Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington

Here is a great and sharp photo of the Library of Congress in the early 1900s. 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 »

Happy Sunday. Below is an amazing photograph, taken around 1880 from the top of the U.S. Capitol. The view is southeast, down Pennsylvania Ave., toward the Anacostia River. It includes a block of five homes at 1st and A St. SE, built around 1800 and razed in 1887 to build the Library of Congress. Thanks to the Library of Congress ... Read More »

We came across this photo at the Library of Congress (how meta). Click on it for greater detail. Read More »

If you know who POTUS 25 is off the top of your head, congratulations. You are an über history geek. Enjoy the Libary of Congress photos below. Read More »

I love the Library of Congress. Who doesn’t? It has to be one of the most, if not the most ornate building in the city. If you haven’t been inside, you need to, because it’s beautiful and extremely impressive … almost like you’re in Europe. [gigya src="http://embed.5min.com/517229561/" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="opaque" width="560" height="345"] I also wanted to share with you ... Read More »

I came across so many wonderful old photos of the Smithsonian Castle while poking around different archives online. Here’s a sample of some of the best ones from trolling the Internet. Related articles The Smithsonian Castle … Lazy Saturday Afternoon Photo Share (ghostsofdc.org) The Smithsonian Needs Your Help Identifying Lady Scientists (tinywork.wordpress.com) Read More »

The weather has been awesome lately, and frankly, this has been a really easy winter. Well, that doesn’t mean it can’t snow this late in the winter or even in early spring. Early on during World War II, in 1942, Washington was getting ready for spring and the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival (watch a 1944 video of the festival). Then, ... Read More »

This is a man who needs no introduction. Babe Ruth was the biggest celebrity in America during the 1920s. On December 7th, 1921, he was visiting Washington to stop by and say hello to President Harding. Below is a photo of him exiting the West Wing (check out some old photos from the White House Historical Association). Thank you Library of ... Read More »

Here is a great gallery of some Civil War photographs I uncovered at the Library of Congress. It appears that the Treasury Department is in the background of the Sanitary Commission photograph at 15th and F St. NW. Related articles Native Americans at the White House During the Civil War (ghostsofdc.org) Civil War’s 150th stirs a trove of memories (sfgate.com) ... Read More »

Here’s a cool old photograph I found sifting through the Library of Congress archives. I find this one amusing: You wouldn’t have your child a jay walker. Don’t be one yourself. Still very applicable today. This city has an epidemic of jaywalking (on occasion I’m included in this group). Related articles Library of Congress: Oldest Federal Cultural Institution in America ... Read More »

Chalk this up to our incredible Library of Congress. A silent film by Thomas Edison, shot on March 4th, 1901 at the Capitol. This one is quite blurry, but this is over a hundred years ago. It’s pretty amazing and even older than the last one I posted of Teddy Roosevelt. Thank you Library of Congress. Read More »

Okay, it turns out it’s not exactly easy to crank out two or three posts each day. So far, I’m averaging three posts daily and maybe one or two on Saturday and Sunday. Usually one of the posts is a popular one with a fair bit of traffic (typically the morning post) and the other two range between average and ... Read More »

Great old photo from the Library of Congress. It doesn’t have an exact date on it, but it says it was created somewhere between 1909 and 1940 and gifted to the Library of Congress in 1947 by Herbert French … Fascinating image. Related articles Rep. Joe Baca: Native American Heritage Month – a Time to Honor the Contributions of Our Nation’s ... Read More »

There’s a strong element of sadness watching this video. A burning city, military occupation … what essentially was complete chaos in the city from April 4th to April 8th, 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Economically it seriously devastated the corridors of 14th St NW, 7th St NW and H St NW. It has only been in ... Read More »