Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington

Look how many large tracts of land there were in Rock Creek Park, back in the early 20th century. The map is oriented looking west. Read More »

On Friday, July 3rd, 1902, Teddy Roosevelt went for a hike in Rock Creek Park with General Leonard Wood and his entourage. The President’s love for Rock Creek was well known, as he spent countless hours wandering the nature sanctuary in the middle of Washington. While on his stroll, he noticed that his prized ring had slipped off his finger and ... Read More »

Ghost Dog went on another walk this past weekend to seek out three more stories for the GoDC community. This time, she passed through Adams Morgan, en route to the Duke Ellington Bridge (formerly known as the Calvert Street Bridge). It was named in honor of Washington’s native son in 1974, after Ellington’s death. Construction on the bridge began in ... Read More »

Last week we posted a detailed topographical map of Rock Creek Park from 1866. There were some great comments on it, including GoDCer Elizabeth’s observation that the map was entitled “Location for a Public Park & Site for Presidential Mansion” … intriguing. Another GoDCer, Carlton from Glover Park History, did some digging and came up with the Annual Reports of the ... Read More »

This is a beautiful topographical map of the area that would become Rock Creek Park. The map was done in 1866 in compliance with a Senate Resolution of July 18th, 1866. Read More »

A heat wave in 1926 was unbearable and some folks took to the cooler confines of Rock Creek for some respite. Below is a photo (probably staged) of three Washingtonians attempting to escape the brutal D.C. summer. Read More »

Now, I will quickly caveat this as being unconfirmed, but I am merely surfacing an interesting old story from the Baltimore Sun. This was printed on May 13th, 1912. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN–Sir: Sometime during the latter part of Roosevelt’s administration I remember reading in some of the daily papers a supposedly authentic account of “T. R.’s” riding ... Read More »

We are a great nation and Americans in the 1880s were proud of their rapidly growing and dominant country. But how can you truly be a great nation without a national zoo to show off all the wonderful creatures that roam your lands, as well as those of foreign lands? Not only that, how will you help preserve the species ... Read More »

Secretary of the Treasury Franklin MacVeagh was a man that appreciated beauty and the aesthetics of architecture. He was also a clear supporter of urban planning with an eye towards maintaining or enhancing the appeal of a city. Here’s an article I came across in the Washington Post exactly one hundred years ago today … April 6th, 1912. Efforts to ... Read More »

I came across a sad and shocking article in the Washington Post from Saturday, July 20th, 1946. Three men jumped to their deaths off of three bridges in Washington. On Thursday, Samuel Hall, a Pullman porter living at 1327 T St. NW, jumped to his death off the 11th Street Bridge into the Anacotia River. He had been in a ... Read More »

Love it. Hate it. It has some of the most confusing terminology for out-of-towners. Inner loop of what? Outer loop? But there’s only one Beltway. Wait, I’m on 495, but also 95, and that’s 295? That’s not confusing. Super GoDC reader, DrCapsFan (if we make t-shirts, he might get the first) suggested doing a little research into the Capital Beltway. This ... 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 »

Here’s a photo of some kids having fun cooling off in Rock Creek. The photo is from July 28th, 1921 via Shorpy. These kids look like they’re having an awesome time and I’m guessing is one of those D.C. summer scorchers where the thermometer is hovering around 102 degrees. Look at the kid in the middle. He looks totally overwhelmed ... Read More »

If you’ve spent any time in Rock Creek Park, you have seen or crossed over this bridge. Below is a little history on it from a plan documenting the structure in 1995. And to the right is a photo I found of Lansing H. Beach, the man that was in charge of the design and construction of the bridge … ... Read More »