Here’s a great “beach babes” photo from 1923. A little background on this group of women. This is an article published in the Washington Post on March 4th, 1923. Whatever else you may remember or forget after seeing that phantasmagoria known as “Good Morning, Dearie,” it is dollars to little green apples that you will still have a vivid impression ... Read More »
Here’s a weird image from the early archives of WMATA. It depicts “Halloween In Washington” but clearly stretches the bounds of reality — and Metro’s rules. Let’s face it… there’s no way a guy riding a giraffe could ever board a Metro train. We really don’t know much about this image. It was included among dozens of unlabeled pages of ... Read More »
The final regular season game of the 2012 regular season was a little bittersweet. Sure, Teddy finally won a president’s race (with some timely assistance from a faux Phillie Phanatic) and the Nationals chalked up the most wins of any team in Major League Baseball with a 5-1 victory over the loathsome Phillies. A crowd of more than 37,000 gave ... Read More »
GoDCer Ben sent along a great photo of the Washington Post baseball scoreboard circa 1912 (the same year the Titanic sank). It’s remarkable how this low-tech scoreboard resembles our current day ESPN Gameday and MLB.tv. Read More »
This post is a form of catharsis as I’m still recovering from the emotional trauma of Friday night. Sitting in left field (aka, Nats Town), the image of the Cardinals sprinting to the mound from their dugout is seared in my brain. One strike. One f*cking strike dude! Ugh … #FML. I now know what it’s like to be a ... Read More »
Happy belated Columbus Day! D.C. has its own Christopher Columbus memorial prominently positioned in front of Union Station. Here’s a fascinating set of images from the Washington Times on April 29, 1912 – as workers move a veiled statue of Columbus into place. Text from the article: Throngs of people at all hours of the day, and up until 12 ... Read More »
This is the best contribution thus far by a member of the GoDC community. This is from Tom H. in Bethesda, and when I first saw it, I was blown away at how professional it looked. Thanks Tom! The video is a fascinating history of the gun barrel fence in Georgetown, made from 364 reclaimed Washington Navy Yard muskets. To ... Read More »
Who tossed Washington’s first pizza pie? Was it “jumbo”? Deep-dish? Square? Turns out, these are tough questions to answer. Several attempts at D.C. historical pizza research have been made (some incorrectly) in recent years. Here we’ll introduce the District’s pizza pioneers and tell you about their claims to be the first — rightly and wrongly. The Post tackled these questions in ... Read More »
About 5,500 weekends ago, Washingtonians woke up and lazily flipped through their newspapers. It was Sunday, November, 11, 1906 and something bold and new was described for the first time in The Post: New Portmanteau Words. Have you received any invitations to “brunch”? [...] “Brunch” is the latest Park Lane for a midday refection that includes breakfast and lunch. And ... Read More »
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to hit up the food trucks at Farragut today. I can’t get enough of that chicken on pita. Yum. Here’s a guy working his cart back in 1928 … the good old days, just before the economy fell off a cliff. See you at the food trucks! Related articles Email From a ... Read More »
It has been ridiculously hot out … and we’re having crazy thunderstorms at night to boot. Well, if you think this is bad, try living in the area in 1980. On July 16th, 1980, the city hit a record heat index, which has yet to be eclipsed, of 122! That is hot. That is like … Africa hot! Tarzan couldn’t ... Read More »
In 1982, the United States Post Office launched a new system dubbed E-COM (Electronic Computer-Originated Mail) as an attempt to adopt the nascent technology of electronic mail. Almost comical by today’s standard, but probably thought of as cutting edge at the time, a company would compose a letter on their internal computer system (certified to be compatible with the USPS ... Read More »
Ahh, I miss the 80s. Don’t you? Related articles 1987 DC20 Sunday Matinee Theatre Opening (ghostsofdc.org) WUSA Sign-On 1988 (ghostsofdc.org) If Walls Could Talk: Chateau Bonaparte on K Street (ghostsofdc.org) Read More »
If you couldn’t tell, today I’m feeling a little nostalgic about 1980s’ television. If you lived in the area back in the 80s, you’ll remember this. It’s the Sunday matinée opening for DC20 and the movie is Captain Blood (1935) with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Check out the movie trailer on YouTube. Related articles WUSA Sign-On 1988 (ghostsofdc.org) ... Read More »
If you’re younger than about 25, you probably don’t know this, but not all television stations were 24 hours a day. Back in 1988, WUSA was one of those stations, and every morning when they would being broadcasting, this is what played to kick off the day. If you don’t remember television sign-ons and sign-offs, here is an explanation from ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington