SHAW 2021 • Pleasant Mann

SHAW 2021

A Year in Pictures

by Pleasant Mann

Despite the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, life went on in Shaw in 2021. This selection of images highlights some of the events and projects that characterized the neighborhood’s continued evolution and resilience.

Photo by Birch

Photo by Pleasant Mann

Grand Opening

A ceremonial ribbon was cut on April 7 to mark the grand opening of the new TG Cigars cigar store and bar at 1120 Ninth Street NW. The success of the previous location next door over the past 15 years allowed owner Negest “TG” Dawit to buy a building and build out the larger space.

“Together” Mural

The largest mural in Shaw was completed in October on a five-story wall facing the Sunoco gas station at 1317 Ninth Street NW, by a team of women artists led by Nia Ketura Calhoun, Maggie O’Neill and Lisa Marie Thalhammer. Entitled “Together,” the mural was coordinated by Shaw Main Streets and funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Photo by Pleasant Mann

One Less Empty Lot

A groundbreaking ceremony for a new high-rise condominium building at 1336 Eighth Street NW was held on April 13. Being built by Roadside Development, the mixed-use complex will include market rate and affordable units, as well as retail space.

Photo by Alexander M. Padro, courtesy Shaw Main Streets

Shaw Small Business Grants

Wine bar Maxwell Park was one of the Shaw businesses to receive a total of $30,000 in COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Grants from Shaw Main Streets in June 2021. The recipients of the grants were chosen competitively and the funds could be used to pay rent, payroll or other business expenses.

Photo by Pleasant Mann

Puerto Rican Mayors Visit

The mayors of three towns in Puerto Rico visited several Shaw Main Streets businesses on a tour on July 2 to learn how Main Streets could be used to revitalize business districts on the island. SMS Executive Director Alexander Padro, himself of Puerto Rican descent, took the entourage to Compass Coffee, Grand Cata and Qui Qui DC, a Puerto Rican pop-up restaurant at the Passenger.

Photo by Pleasant Mann

Photo by Alexander M. Padro, courtesy Shaw Main Streets

National Night Out

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee addressed the hundreds of attendees at the National Night Out event held at the Kennedy Recreation Center on Aug. 3. Held on the center’s playing field, this was one of the first large events held in Shaw after pandemic restrictions were loosened.

Honoring an Early Entrepreneur

Wiltberger Street NW was ceremonially renamed and a bronze plaque was unveiled on Oct. 14 by Shaw Main Streets honoring Cecelia Penny Scott (1918–2004), the owner of the historic Cecelia’s restaurant facing the Howard Theatre. Scott’s daughter was present at the ceremony, which drew over 100 friends and neighbors of the establishment paying tribute to the businesswoman and philanthropist.

Art All Night in Shaw

The Art All Night festival returned as an in-person event in Shaw on September 25, drawing approximately 15,000 people to the neighborhood. The 2021 event marked the 10th anniversary of the festival, which began in Shaw in 2011.

Photo by Rey Lopez

Oyster Oyster

Chef/owner Rob Rubba’s plantbased cuisine at his long-awaited Oyster Oyster restaurant at City Market at O drew national attention. The new restaurant earned the #1 ranking in Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema’s Fall Dining Guide and was named one of the Best New Restaurants in America by “Esquire” magazine in November.

Photo courtesy MSNBC

Testing, Testing

At year’s end, thousands flocked to Shaw’s Watha T. Daniel Library, lining up around the block for free COVID-19 test kits. Viewers nationwide saw DC residents vying for the free kits to learn their status before and after spending the year-end holidays with loved ones.