleys are important elements in addressing chronic housing shortages while providing additional community open spaces and alternative urban parks. —-experiments in developing more sustainable solutions to issues such as projects to deal with drainage and community building through gardens and other shared experiences. —-a way to examine how to balance the needs of providing spaces for lower income minorities, the original inhabitants of alleys, with those of more affluent, young professionals seeking alternative housing solutions that don’t involve a commute to and from the suburbs.—-an opportunity to provide unnamed alleys and approaches with honorific names of African-American women, for instance, people who are largely unrecognized by our modern urban monuments and historic markers. —demonstrate how some alleys have become showplaces for upscale stores, restaurants and offices, including the outdoor mall concept of Palmer Alley, Cady’s Alley in Georgetown, with its modern furniture/design shops and offices, and Blagden’s Alley in the Shaw Neighborhood which has become a mecca for galleries and cafes.

Born in Philadelphia, author Tom Hughes was raised in Haddonfield, New Jersey, educated in New York State and has taught in schools on three continents starting as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in southeast Iran. An historian Tom specializes in researching, collecting and mounting exhibits about food history. He is the author of several books about food historic sites among other topics. An avid traveler he has visited all 50 states and inhabited continents.

Washington, DC native, photographer Gulliver Hughes was raised in the nation's capital and Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has degrees in Political Science from the University of New Mexico and the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. Gulliver was a top ten finalist in the National Geographic Bee, the winner of a C-Span presidential art contest, and a two time winner of the National History Day documentary category. He lives and works on Capitol Hill in retail, as a property manager and pet care specialist. As befits his name, Gulliver, like his father, is widely traveled, having visited all states and continents except Alaska and Australia.

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