The site of so many wonderful baseball and football memories, Griffith Stadium, had it’s life ended by the brutal swings of a wrecking ball in 1965. The hapless doormat of the American League, the Washington Senators stopped playing in there after the 1961 season, after which, the days were numbered. Howard University was looking to acquire the site for their ... Read More »
This is a guest post by John (from The Lion of Anacostia), cross-posted here. For black newspaper boys holding their street corners throughout downtown Washington, on Thursday January 13, 1870 there was a new paper to hawk, a paper uniquely speaking to their emerging place in the country and city, “The New Era.” We forget Frederick Douglass came up in the streets of 1830′s ... Read More »
This is a guest post by John (from The Lion of Anacostia), cross-posted here. Forget what you’ve heard, or rather haven’t heard or yet read. Frederick Douglass was a Howard Universityman through and through. Douglass was not just a lion, he was a Bison. Douglass raised funds and donated his money to Howard. He received an honorary doctorate from the university. He testified before Congress advocating for the university. While ... Read More »
This is a guest post by John (from The Lion of Anacostia), cross-posted here. Frederick Douglass was a self-made man about town during his years in Washington. He was a frequent guest of the White House the through various Presidential administrations after the Civil War, he served as adviser to both black and progress white Senators and Congress men, he often attended and lectured at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal ... Read More »
Here’s a photograph from 1890 which shows Dr. Daniel H. Riggs of Howard University posing next to his carriage near the Smithsonian. In 1893, the doctor was the defendant in a malpractice lawsuit. The Post reported on the suit on October 13th. A case of interest to physicians and surgeons is that of Harry B. Nichols vs. Drs. George W. ... Read More »
I think you’ll agree that this is some serious history, frozen in time. Both former baseball star Jackie Robinson and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. were among a group of prominent individuals receiving honorary degrees from Howard University in the summer of 1957. This was the 89th commencement held at the university and the Washington Post noted that ... Read More »
The street names don’t always make sense in Columbia Heights, nor do they truly conform to the grid system of Old City (ie, below Boundary Street – now Florida Avenue). Take a look at the map below. Things don’t look right. Kenesaw Ave. is now Irving St. Whitney Ave. is Park Rd. Howard is Newton and Sheridan is Monroe (Lydecker ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington