The Benning Road area spawned what is considered the city’s first major-label rap group—the Section 8 Mob. The Mob was signed to Tommy Boy records for a time and, as an homage to their hood, filmed one of their very first music videos at the Benning Road Metro station.
Though steady drops in violent crime are a good thing, the public schools in HUDson Valley epitomize the failings of the D.C. system.
Housing: 9Many of the neighborhood’s cute ’50s-style row houses and single family homes, with their colorful, candy-cane-striped tin awnings and Astroturf-covered porches, can still be had for around $300,000. With its reasonable proximity to both downtown and Capitol Hill, and more businesses coming in every day, it’s one of the best housing deals in the city.
Eats: 2The cluster gets points for having two Yum’s carryouts within a few blocks of each other. Line for wings and mambo too long at the branch on Minnesota? Walk up the street to the one on Benning! For the more health-minded, the new Tropicana has vegetarian stuff in addition to chickens both curried and jerked. And the Denny’s on Benning carries the freshest food and friendliest service of any Denny’s in the entire region—the owners run it like a mom-and-pop, not a chain.
Consumer Goods: 2Minnesota Avenue hosts a thriving commercial strip, though the best shopping lies across the Benning Road Bridge (Hechinger Mall, H Street), and up on Marlboro Pike in P.G. County, above the northernmost point of the cluster.
Nightlife and Culture: 2HUDson Valley gets little love from the region’s nightlife entrepreneurs, but locals here do DIY culture better than any other hood in town.
Intangibles: 7From the girl behind the counter at CVS, who waves off your gum purchase, to the giant huckleberry tree at Benning and G that everyone stops and nibbles from as they walk by, there is a lot of cool stuff to see and experience in this area.
Comments
12:20 pm
SIMPLE CITY ALL DAY DAT LIL LUCK WE OUT