Our History

District Hardware had humble beginnings, opened by Stanley Conway, a British Immigrant and World War II veteran, in 1971. Stanley immigrated with his wife and children to the Washington area in the late 1950s and for years held various jobs working for other people, including time as a traveling vacuum salesman. The day he opened his own store was a milestone, attributed to his hard work and dedication to the American Dream.

Stanley was a teenager during the London evacuations and the hardships he endured being moved around host family convinced him at an early age to falsify his records and join the military, not an uncommon occurrence in those days. Prior to joining the Royal Artillery he worked on the Beaufighter bomber at Bristol Aeroplane as a cockpit fitter, a skilled job using hand tools and precision equipment. His talents and experience at Bristol led to his deployment at the Royal Artillery where his mechanical and technical abilities were put to good use. Later, Stanley served as a communications officer in the British Army Royal Artillery during WWII. He participated in the campaign against Rommel in North Africa and was then sent to Normandy with the British forces on D-Day. His days with Bristol Aircraft and the Royal Artillery were formative, and the mechanical knowledge he gained during this time would eventually lead him to open the original hardware store on 22nd and P St.

Our first location, a small store on 22nd and P Street, was opened during a time when local neighborhood hardware stores were more than just hardware stores. These weren't the big box chains with scarce dis-interested help that dot the suburbs of the modern age. These were staples of the community, places where you went for service as frequently as you went for the purchase of materials. The local neighborhood stores of yesteryear were places that had a little bit of everything, for every person and were integral members of the community. As was common in those days, the store carried more than just nuts, bolts and hammers and with requests from customers Stanley began selling the Hercules 3-speed bicycle (sometimes called an "English racer") which, at the time, was a Raleigh built brand. As people began riding more frequently the need for a well stocked and full service bicycle shop grew, and where better than a place full of handy people with access to tools, parts. Our unique business perspective derived from our British heritage, and with a dedication to quality, had successfully been combined with classic "Yankee" ingenuity and drive. The community need we saw from combining a bike shop with hardware necessitated our move to our last location, two blocks up the street. You might even remember our old store, on the corner of 20th and P.

We’ve had an exciting run these past forty years and have had some pretty impressive milestones. Not only are we the only hardware store and bike shop, but we’re also the oldest, continually owned bike shop in the district. We’ve helped establish brands that are staples in the bike industry, including Cannondale. While our partnership with Cannondale may have ended, we were there before they were a major bicycle brand, being the first shop in DC to support the company’s foray into bicycles in the early 1980s. We also helped test the original Kryptonite locks in the 1970s, a partnership we’ve maintained to this day.

Alas, Stanley Conway passed away in 2005, however, the business remains in the capable hands of the family including some of his grandchildren. While some things have changed since Stanley opened up shop in '71, we remain a friendly group of handy, helpful and community-minded people. Stanley fostered a service-focused mentality and we are more dedicated than ever to help you with your needs, no matter what. Don't see what you want? No problem! Let one of our associates know what you're looking for and we'll get you squared away. To this day we’re dedicated to providing a wide array of home, hardware, and bike products that are geared towards city life. We're your neighbors, and we're here to help.