Washington in the 90s

WETA TV 26 takes viewers on a journey through a time not long ago, but which now seems a world away. Washington in the 90s recounts the major events, people and places of a decade in which the District of Columbia transitioned from a city of crisis, to a city of opportunity.

The nation's capital screeched to a halt when the so-called "Blizzard of '96" dumped over 17 inches of snow on Washington, January 6-8, 1996. Strange sights -- like cross country skiers on city streets -- abounded as Washingtonians dug out.

In January 1990, Mayor Marion Barry was arrested in an FBI sting operation.

Beginning in the 1980s, refugees from war torn Central American countries began settling in D.C.'s Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods. Language and cultural barriers created tensions with the law enforcement. On May 5, 1991, these tensions boiled over into riots after a police officer shot a Salvadorean man. As Tom Sherwood called it, the riots were a "grow-up moment for the city."

Facing competition from new venues like the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club moved into a much larger space on V Street in 1996. The revamped club opened with two sold-out shows headlined by the Smashing Pumpkins.