The Best UrbanTurf Addition of the Year: Hidden Places

• December 18th 2014

by Lark Turner

UrbanTurf usually stays away from publishing rankings or lists…except at the end of the year when we look back at the best that DC’s residential real estate scene had to offer during the previous 12 months. So, this week, we are looking at not only the best, but the most intriguing and peculiar things that came across our radar over the course of the past year.

DC is full of one-block streets, some accessed only through alleys or found in the most incongruous locations. To get a sense of these little communities, UrbanTurf debuted Hidden Places this year, a feature that showcases the homes and history of small, tucked-away streets.

Sometimes by doing so we get a view of how the market is changing in certain parts of the city. Our look at Parker Street, a one-block stretch of Federal rowhouses in the shadow of Union Station’s train tracks known for its annual Porker Street Fest, noted that home values on the block seemed to be steadily rising.

The feature unofficially kicked off with Canal Street, a pedestrian street in Georgetown with a handful of homes and businesses overlooking the C&O Canal. We started looking for similarly small and charming streets around the District.

Some of the most hidden places we’ve looked at this year are courts, usually accessed through an alley that opens onto a small collection of old rowhouses. There are just three rowhouses on Miller’s Court, located not far from the Capitol building, all of which are rented out as short-term apartments. Snow’s Court in Foggy Bottom is an enclave surrounded by towering apartments and office buildings.

Some of these courts, including Snow’s, were once notorious for being hubs of criminal activity. Early members of Congress discussed alley dwellings like they were a scourge, noting Snow’s was among those with “the worst reputation of any alleys in the city.” Now, these tucked-away rowhouses are sought-after.

Below are a list of some of the Hidden Places we’ve featured this year:

• DC’s Hidden Places: Groff Court
• DC’s Hidden Places: Snow’s Court
• DC’s Hidden Places: Caroline Street
• DC’s Hidden Places: Dent Place
• DC’s Hidden Places: Hillyer Place
• DC’s Hidden Places: Warren Street NE
• DC’s Hidden Places: Gessford Court
• DC’s Hidden Places: Bending Lane
• DC’s Hidden Places: French Street NW
• DC’s Hidden Places: Parker Street
• DC’s Hidden Places: Georgetown’s Orchard Lane
• DC’s Hidden Places: Wylie Street
• DC’s Hidden Places: Duncan Place

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_best_urbanturf_addition_of_the_year_hidden_places/9328.