Evening star., 1930-06-04
CITY WITHIN CITY,
BLOT ON CAPITAL
Alley Residents in Southwest
Washington Dwell in At
moSphere of Mystery.

NOTE-This is the fourth of
series Of articles on the alley problem
in Washington and the proposals for
its abolition.
Southwest Washington contains, liter
ally, hidden city.
1t once was a section of fine old brick
mansions. with liveried servants and
box-hedged gardens. Still its broad
tree-arched streets retain something OF
Dspite profusion of gas stations,
chain stores, automobiles parked at the
curbs and radio antennae on the roofs,
one has subtle sense of mystery, such
as is common to old neighborhoods.
Occasionally one notes between the
houses narrow brick arches such as
might lead into hidden formal gardens.
Actually they are the gateways to
labyrinths of sordid alleys whose life
would have afforded congenial subjects
for the pencil of Hosarth-a life sug-
gestive of the poorer sections of seven
teenth century London than of twen-
tieth century Washington. About all
InaV gives II OlSllIlCtly HIOOSlu AdNOA
are the piles of empty tin cans in the
tiny back yards of the alley houses and
the rusty fragments of junked automo-
biles in the vacant lots.
Is City Within City.
It is a city within city, whose ex-
istence is unknown except to persons in
the immediate neighborhood, policemen,
social workers and visiting nurses. The
casual visitor feels the mystery without
suspecting its cause. Southwest Wash
ingtons alley system perhaps Is the
most elaborate still remaining In the
city, although natural decay and death
aided by the efforts of a few public
spirited citizens have improved 1t greatly
in recent years. The alley system be-
tween blocks is in the shape OF HIS. LIS
and plus signs. It can be surveyed
best from the roofs of houses.
The old folks of the Southwest built
their homes when land was cheap. They
allowed themselves plenty of elbow
room, with the result that the blocks
between streets are unusually large.
With the close of the Civil War the
lovely old back yard gardens began to
disappear and the interior systems of
communication grew up which now are
represented by the alleys. They rep
resent what once was a succession OF
villages, almost entirely cut off from the
life Of the city. Folks were born, lived
all their lives and died there with
hardly any occasion to go outside.
Take, for example, Huntoon alley. 1t
Is in the shape of an H, just behind
Neighborhood House. Once 1t was solid
white. There was a little grocery store
on one corner and saloon on the
other, 80 years ago, when the sediment
house was first established. These sup
piled the needs of the tenants OF about
40 four-room houses. The men worked
outside. Women and children seldom
left the alley. One old lady boasted
that she had not been out OF 1t for 70
years. There were no lights, no school,
no sewerage 1t was the scene of con-
slant drunken brawls.
Life Is Isolated.
Huntoon alley has Received constant
special attention from social service
workers. The first Mrs. woodrow VIII
son visited it several times, regarding 1t
as a terrible example of what alley life
was like. But all the efforts have i'm
proved it very little. Lights have been
placed on the four corners. Two wide
entrances have been opened to the
streets. Life is less isolated, but the
crowded brick shacks still remain, with
their outdoor toilets and hydrants in
the tiny, boarded-up back yards fur
nishing the only running water.
The color of the population, of course,
has changed. The old white families
moved out "onto the street" about the
time of the World War and colored
families replaced them. Viewed from
the upper windows of Neighborhood
House, the H presents sordid pic
ture with its yards piled high with tin
cans and other debris. Police visit 1t
frequently and during the week the
population Is fairly well behaved. Sat-
urday afternoons and Sundays the idle
men get restless and there Is much
gambling and drinking. 1t is hidden