As Mrs. Ghost went Christmas shopping this past weekend, I decided to go for a walk to explore the streets of Georgetown. The part of town most tourists think of when Washington history is mentioned, Georgetown is home to innumerable notable people and some regular folk as well. This installment of “Three Things…” will highlight the homes of three notable ... Read More »
Wow. This one is cool. We found this digging through the National Archives. Amazing. This is the letter John F. Kennedy sent on Inauguration Day 1961 (watch his amazing inauguration address), nominating his Cabinet. Read More »
This is great old film footage of John F Kennedy in the Oval Office. The narration is in German (I believe – correct me if I’m wrong). Related articles Six Nazi Saboteurs Executed in Washington (ghostsofdc.org) White House South Lawn Helicopter Landing Tests (1957) (ghostsofdc.org) Senator John F. Kennedy Outtakes (ghostsofdc.org) Read More »
On November 27th, 1962, 361 days before Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, the Prime Minister of the Somali Republic, Dr. Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, had an official state visit to the White House. We were able to dig up this obscure film footage on YouTube (the Internet is amazing), which features the visit and ceremony on the South Lawn. Below is the ... Read More »
If you read this piece in the Washington Post on Wednesday morning, November 20th, 1963, you probably didn’t think much of it. President Kennedy was making a trip to Texas, the Vice President’s home state. The White House explicitly stated that the event was nonpolitical, but without a doubt, there were some political undertones for this trip. It was time ... Read More »
I received the following email the other day from a GoDCers up near AU Park and Spring Valley. Hello, I love your website. Thank you for researching DC history! I grew up in AU Park — my parents moved into their house the day President Kennedy was shot. The house 2 doors down from my parents’ house was recenly featured ... Read More »
The new Air Force One, and the first jet in service for the president, set a new record in 1963. The Soviets claimed that the United States did not have any aircraft that could fly non-stop from Washington to Moscow. Not only did the Air Force have such an aircraft, it happened to be the president’s official transport. On May ... Read More »
Dailymotion has a bunch of great five minute history videos of D.C. Here’s one that I think you’ll like about the Kennedy Center. [gigya src="http://embed.5min.com/517229558/" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="opaque" width="560" height="345"] Sorry for the late post this morning. I might be slacking a little bit this week because I’m traveling and I didn’t get the chance to finish any posts ... Read More »
Here’s an interesting video I came across on YouTube. I’m not quite sure what year this is from, but I’m guessing it’s somewhere in the mid-1950s. It’s fascinating to watch the former Senator and President messing up on camera. Related articles Decapitated by the Hangman’s Rope (ghostsofdc.org) Calvin Coolidge, Vermont Native and Our 30th President (ghostsofdc.org) If Walls Could Talk: ... Read More »
One of the most powerful and important inaugural addresses of all time, this is something worth watching in its entirety. The whole speech is below if you’d like to read it. This is a truly amazing and powerful speech. If you want to skip to the famous quote, start watching at 13:45. The full text of the speech is below ... Read More »
50 years ago today, on January 5th, 1962, Jackie Kennedy was named the best dressed woman in the world for the second year in a row. I’m sure this is not shocking to you, given her status at the time. Read More »
The country was in mourning, having just lost our President a few weeks earlier in Dallas. This is a pretty somber, powerful and moving video of the Kennedy family leaving the White House and moving into their new Georgetown home at 3038 N St NW. There’s another shot of Jackie visiting JFK’s grave in Arlington Cemetery. Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington