About this experience

Fall 2026 Schedule: Tour is held the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 2pm. Check out one of DC's most unique features! Less than a mile away from the National Mall lies a hidden historic district showcasing one of DC's mot interesting features. The historic alleyways of DC served a distinct purpose as a city planning feature, but they also provided a hidden safe space where escaped enslaved people and the poor could find inexpensive housing and live their lives away from prying eyes. While city officials condemned life in the alleyways as dangerous, dirty and diseased, they were in fact a place where communities sustained each other and provided security. Tour is 1.5 hours with a halfway stop at La Colombe Coffee.