Washington 특집호
A day and a night in Ivy City, Washington
A 1937 Streamline Moderne warehouse, DC's largest Catholic cemetery, two distilleries and the club people cross Washington for all sit in one district that has no Metro station.
글: Noa BergströmThe District, one neighbourhood at a time
"THE HECHT CO" is spelled in black brick across the fifth floor of a 1937 warehouse, under a 12-pointed glass-block star cupola that lights from inside at night. Behind the brick sit 335 lofts, a Target and a MOM's Organic Market. Across West Virginia Avenue, DC's largest Catholic cemetery has been taking burials since 1858.
The Hecht warehouse and its shops
Everything else in the neighbourhood sits around the Hecht Company Warehouse (Hecht Warehouse at Ivy City). Six storeys of Streamline Moderne from 1937, it runs horizontal bands of glass block alternating with glazed cream brick, and its corners are rounded. The glass-block star cupola caps the corner above it all. The building has a National Register listing and was converted in 2016 into 335 lofts over ground-floor retail.
The street frontage and the retail arcade are public and free to walk, and the arcade has no door policy. Target, MOM's Organic Market and Petco trade here, and the shops run $ to $$. Nike and T.J.Maxx have both left. The architecture is the reason to come. Read the fifth-floor lettering from the far pavement, where the whole name fits into one view.
Washington 여행 계획하기
예약 파트너의 실시간 가격입니다.
많은 객실이 무료 취소 가능합니다. 예약 시 당사가 수수료를 받을 수 있습니다.
The mural on West Virginia Avenue
Benito Los Pasos (Blessed Steps) (1827 West Virginia Ave NE) covers the long wall of a city fleet-maintenance depot in black, white and gold. The pattern interlocks in a tribal style, with refuse trucks and brooms hidden inside it. Federico Frum, who signs as Mas Paz, painted it in 2019 as the first MuralsDC commission in Ivy City.
The depot still works, so stay on the pavement while you look. The wall is open air and free at any hour, and rougher unofficial pieces sit in the warehouse alleys around it. Walk those alleys on the way between the mural and Okie Street.
Mount Olivet Cemetery
Mount Olivet Cemetery (Bladensburg Road) opened in 1858, integrated from the start, and holds more of the district's history than anything else here. It covers 85 acres of rolling lawn and mature trees behind a brick gateway. Nineteenth-century marble obelisks and Celtic crosses stand in long rows, and the low ridge gives views back toward the city.
James Hoban, the Irish architect of the White House, is buried here. Entry is free and you walk in, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. from March 16 to Nov. 2, and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter. This is a working burial ground, so keep a group small and quiet and do not plan an event in it.
The National Arboretum
The U.S. National Arboretum is a 10-minute walk east along New York Avenue from Ivy City proper, which makes it a neighbour rather than part of the place. It is also the one big sight in the area: 446 acres, free admission, no ticket, free car parking. In an open meadow above a reflecting pool stand 22 fluted Corinthian sandstone columns from the old US Capitol.
The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum keeps its miniature trees on wooden benches under low open-sided pavilions. Grounds open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and close on Dec. 25; the Bonsai Museum runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guided visits and coach arrivals need prior arrangement. With free parking on site, this is the easiest place in the area to put a car and a dozen people at once.
Republic Restoratives on Fenwick
Republic Restoratives Distillery & The Ivy Room (New York Avenue at Fenwick) keeps a copper pot still and steel fermenters behind glass in a converted warehouse. The floor is polished concrete, and the long bar pours Civic Vodka and Borough Bourbon. It is women-founded and LGBTQ-led, and America's largest crowdfunded distillery.
Tours cost $12 and cocktails $15. Tastings, private events and buy-outs are a core part of the business, so book ahead. Tour availability moves around and tours have been paused at times. Phone to confirm hours before you travel.
Saturday afternoons at Don Ciccio & Figli
Don Ciccio & Figli (Bar Sirenis) (Fairview Avenue) opens to the public on Saturdays only, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., so plan the day around that. Francesco "Ciccio" Amodeo revived his family's Furore recipes in this small warehouse unit, and the shelves carry brightly illustrated Amalfi-coast liqueurs in lemon, fennel and walnut. The indoor lounge bar is named for the sirens.
Guided tastings run $20 to $30 and are the most distinctive tasting in the district. Reserve a place rather than arriving on spec; walk-ins are taken when there is room. Parking outside is free.
Other Half Brewing on Okie Street
Other Half Brewing DC (Okie Street) pours hazy IPAs in a former Pappas tomato cannery. Tall silver fermentation tanks stand in view from the bar, and a rail car is parked in the yard. A pour costs $8 to $11. The taproom is Brooklyn-born and has been the neighbourhood's only working brewery since Atlas Brew Works shut its Ivy City taproom in September 2025.
A covered patio runs off the taproom and an open rooftop deck sits above the warehouse roofline. The kitchen does snacks only, so bring food or order it in. Dogs are allowed everywhere except the roof. There is no wheelchair access to the rooftop; the taproom and the patio are both accessible.
Eating at the Smokehouse and Vera
The Tavern at Ivy City Smokehouse (Okie Street) holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and is the most reliable meal in Ivy City. The ground floor is a working smokehouse with a fish counter of glossy hot-smoked salmon and bagels. Upstairs the tavern is brick and timber, with a patio and fire pits outside. Order the salmon candy or the five-fish smokehouse board, at $$.
It opens daily from noon and runs late on Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations are taken, and the upstairs tavern and the patio handle larger parties and off-site catering. Michelin-starred Gravitas was seized by DC tax authorities in January 2026 and remains closed, which has left the Tavern carrying the neighbourhood's cooking on its own.
