Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington

We dug up this undated photo at the Library of Congress. It appears to be from the late 1930s or early 1940s. The good news, is that the firehouse is still there. Check out the Google Street View below. Read More »

Here is a more recent map of Washington from just before World War II. Read More »

If you lived in D.C. in the 1980s, seeing a police chase screaming down K St., or any other major thoroughfare, was not a rare occurrence. So, out of the thousands of chases mentioned in the newspaper archives, we have selected three to share in our next “Three Things …” post. 1. Rum runners crash into Library of Congress Bootleggers ... Read More »

Here’s a great photo from November 1942. It’s from the Chevy Chase Ice Palace. Read More »

Americans love France, but we hate the French. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word, but we do have a very bizarre relationship with France. It’s kind of unfair, given that they pretty much legitimized the Revolution and helped us actually become a country. And, it goes both ways with the Americans and Allied Forces liberating the French from Nazi ... Read More »

You’re probably not going to find too many alleys where you can go duckpin bowling. This is a shot of a pinsetter at Washington alley in 1943. Read More »

More maps! Below is a great assessment map of Alexandria and Arlington County. Read More »

It’s almost 2013 … 73 years after this photo was taken. Read More »

We’re not quite sure where this is, but maybe some GoDCers recognize the buildings. If you do, please comment below. Read More »

Back from lunch? Check this cool photo out from World War II. This is a great photo of some schoolboys going door to door on what appears to be Ingleside Terrace in Mount Pleasant in May 1942. What do you think? Check out the Google Street View below. It looks like the home in the middle is 1807 Ingleside Terrace. ... Read More »

Here’s a crazy story for you from the 1940s. This was published in the Washington Post on June 4th, 1949. A young Air Force private was grabbed from a ninth-floor ledge of the Willard Hotel yesterday by three policemen who had spent 25 minutes persuading him from plunging to death. Paul J McDuff, 19, of Bolling Air Force Base, was ... Read More »

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 »

What a great old advertisement for Dorchester House, the giant apartment building at 16th and Kalorama. The building openeing in 1941 and one of its early residents was our 35th President, John F. Kennedy, then a 24-year-old, living with his sister Kathleen. Gotta love this quote: “… a magnificent residential colony or superior quality.” This is such an iconic building ... Read More »

We’re sharing a ton of great old photos this week and this is a great moment, frozen in time from 1943. It’s a shot of a soldier, sitting near a woman posing for a photograph. If you look closer at the man, it appears that he’s eyeing the woman. Read More »

This is a guest post by GoDCer Marty from Chevy Chase, MD. Much like the rest of us, he is nervously excited and cautiously optimistic about our team. When you read this post, you’ll know why. By any measure, this has been a dream season for the Washington Nationals. They appear almost certain to bring post-season baseball to the nation’s ... Read More »