Washington DC: Congress Heights

When people tell me not to go somewhere but neglect to give me a good reason, I usually end up going there. And so it was that I ended up strolling down Congress Heights, generally considered the poorest neighbourhood in DC. As I strolled down Martin Luther King Avenue, I passed by the sprawling St. Elisabeths Hospital. Built in 1852 as an Insane Asylum, it is now being converted into the new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security. Nobody in DC noticed the irony in this.

St Elizabeths, making way for a new kind of insanity

There are also some intriguingly flashy stores on Martin Luther King Avenue, especially the ones that inhabit older buildings.

It all looks so appetizing, except perhaps the white bread

I also found a caution sign that I have never seen anywhere else. It seemed a bit cruel to me, but I suppose it's for everyone's safety.

I looked carefully, but could not find the Blind Pedestrian