"They Lift Our Spirits" One U Street Business Refused to Fade Away

Fresh flowers sit in colorful rows near the entrance of Lee's Flower and Card Shop while customers drift in from U Street carrying coffee cups, shopping bags and lunch orders. Outside, newer apartment buildings rise above a stretch of road that once served as the heartbeat of Black Washington.

The business has operated from 1026 U Street NW since 1968 and remains one of the most recognizable storefronts in the neighborhood, according to Lee's Flower and Card Shop.

Floral designers move quickly between coolers and worktables. One arrangement is headed to a wedding. Another is being prepared for a funeral. A third waits near the register for a customer expected later in the afternoon.

Older photographs hanging on the walls tell part of the story. They show blocks filled with locally owned businesses, neighborhood regulars and familiar faces who helped define the area known as Black Broadway.

Many of those storefronts have disappeared.

Lee's remained in place through the aftermath of the 1968 unrest following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., years of economic uncertainty and lengthy Metro construction that disrupted business activity throughout the area.

Visitors often notice the contrast immediately.

New restaurants occupy buildings that once housed other businesses. Luxury apartments stand where longtime residents remember a very different part of the city. Yet customers still walk through the same flower shop doorway that has welcomed generations of Washington residents.

Sisters Stacie Lee Banks and Kristie Lee Jones now guide daily operations. Younger relatives are learning the trade while helping manage orders, deliveries and customer relationships built over many years.

Customer habits have changed, but personal service remains part of the store's identity. Some people stop in for flowers while others arrive with stories about weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and loved ones they have lost.

Finding that kind of familiarity has become harder in rapidly changing urban neighborhoods.

Flowers and greeting cards may fill the shelves, but the shop also preserves memories of the people, traditions and community connections that helped shape U Street long before cranes and construction crews appeared on the skyline.

While new projects continue altering the landscape, Lee's Flower and Card Shop offers something that cannot be replicated through development plans or construction budgets. It offers continuity.