Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington

Wow. What amazing detail in this photograph. Click on it to view the larger version (and you’ll probably spend about 15 minutes staring at it). Read More »

This is a terrific old photograph of East Capitol St., before a street was even there. This was from the Library of Congress, and apparently was mislabeled as Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park. This too was taken by William M. Chase. Don’t forget to compare this with the East Capitol shot we posted the other day. Read More »

This the second guest post by GoDC contributor Andrea Pawley. Material for this blog is derived in part from Wartime Washington: The Civil War Letters of Elizabeth Blair Lee edited by Virginia Jeans Laas and published in 1991. Abraham Lincoln died from an assassin’s bullet on April 15, 1865. For a week afterward, the women closest to Mary Lincoln supported her as ... Read More »

What a sweet campaign button from 1864! We dug this up on the Library of Congress’ site. Read More »

What an amazing photograph. It’s a little grainy, but you can make out some of the buildings, including the patent office. Read More »

This is an amazing old photograph from 1866. This shows the interior of the old Library of Congress in the Capitol Building before the current one was constructed. Read More »

This guest post was written by Canden Schwantes and is an excerpt from her book Wicked Georgetown: Scoundrels, Sinners and Spies. William Orton Williams and Walter Gibson “Gip” Peter were cousins and as part of the Peter family were descendents of George Washington’s step-granddaughter. They both grew up at Tudor Place in Georgetown, home of the Peter family from its ... Read More »

Here is a terrific old photograph of the old post office on F St. back during the 1860s. Read More »

What’s up with this invite? Is Abe trying to tip the balance in the favor of his male advisors? Bizarre … two to one ratio? Read More »

This is a first guest post by new GoDC contributor Andrea Pawley, a resident of  Washington, D.C. history. Much of this post is based on Washington Arsenal Explosion: Civil War Disaster in the Capital by Brian Bergin, edited by Erin Bergin Vorheis (The History Press, 2012). Friday, June 17th, 1864, was hot, especially for the women of the Washington Arsenal ... Read More »

I love this. You’ll love this too, I’m sure. It’s a bird’s eye view of Alexandria from the water in 1863. Thank you Library of Congress! Read More »

Below is a great Civil War drawing from 1862. It shows Fort Pennsylvania at Tennallytown, one of the many forts ringing Washington during the Civil War. Read More »

With the massive popularity of our panorama shots from last week, we wanted to add another great series of shot for GoDCers this week. Take a look at these photographs from the Civil War.     Read More »

Here’s a good one to study. This is a view from the Capitol Building looking north, very early during the Civil War. Read More »

Wow, these are awesome. Click on them for greater detail because they are pretty amazing. Sorry I just wasted at least 30 minutes of your time at work! Thank you Library of Congress. UPDATE: If you like these, you will also be fascinated by this photo of the Ebbitt House Hotel in 1889. UPDATE 2: GoDCer Brian over at National ... Read More »