The physical evolution of Blagden Alley-Naylor Court

Blagden Alley-Naylor Court is a designated historic district in the Shaw neighborhood, contained between O and M Streets and 9th and 10th Streets. What makes these blocks significant are the alleys that remain almost perfectly intact in their original 1865 alignment.

Many homes were built on alleys throughout the city in the late 19th century, particularly to house an influx of African American residents. Living conditions were difficult, and most of the alleys had been cleared of residential use before the city’s 1934 Alley Dwelling Elimination Act.

Using historic survey maps, I’ve reconstructed the blocks around Blagden Alley-Naylor Court to observe how the alleys were formed and used. Click on any of the images to see in full size.

The 1861 model is based off of the Boschke survey, carried out between 1857 and 1859. This is probably how the blocks looked immediately before the alleys were installed. Some of the structures were built right up against the street frontage, but many more were simply scattered haphazardly in the interior. Since the blocks of the L’Enfant plan are quite large, measuring roughly 500x500 feet, more access was obviously needed to allow for orderly development. As far as I can tell, none of these buildings are currently in existence, at least not in any way resembling their original form.

The 1888 model is based off of Sanborn fire insurance maps. By this point, the blocks are just being fully built out. Many residential row houses have been completed on the outside, including the Victorian home on M Street where Blanche K. Bruce, the first African American senator, lived. 9th street was emerging as the commercial corridor, but N street had a bakery and other shops. Many of the small tenant homes were already completed on the alleys, especially in the southern block around Blagden Alley. Stables were spaced throughout, with the major livery housed on Naylor alley.

This is a closer look at the shape of the alleys themselves (north is now up). Blagden Alley was formed in an H shape with a central vertical axis, a design that was latter maligned as a “blind alley” for its tendency to attract crime. The Naylor Court block is formed completely differently with a strong east-west axis. At this point each of the alleys in this block had different names, but all of the others have since been dropped.

Much has changed by 1928. The first five or six story apartment buildings have been constructed, particularly the Atlantic and Henrietta apartments on N Street. The effects of the transition to automobiles is obvious. A large number of the residential units on the alleys now serve as garages for the homes fronting the outside streets, with a 21 car parking garage and gas station located just off of 9th street. There is some industry, mostly auto body shops, in the interior of the blocks. The first floor of the old livery is used by DC street cleaning, but the second floor still functions as a stable. North Presbyterian Church had been replaced by Salem Baptist Church in 1925.

Today the blocks look much the same, with the exception of a number of gaps in the urban fabric. These lots are either currently vacant or serve as parking lots. Some buildings on the internal alleys have been re-purposed for commercial or office use, something that was not common in the earlier days. The old livery became the host of the DC city archives in 1988, but the buildings labeled industrial are actually still vacant as far as I can tell. All of the brick alleys retain their original shape.