Look at this photo from 1910. It’s amazing. That’s the Executive Office Building on the left and the West Wing on the right … and an airplane landing between them. Claude Grahame-White is about to land his small Farman biplane on West Executive Avenue, right next to the West Wing to pay a quick visit to some top military brass. ... Read More »
In honor of Women’s History Month, Cultural Tourism D.C. put up the first of hopefully many Frances “Fannie” Benjamin Johnston posts on Tumblr. She was a prominent 19th century female photographer and Washington native. Frances was born to wealthy parents and raised in the District in the late 19th century. After spending some time studying in Paris, she returned to the city ... Read More »
The next “Three Things…” post will be about one of the most iconic monument in our city: The Washington Monument. Since the cornerstone was laid on July 4th, 1848 (check out a photo of it under construction), the Monument has seen it’s fair share of history; there isn’t a shortage of events to choose from, but selecting three that you ... Read More »
America was going through some really rough times in 1979, with a gloomy economy, a major oil crisis and the recent hostage situation in Tehran. In the winter of that year, Margaret Thatcher paid her first visit to Washington as the newly elected Prime Minister of Great Britain. This video is apropos of course, given the arrival of current Prime ... Read More »
Here’s a haunting and solemn colorized photo from 1921, much like the Lincoln photo I posted a while back. The Unknown Soldier from World War I had just arrived by ship at the Washington Navy Yard. The body was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on November 11th, 1921. Both former President Woodrow Wilson and current President Harding were present at ... Read More »
I came across so many wonderful old photos of the Smithsonian Castle while poking around different archives online. Here’s a sample of some of the best ones from trolling the Internet. Related articles The Smithsonian Castle … Lazy Saturday Afternoon Photo Share (ghostsofdc.org) The Smithsonian Needs Your Help Identifying Lady Scientists (tinywork.wordpress.com) Read More »
Did you forget to set your clocks forward? Well, the good news is that it will be light out when you leave work now … and, you can start enjoying some outdoor time after your day job. I will be taking my dog for longer walks. This was a good week and I enjoyed starting two new series’, Annie O’Connell ... Read More »
I came across this one on YouTube. This was the first time the President of the United States was videotaped and then broadcast in color. This is the earliest surviving color videotape. It was filmed on May 22nd, 1958 in the WRC-TV studios in Washington (the local NBC affiliate). The video starts off in black and white while Eisenhower’s motorcade ... Read More »
I’m reading a very interesting book about Washington published in 1840 titled “A Picture of Washington.” I just got to the part where it starts talking about the taxes in the city … I have to share these with you because they’re a good window into life in Washington in the middle of the 19th century, and more importantly, before ... Read More »
Wow, these are fascinating. This is the best “Old Ads and Classifieds” post yet. Scanning the Washington Post from February 29th, 1912 (another leap year) I came across these, frozen in time. The first one below is an advertisement that has both the Carpathia and the Lusitania on it. The former being the ship that rescued the survivors of the Titanic ... Read More »
We haven’t done a “This Day in History” post in a while, so here is one from 1955. I found an old ad in the Washington Post for National Airlines. Read More »
Love it. Hate it. It has some of the most confusing terminology for out-of-towners. Inner loop of what? Outer loop? But there’s only one Beltway. Wait, I’m on 495, but also 95, and that’s 295? That’s not confusing. Super GoDC reader, DrCapsFan (if we make t-shirts, he might get the first) suggested doing a little research into the Capital Beltway. This ... Read More »
I haven’t posted a crazy story in a while, so here is one from November 14th, 1893. I found this in the Washington Post. In a spirit of bravado Saturday afternoon, George H. Shorter, a laborer living as 1208 Ninth street southeast, made a wager with several other colored laborers that he could drink a quart of gin with one ... Read More »
I really enjoyed researching the last “Three Things…” post and from the traffic and Twitter buzz, it seemed like a number of you enjoyed reading it. So here’s another one to add to your trivia treasure chest: Farragut Square. You all know it and love it, because this is where you go in the warmer months to partake in the ... Read More »
Today I’m kicking off another new series called “Three Things…” I will do my best to keep these brief and pack in three key points or “ah ha!” moments for the regular and curious GoDC readers. This first one will be about Dulles Airport and I’ll list three things that you (probably) don’t know about it. We already posted twice ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington