The driver of this car did and ended up in the Tidal Basin. The car made it out but two men did not. A third, the driver did. Below is a story from the Washington Post about the wreck. Essige Hammen, 50 years old, 477 C street southwest, was identified last night at the morgue as the second victim of ... Read More »
Here is a great old photograph of East Potomac Park and Hains Point (which we learned about yesterday). This was taken by an airplane (obviously) from the photo section of Bolling Field. You can clearly see the golf course, the tidal basin, Washington Monument and Fort McNair on the right. If you squint, you can see the tiny White House ... Read More »
Hains point is named for Peter Conover Hains. That was easy. You would know that if you checked Wikipedia, so I’m not really adding any value with this post. But if you go down there and enjoy the park, you should at least know a little about its namesake. So who was Hains? He was a prominent Major General in ... Read More »
I’m sorry, but I’m being very liberal with the word “beauties.” Yeesh. Nevertheless, they look like they’re having a great time hanging out at the old Tidal Basin bathing beach. That would be an absolutely nasty place to swim today. Thanks Shorpy! Related articles Bathing Suit Police at the Tidal Basin (ghostsofdc.org) The Annual Washington Bathing Beach Beauty Show (ghostsofdc.org) Read More »
It seems like this the Cherry Blossom Festival is a really long way away … especially after this weekends crappy weather. So, in the hopes of bringing a little faux spring to your week, here is a video from the 1944 Cherry Blossom Festival. It’s an interesting window into D.C. during World War II. Pardon the music, but I can’t ... Read More »
Here’s an amazing shot I found on Shorpy (what an amazing site), taken at the Tidal Basin bathing beach in 1922. The photograph is Washington police officer Bill Norton measuring the distance between the knee and the swimsuit. Colonel Sherrill, the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds had issues an order that suits not be over six inches above the knee ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington