The all-black company of the R St.fire house respond to an alarm.
The housing pressures brought by World War II led Shaw landlords to convert rowhouses into apartments and rooming houses.The post-war suburban housing boom and the outlawing of racial restrictions allowed the affluent to move on.Housing,now mostly rental, became crowded and dilapidated.In the 1960s local churches led urban renewal planning to improve the community while preventing the displacement of low- income residents. Then in April ,the riots following the assassination of Rev.Dr.Martin Luther King,Jr., devastated Shaw.Centuries-old commercial/residential buildings were looted and burned.A few businesses sur- vived,but most never reopened. After a number of years,during which Shaw was noted for its burned-out streetscapes,community members, churches,and government agencies have succeeded in creating today’s mix of new and historic.With the arrival of Metro’s Green and Yellow lines, and the Washington Convention Center,Shaw continues to hold its own as a city crossroads and a welcoming place to live.
Rioters responding to Dr.King’s assassination reduced Seventh and P to smoldering ruins.
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