Midcity at the Crossroads
Shaw has always been "a place between places," where races and classes bumped and mingled as they got a foothold on the city. It has been home to the powerful seeking a convenient location, immigrants and migrants just starting out, laborers in need of affordable housing, men and women of God – and people living on luck, both good and bad.
The riots following the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968 partly disfigured Shaw. Yet much of its rich past remains for you to see. The Shaw Heritage Trail points you to the legacies of daily life in this Midcity neighborhood between downtown and uptown.
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Each painting below represents one of the stops on the Shaw Heritage Trail. Click to see larger versions and full descriptions of what bit of history inspired each painting.
There are 17 stops on the Shaw Heritage Trail. Dana Ellyn is working towards creating a painting for every stop. Please check back often to see the newest paintings and learn a new bit of DC history with each visit!
Learn more about the Neighborhood Heritage Trails on the Cultural Tourism DC website.