Vera Cocina & Bar (2002 Fenwick Street) is the most interesting kitchen here, Lebanese-Mexican food built on the Lebanese diaspora in Veracruz. Lamb birria, fattoush tostadas and a corn-ice-cream dessert come out of an open kitchen into a cinder-block industrial corner room, and a DJ sets up beside the bar after dark. Prices sit at $$$.
Vera opens Thursday to Sunday only, to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, so dinner here can run on into the night. Reservations are essential at weekends. A separate event space, Sala Sonidos, sits off the main room.
Axe lanes and a cannabis lounge
Kick Axe Throwing & THRōW Social DC (Okie Street) fills 22,000 sq ft of the old Pappas tomato factory with a timber ski-lodge fit-out. Plaid armchairs and antler chandeliers sit under the beams, 12 caged lanes with wooden target boards run along the floor, and a games bar takes the level above. Sessions are coached and sold per person, with corporate and party packages. A 35-minute session is $20; 60 minutes is $29.
It closes Mondays and stays open to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. After 9 p.m. the door is 21 and over. Kick Axe shares the Okie Street block with Other Half, and axe lanes followed by a brewery rooftop is the easy evening here for anyone who does not want a club.
Higher Ground (Okie Street) opened in April 2026 in 21,000 sq ft of the old One Eight Distilling plant, and it was Ivy City's biggest opening of the year. A plate-glass window looks straight into the cannabis flower-growing room. A lounge and cafe area fill the rest, with an outdoor patio that takes food trucks on event days, and the lounge hosts wellness and arts events. Washingtonian picked it as its Best Cannabis Trend, at $$.
This is one of the few places in DC where consumption on site is legal. The door is 21 and over and asks for photo ID and DC medical-cannabis registration, so check your eligibility before you build a plan around it. US federal law still prohibits cannabis, and you cannot take any of it home or onto a plane.
Echostage on Queens Chapel Road
Echostage (Queens Chapel Road) is a short hop north of Ivy City proper, and it is why people cross the city to this industrial edge of town. The building is a plain black warehouse box holding one vast room, with a full-width LED wall, lasers and CO2 jets over a 3,000-capacity floor. DJ Mag voters have repeatedly put it first in North America. November 2026 bookings include Eric Prydz and an ODESZA DJ set.
Tickets run $40 to $80, more for headliners. The floor is general admission, and VIP tables are booked through [email protected]. Entry is 18 and over or 21 and over depending on the show. Security on the door is airport-style.
Getting around without a Metro station
Ivy City has no Metro station. BicycleSPACE Ivy City (Okie Street) hires bikes out of a loading-dock shopfront in the Hecht district, roll-up door up, bikes hung in rows on the wall and a workshop stand in the middle of the floor. From there the Metropolitan Branch Trail and the Arboretum are minutes away.
It won City Paper's Best Bike Shop and runs a community ride programme. It opens daily, noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at weekends. Call ahead if you need several bikes at once.
Where to stay
Ivy City Hotel (New York Avenue NE) is the only hotel in the neighbourhood, a 57-room motor inn in the former Budget Motor Inn, with external walkways around a surface car park. Rooms are simple and cost $60 to $110 a night. Parking is free and private, the front desk is staffed 24 hours, and block bookings are taken.
It stands on a six-lane artery into the city, 5 km from the Capitol, with no Metro stop nearby. Most visitors sleep in NoMa or Union Market, a mile southwest, and come to Ivy City for the evening.
Planning notes
Don Ciccio & Figli opens Saturdays only, Vera runs Thursday to Sunday and Kick Axe closes Mondays, so those three fix the shape of your week. Reserve Vera and the Tavern at Ivy City Smokehouse in advance, phone Republic Restoratives to confirm tour hours, and carry photo ID for Higher Ground and Echostage.
See the Washington guide and the Washington hotel search.
떠나기 전에
Does Ivy City have a Metro station?
No. Ivy City has no Metro station, so most visitors sleep in NoMa or Union Market, a mile southwest, and come in for the evening. BicycleSPACE Ivy City on Okie Street hires bikes daily, and from there the Metropolitan Branch Trail and the National Arboretum are a few minutes' ride.
When can I visit Don Ciccio & Figli?
Saturdays only, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Guided tastings cost $20 to $30, and reservations are strongly advised, though they take walk-ins when there is room. Parking outside the Fairview Avenue unit is free.
Is Gravitas still open in Ivy City?
No. DC tax authorities seized the Michelin-starred restaurant in January 2026 and it is still closed. The Tavern at Ivy City Smokehouse on Okie Street, a Michelin Bib Gourmand, opens daily from noon and is the most reliable meal in the neighbourhood.
Can a visitor use the cannabis lounge at Higher Ground?
Only if you are 21 or over and hold DC medical-cannabis registration, and they check photo ID at the door. Consuming on site is legal in DC, but US federal law still prohibits cannabis, so you cannot take any of it home or onto a plane.
Which Ivy City sights are free?
The Hecht Company Warehouse street frontage and retail arcade, the Benito Los Pasos mural at 1827 West Virginia Ave NE, Mount Olivet Cemetery, and the U.S. National Arboretum, where parking across its 446 acres is free.
Where in Ivy City works for a larger party?
Other Half Brewing on Okie Street has a large taproom, a covered patio, a rooftop and a private event space you can book. The rooftop does not allow dogs and has no wheelchair access. Kick Axe sells coached lane sessions per person, with party packages, and Vera has a separate event space called Sala Sonidos.
