2008 Official GLBT Travelers Guide - Pride in DC - (Page 19) BrookLand/ northeaSt DC’s Brookland neighborhood is nicknamed “Little Rome,” and for good reason. It’s home to more than 60 Catholic institutions like the Catholic University of America and the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Closer to Capitol Hill, you’ll find an emerging nightlife scene centered on 12th Street NE, along with redeveloped row houses and condos. Also in Northeast: the U.S. National Arboretum, a 446-acre natural paradise that features enchanting landscaped gardens, fascinating seasonal displays, intriguing aquatic plants, a twoacre herb garden and the National Bonsai Museum. Metro: Brookland/CUA, New York Avenue. the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, Folger Shakespeare Library, National Postal Museum and Union Station. Eastern Market (the oldest operating public market in the city) thrives on Saturdays and Sundays. Metro: Union Station; Capital South; Eastern Market. doWntoWn Arguably the entertainment center of the city, downtown is the crossroads of the theatre, restaurant, business and museum experience. From edgy and classic productions to touring Broadway shows Woolly Mammoth, Shakespeare, National, Warner and Ford’s theatres - are within easy walking distance. Museums abound including the International Spy Museum, National Building Museum, National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Marian Koshland Science Museum and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Chinatown is marked most noticeably by the “Friendship Arch” that was built cooperatively by the Washington city government and its sister city, Beijing and secondarily by the Chinese marks that adorn businesses from traditional Chinese restaurant mainstays and more contemporary shops like Urban Outfitters and Aveda. Penn Quarter is a moniker for an area of downtown that has witnessed a “rags-to-riches” transformation. It’s here you’ll find many of the city’s most talked-about restaurants, along with luxury condos and art galleries. Metro: Gallery Pl-Chinatown, Metro Center, Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter. CapItoL hILL Though the neighborhood itself may bear the name of DC’s signature dome, Capitol Hill has long been a social and residential center for Washington, DC’s gay and lesbian community. Many same-sex couples have made their homes in its charming Victorian row houses and have worshipped at its gay-friendly churches. Long a center for alternative nightlife, Eighth Street SE, or Barracks Row, is dotted with gay-friendly shops, restaurants and bars. It’s also home to the nation’s oldest lesbian bar, Phase One. By day, check out the Hill’s most popular attractions: CapItoL hILL Neighborhoods 19
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