This is an odd scene, and one you would not see today. Below you’ll see a photo of Lafayette Square, taken from the Old Executive Office Building. The gates you see swung open are to West Executive Dr. (i.e., not a place you’ll ever find yourself today). Thanks to the Smithsonian for having an incredible array of photos available on ... Read More »
Take a look at the crowd in front of the White House on Election Night 1920. The elation is palpable as the crowd exudes utter joy and relief that eight years of Woodrow Wilson are over and change has come to Washington in the shape of Warren G. Harding. It was a landslide victory for Harding-Coolidge ticket over James M. ... Read More »
Meet John McCubbin, White House police officer in 1922, recently promoted to head the force. Yes, he looks a little stiff. He was born in Virginia to a Scottish father and English mother. His wife, Hattie, was from Maryland, and together they had two daughters, Pauline and Bessie. According to the 1920 (and 1930) U.S. Census, the family was living ... Read More »
This picture speaks for itself. This little girl is waiting on the White House steps to take a photo with President Harding. Read More »
Okay, here is a headline that caught my attention: “Ex-White House Policeman Indicted as Slayer of Wife.” This is an article from August 3rd, 1943. Random fact: the day before, PT-109, commanded by JFK, was rammed and sunk. Kennedy saved his crew and was a hero. Back to the article … Jeffries D. Henry, 35, discharged White House policeman, was ... Read More »
That’s a pretty good attention grabbing headline from the Washington Post. And I think this is appropriate, given the current media focus on the White House’s home brewed beer. There was even an official response by the White House regarding the current beer recipe as well as a Wikipedia page. This one was published on September 30th, 1934 about claims ... Read More »
In September of 1960, the U.S. and Japan were celebrating 100 years of diplomatic relations. Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko traveled to Washington at the end of the month to celebrate the occasion with an official state visit. An amusing article was published in the Washington Post on September 28th of that year, detailing the state dinner at the ... Read More »
This is a great one to kick off our new Ghosts of DC design. This photograph shows a group of White House photographers from the press pool, standing on the South Lawn back in 1918. Read More »
This is pretty interesting. Check out this footage of President Wilson at the White House. Related articles Origins of the Political Ad: Woodrow Wilson’s 1912 Campaign Film (pbs.org) Video: Wilson, Harding and a Nation Pay Respect to the Unknown Soldier (1921) (ghostsofdc.org) Woodrow Wilson’s 1912 Presidential Campaign Video (uneditedpolitics.com) Read More »
This article that we came across in the Washington Post is probably something we would never see today. I’m pretty sure Bo Obama is pretty locked down and confined to the White House grounds. This was not the case for the Roosevelt dog in 1909. This article from February 6th of that year tells the story. There was consternation at ... Read More »
This is a cool drawing that we found in the Library of Congress’ archives. It’s centered on the White House, showing the surrounding area around the 1850s (done in 1984). The bottom left side would be the Ellipse today and the top right is Lafayette Park. Related articles From a GoDCer: A Family Connection to a Tragic Suicide (ghostsofdc.org) ... 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 »
You know how bad it sucks to accidentally lock yourself out of your house. How about when you’re locked in and your home is the White House? Well, that actually happened to President Eisenhower. Here is an amusing article from the Baltimore Sun on August 2nd, 1958. Washington, Aug. 1 (AP)–A 19-year-old blonde from Texas padlocked the White House gate ... Read More »
How tragic is this? On June 15th, 1966, President Johnson‘s beagle was accidentally run over by the White House limousine in the driveway of the mansion. Ugh, that’s terrible. Here’s the report in the Washington Post the following day. The dog, according to the President’s deputy press secretary, Robert H. Fleming, was chasing a squirrel, ran between the front and ... 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 »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington