This is the last post in a four-part series covering the photogenic houses on Cliffbourne Pl. NW, between Calvert St. and Biltmore St. I’m sure you’ve seen photos of the set on Flickr, the Washington Post and other local media sites. They look like a complete set, but have completely different histories (as you’ve read). Let’s find out the stories ... Read More »
This is the third post in a four-part series covering the rainbow row of homes on Cliffbourne Pl. NW, between Calvert St. and Biltmore St. It’s a very striking red, which looks great at sunset and it has an amazing wooden front door. Let’s find out what happened in this home … the one at 2511 Cliffbourne Pl. NW. Read More »
This is the second post in a four-part series covering the colorful homes on Cliffbourne Pl. NW, between Calvert St. and Biltmore St. This one is the brightest of the set and it really stands out on a sunny day. Let’s now look into the second home … the one at 2513 Cliffbourne Pl. NW. Read More »
This is the first in a four-part series of posts covering the colorful homes on Cliffbourne Pl. NW, between Calvert St. and Biltmore St. You’ve seen these before, the green, yellow, red and blue homes, perfectly complementing each other. I imagine that I’m not the only one curious about the history of the four houses in this rainbow row of ... Read More »
The front page of the Washington Times reported a big local signing in December of 1902 for the Washington Senators. They had inked the Georgetown shortstop, Charley Moran, to a contract Read More »
Came across is crazy photo on Shorpy. This happened on November 9th, 1938 when two aviators, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie MacDill and Private Joseph G. Gloxner burned to death in the worst aerial tragedy in the history of Washington (until 9/11) after their airplane crashed on a street in Anacostia. They had just taken off from Bolling Field and their plane ... Read More »
May 20th, 1927, Charles Lindbergh takes off from Long Island, heading east in the Spirit of St. Louis and lands in Paris about 33 hours later, completing the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Almost exactly 47 years later, on May 24th, 1976, two supersonic commercial flight are heading west at twice the speed of sound. One from Paris ... Read More »
The corner of 16th and H St. NW wasn’t always dominated by the Hay-Adams hotel. Prior to the hotel being built in 1928, two large and beautiful Victorian homes sat on this corner, occupied by the Hay family and the Adams family (no, not that one). John Hay was the former personal secretary to President Lincoln and Henry Adams was ... Read More »
Here is a great gallery of some Civil War photographs I uncovered at the Library of Congress. It appears that the Treasury Department is in the background of the Sanitary Commission photograph at 15th and F St. NW. Related articles Native Americans at the White House During the Civil War (ghostsofdc.org) Civil War’s 150th stirs a trove of memories (sfgate.com) ... Read More »
Here’s a photo of some kids having fun cooling off in Rock Creek. The photo is from July 28th, 1921 via Shorpy. These kids look like they’re having an awesome time and I’m guessing is one of those D.C. summer scorchers where the thermometer is hovering around 102 degrees. Look at the kid in the middle. He looks totally overwhelmed ... Read More »
Here is a nice “Then and Now” shot of the old Riggs National Bank across from the Department of Treasury. I found this in the Smithsonian’s Flickr feed. The first one is from 1919 and the one below is today’s shot from Google Street View. If you like these photos, why don’t you follow @GhostsofDC on Twitter to get updates? ... Read More »
This is not good. Apparently the Washington Transit Company bus driver was going too fast to take a turn in the rain and this was the result. Does anyone else find it odd (and amusing) that folks are gathered around, kind of milling about. Everyone hold steady for the camera and say “cheeeeeese!” The Washington Transit Company had just started ... Read More »
WOW. This one is awesome. It’s a colorized photograph from 1924 and it shows cars lined up outside the District National Bank, Dupont Circle branch. I’ll need a little help locating exactly where this is. It’s highly likely that this building no longer exists. I can’t quite place it. Read More »
I received an email from a reader saying she learned of Ghosts of DC through this post on Big Bear Cafe. She kindly asked if I would look into the history of her Bloomingdale condo building in, as she knew very little about it (other than old stories from local cabbies). I’m starting to see an increase in email requests ... Read More »
I’m really excited about doing this one and I’m sure there are a few of you out there that are really going to enjoy learning about our favorite spot, Kramerbooks. Since 1976, this place has been a favorite place to find a book, grab a bite, some beer, or have some coffee and chat over dessert. Some of you may ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington