Murder Bay

Service Description

Did you know that pristine Federal Triangle was once a rather disreputable area known as Murder Bay? An unpleasant, unsanitary, and overcrowded neighborhood situated along the Washington City Canal, it was home to more than 100 brothels, many infamously associated with a Civil War general, and Marble Alley, two blocks of bordellos servicing a more upscale crowd. Saloons and gambling dens also dotted Murder Bay, providing entertainment for some of Washington, DC's most impoverished citizens, Civil War veterans, and formerly enslaved people. Muggings and robberies were rampant, and murder wasn't an unusual occurrence. On this tour, you will explore houses that "were for the most part mean" and the "thieves and unprincipled men and women, as ready to cut a throat as pick a pocket, who flourished and walked the streets in certain sections in open daylight, while at night frequenting the haunts of vice and selecting their victims from among the unsophisticated without fear of law or justice."

Contact Details

• 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC, USA