On election night 2014, the Capitol Hill neighborhood was a subdued, quiet place.  

Republicans were ecstatic, of course, and celebrated their House and Senate gains at Union Station and Republican National Committee headquarters. But outside such political party-time destinations, Capitol Hill was very much like the small town many people describe it as — half-asleep on an Autumn Tuesday night.  

Eastern Market’s North Hall, frequently a gathering place for political fundraisers, was empty at 10 p.m. A homeless man in a wheelchair, covered in blankets, sat outside its side entrance. Across the street at Tunnicliff’s Tavern, one of the city’s oldest pubs, a cozy, medium-sized crowd milled around in conversation, some of it lightly about politics, most of it centered on sports. (The Washington Wizards beat the New York Knicks in New York.)  

At Boundary Road on H Street Northeast, a mostly bar-seated crowd enjoyed the house special: a shot of Old Overholt rye and a can of National Bohemian beer for six dollars upon showing one’s “I Voted, Yo Vote” sticker. Boundary Road mercifully spares its patrons from television viewing. No one, even those with “I Voted, Yo Vote” stickers seemed to miss it, although everyone was politely discussing the returns among musings about the newfound popularity of rye and whether the new restaurant down the street, Driftwood, was worth a visit.  

On Barracks Row, the victory party at Molly Malone’s for new Ward 6 councilmember-elect Charles Allen was breaking up by 10:30 p.m. Not much else was going on up and down Eighth Street Southeast. Most restaurants had stopped serving long ago. Two Marines walked up to Chatt’s Liquors, saw it was closed, and moved on in search of an open establishment.  

Just another Tuesday night of wild abandon.  

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