The Washington Times has a great article here about how the H Street corridor in Washington, DC near Gallaudet University is now a hot spot for deaf friendly bars, restaurants, and clubs. As much as 10 percent of any given establishments’ revenue comes from deaf patrons from the area.
The amazing thing is that this has taken place during a development boom on the H Street corridor; many new businesses have opened in the last five years. And since they opened during a time where there are many deaf patrons causes them to evolve and readjust their business practices better than a long-standing establishment might.
What this leads me to wonder is if there are similar success stories in other cities. Austin, New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Fremont… all deaf hot spots (among others). Businesses usually adapt quickly to deaf clientele, but has an entire street done so in other cities?
My own experience on H Street was very positive. I can confirm that what the article says is true, that businesses there really do try to cater to the deaf patrons. There’s another dimension that the article misses: H street is probably the one place in the U.S. where you can go to any bar you wish on one street, on almost every night, and there are likely deaf people there! This fact alone is more interesting to deaf people than the fact that businesses are adapting to them.
It must feel a little like what it was in Martha’s Vineyard, in 1854, being able to walk up to almost anyone and use your natural language of sign language. A little piece of verdant Martha’s Vineyard transplanted into the concrete jungle of Northeast DC.
