The massive structure at 2480 16th St. NW dominates the Kalorama block across from Meridian Hill Park. Most D.C. history nerds know that John F. Kennedy lived their with his his sister Kathleen from October 1941 to January 1942, sharing apartment 542 (some sources say apartment 502). The building has a rich history ever since it opened in 1941, just ... Read More »
The “Three Things…” post about Cannon was pretty popular, so we’re going to continue our Hill-oriented posts with another one on the Longworth House Office Building. We suspect that the building houses and equal to possibly larger number of GoDCers (we’ll see with our traffic stats). 1. Elevator plummets five stories with Congressman’s daughter inside Absolutely terrifying. How are those ... Read More »
Taking a look at our web analytics, we see that we are reasonably popular among those of you working on the Hill (with a large spike during August recess – not a lot to do then other than surf the Web). So, to pique your interest and see if we can write our most emailed article by those of you ... Read More »
Life was pretty good for the young women in this photo. From left to right we have Peggy Walsh, Clytie Collier and Ethel Barrymore Colt (i.e., Drew Barrymore’s cousin, once removed). These young women were living the good life during the summer of 1926. Peggy Walsh Peggy was born in 1909 to Edward, a successful broker, and Margaret Walsh. By ... Read More »
A great new site launched today and the GoDC community is going to love this one. It’s called Bigwig Digs, put together by the folks at Urban Turf. This is a cool site, not only for the obvious stars in their lineup — Richard Nixon, Duke Ellington and Bob Dole — but more so for the lesser known, untold stories ... Read More »
We love the 9:30 Club, and we’re pretty sure most GoDCers do as well. How many concerts, big and small, have you seen there? The old venue at 930 F St. NW and the current one at 815 V St. NW have played such an integral role in the music history of this city that n conversation about the cultural ... Read More »
Exactly one year ago today, one of the most spectacular buildings in Washington was badly damaged by the earthquake that shook our city. So much so, that the repairs are going to cost millions of dollars and keep it under scaffolding for several years. If you love this building like we do, consider donating a few bucks to help restore ... Read More »
It’s been a while since our last “Three Things…” post, so we queried the Twitterverse for GoDC suggestions on our next one. DrCapsFan, an old school GoDCer (i.e, a follower since week two) threw out a great suggestion to focus on Cleveland Park’s Uptown Theater, seconded by another frequent tweeter, stephaniekays (and big Nats fan). So that seals it … the ... Read More »
This is one of the most popular weekend spots in the city. Who doesn’t love to wander through the aisles of Eastern Market and take in the sights, sounds and smells of the old market? And to think that they wanted to knock this beautiful building down in the 1960s to replace it with some crappy suburban-style grocery store. The ... Read More »
We’re on a roll with these “Three Things…” posts, so why not crank out another one. This time, we’re going to focus on The Westchester at 4000 Cathedral Ave. NW. Christy, The Westchester’s resident ambassador for GoDC sent in the suggestion and, after a little digging in the archives, it appears that the building has some interesting tales to share. ... Read More »
In my call for suggestions last week, GoDCer Rych emailed a request to look into the last fire horses for the District fire department. John Kelly did a piece a few years back in the Post which is an excellent read. To put a true Ghosts of DC spin on Rych’s story idea, we’re going to do a “Three Things…” ... Read More »
I came across an article in the Washington Times about three giants of the Washington police force … and I mean real “giants,” as in super tall cops. Well, super tall by standards back in 1903, not Gheorghe Muresan. Though these men do not eclipse GoDC favorite, Officer Sprinkle, our next “Three Things…” post will highlight these 20th century “giants.” ... Read More »
GoDCer and long-distance reader Ben sent in a request to do a little digging on local favorite Old Ebbitt Grill. The restaurant has a great story, deeply tied to the history of our city, dating back to 1856. You’re just as likely to run into a tourist from Texas, a sports celebrity, a local from somewhere uptown or some politico ... Read More »
Tragedy! I was tipped off by DCist that the Corcoran Gallery might be leaving the District for Alexandria?! Wow, that would be bad. Say it ain’t so. And who is in the market to buy a big 115-year-old art gallery? What’s the market price anyway … $50 million? Hey, the White House is apparently estimated at $110 million. Well, the good ... Read More »
The popular “Three Things…” post about Dulles Airport prompted me to give equal treatment to our other local, older and much more convenient airport: National Airport (not Reagan National Airport, thank you very much). Actually, the airport was once known as the National Airport at Gravelly Point. Maybe we should change the name to George Washington National Airport (Reagan made ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington