I had the pleasure of speaking to a great class at AU last week. One of the students asked if we had ever done a piece about Mad Hatter on Connecticut Ave. We haven’t yet, so this one is for you, Blaire. (By the way, Blaire told me her parents named her after the Blair House … and added an ... Read More »
If you live in Cleveland Park, or have ever seen a movie at the Uptown, you will recognize the photo below. This is the Park and Shop at Connecticut Ave. and Ordway St. It was built in 1930 as one of the country’s oldest strip malls. The development was done by Shannon & Luchs, and at the time was a ... Read More »
This is D.C.’s original statue of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Dupont, installed in 1884. Here you see it – clearly sitting at the center of Dupont Circle. We see the namesake admiral but we don’t see the well-known Dupont Circle fountain. Why did Washingtonians remove Dupont from his circle? The answer is a simple one. People Hated This Statue Here’s ... Read More »
This is a great advertisement from the early 1920s. The Connecticut Avenue Association was promoting retail up and down Connecticut Ave., near Dupont Circle, including the Dupont National Bank. Related articles Car Flattened Near Dupont Circle (ghostsofdc.org) Racked DC: J. Crew Opening This Summer; H & M Coming To Chevy Chase (dc.curbed.com) Market Report: A Day in Town (agrowingseason.wordpress.com) Three ... Read More »
Here’s a tragic story for a Friday. On Tuesday, June 16th, 1925, a family was driving down Connecticut Avenue towards the city and in a split second, veered off the road, through a guard railing and plunged 75 feet off of Klingle Ford Bridge. Henry A. Thayer, chief of the supply division of the U.S. veterans’ bureau, and his daughter ... 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 »
I’m really excited about doing this one and I’m sure there are a few of you out there that are really going to enjoy learning about our favorite spot, Kramerbooks. Since 1976, this place has been a favorite place to find a book, grab a bite, some beer, or have some coffee and chat over dessert. Some of you may ... Read More »
The Washington Hilton was a happenin’ place to see live music apparently, with Hendrix also playing there in ’68. Thanksgiving was the following Thursday, so I imagine a large number of kids were home from college, and what better way to take a break than watch Morrison, Manzarek, Densmore and Krieger? Read More »
Wow, this one is gold. Jimi Hendrix played the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Ave. NW — the same one where Hinkley shot Reagan in 1981. That’s right, the guitar god himself played to 4,000 fans in the hotel’s international ballroom on March 10th, 1968, accompanied by his bandmates, Noel Redding (drums) and Mitch Mitchell (bass). This one might be cooler ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington