The nation’s capital is a bit of a microcosm for the changes we’re seeing in neighborhoods and communities across the country. A great NPR story this morning, “From Riots to Revival,” highlights the rebirth of DC’s U Street neighborhood in the 40 years since the MLK riots.

It is a story of the uneasy balance between revival and gentrification that echoes across the nation as American looks back on the progress and obstacles we see on the 40th Anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. U Street was once a center of middle-class African-American culture in DC, anchored by shops, theaters and thriving families. After the riots, though, U Street fell on very hard times. Now, condo towers and new development are threatening to displace longtime residents.

The nonprofit Cultural Tourism DC describes the neighborhood this way:

By the early 20th century, the area was the nerve center of the city’s black community, home to businesses and places of entertainment, and the major social institutions of black Washington. Until 1920, when Harlem surpassed it, it was the largest urban African American community in the nation. All the great entertainers played at its lively theaters and clubs. The old timers say that U Street was so grand that to go there, “you had to wear a tie.” Duke Ellington is one of many national figures to call this neighborhood home.

Today, with a new subway stop, a resurgence of nightclubs, and the renovation of many of its historic buildings underway, the neighborhood is seeing a renaissance.

A renaissance is in the eye of the beholder. For a nuanced view of what the new gentrification means for residents of U Street, check out this 2006 Washington Post story, “U Turn.”

And, just because this place has the best half-smokes and chocolate shakes in the city, here is a photo the Mayors of Washington and Seattle standing outside of beloved U Street landmark Ben’s Chili Bowl.