Neighborhood Nightlife #12: Adams Morgan

We'll be kicking off the first official day of spring with an outing to one of DC's most revered and diverse neighborhoods, Adams Morgan. Most would have assume Adams Morgan would have been one of the first neighborhoods ventured too. However, it gets fairly hectic in the summer so we decided spring is the way too go.

The name Adams Morgan is derived from the names of two, formerly segregated area elementary schools—the older, all-black Thomas P. Morgan Elementary School (now defunct) and the all-white John Quincy Adams Elementary School. As part of the desegregation effort, the Adams Morgan neighborhood was created in 1958. Adams Morgan has long been known as DC's most culturally diverse neighborhood, although gentrication has reduced the influx of immigrants. Adams Morgan also has become a thriving spot for night life, with a number of bars and clubs featuring live music. Over 90 establishments possess liquor licenses.

In the spirit of Adams Morgan three venues were chosen that show the diversity and character of the neighborhood. The first venue will be familiar to many as it is a prime stomping ground for the Adams Morgan faithful. It represents the best of what Adams Morgan has to offer: a fun rustic dive bar with cheap drinks. Be sure to keep an eye out for the skeleton dancing...that’s the signal for $1 jello shots. Go easy though...we have a good night planned.

The second venue is another favorite, The Reef (www.thereefdc.com). We'll hope the weather is nice for a visit to the roof top deck. If not we’ll hang in the Reef themed 2nd floor. In addition to live fish, plenty of space, and a Reef theme (it is afterall called The Reef), there will be a plethra of Belgium beers. The charismatic owner actually travels to Belgium annually to select a new line of beers.

The last stop is practically next door, but again presents the rustic dive bar theme in this outing. 18th and Red (www.18thandred.com) is a well known haunt with great DJs, and will be a great place to close down the night. Our group will have $1 off all beer, mixed drinks, and shots! And, as usual, the cover will be waived for our group.

There will be a special photographer joining us to document the night. He is visiting and vacationing from Estonia and agreed to photo pro-bono in exchange for a fun night and a couple of drinks. You can see his work here: antonipildid.net

On a side note...pub crawls are prohibited in Adams Morgan. Seriously. So if anyone asks, just tell them it was a coincidence that 60 of your friends just happened to come out! ;-)

The nearest metro is Woodley Park (red line). It's a bit removed from Adams Morgan (8 blocks), but is not a bad walk along Calvert and Adams Mill Roads to 18th Street. There's bus service from Woodley Park red line (bus #L2), Faragut West orange/blue line (bus #42), and the U Street green line (bus #90) . Street parking is nearly impossible, but there is an expensive parking garage in the middle of Adams Morgan along 18th Street.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind your organizers reserve the right to omit, change, or substitute venues as seen fit depending on the group dynamics, scheduling, and available space. The pub crawl officially ends at midnight but I'm sure most of us will be out well past that. Disclaimer: Yes, it's perfectly fine if you choose to get intoxicated, drunk, blitzed, plastered, wasted, toasted, smashed, or pissed. However, make sure you have a friend present to take on any applicable baby sitting duties.