Washington, DC History & Old Stories of DC

Andre The Giant Almost Played for the Redskins?

Wait, Andre the Giant tried out for the Washington Redskins? Did that really happen? You have to read more to find out the story.

Incredible 1880 Statistical Maps of Washington

This series of maps shows property values, pavement times, public schools, railroads, street sweeping schedules and more. Don't miss these incredible...

Smithsonian Castle in 1856

What a lovely old photo of the Smithsonian Castle in 1856. Click on it for incredible details. “Record Unit 95, Box 30, Folder 8”

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1847 Map of Washington

An incredible map of Washington well before the Civil War. Lovely details for you to study.

Oak View - home of President Cleveland - Oct. 3, 1897

Why Is It Named Cleveland Park?

What is today Cleveland Park was an area for well-off Washingtonians to build their summer cottages. It was far enough away from swampy hot downtown...

Rare Footage of FDR Dedicating the NIH

This is some great old footage of FDR dedicating the NIH back in 1940. Thanks to GoDCer Jeff for sending this in a while ago. It was originally...

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1932 Apartment Listings for D.C.

Check out rental priced in Washington from 1932. This is going to make you feel bad about what you're paying today.

D.C. Cab Fares in 1947

How cool is this article from The Washington Post, printed on March 13th, 1947. These are the rates for taxi cabs taken from D.C....

Prominent Washington Fall Brides of 1915

Here’s a cool page from the newspaper in 1915. This was printed in The Washington Times on October 19th, of that year. Autumn Brides –...

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Runaway Scottish Indentured Servant

May 1st, 1760 Check out this extremely old notice in the Maryland Gazette, published in Annapolis on May 1st, 1760. Evidently, an indentured...

1906 photo of the Government Printing Office

The "Largest Printing Office in the World" ... in 1916

Thanks to the GoDC Editor-in-Chief Tom for letting me drop in and contribute again. I have a number of topics to tick off, so let’s get...

Washington to Chicago for $18 in 1854

This is an old advertisement for railroad tickets between Washington, Baltimore and points west. A ticket from Washington to Cincinnati was $11,...

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Giant Food Ad from 1979

Wow, remember these days? It’s humorous looking at these prices. This is an advertisement from the Washington Post printed on June 25th,...

For Rent: 1523 P St. $25/mon or 911 L St. $40/mon

real estate listings – December 17th, 1877 Source: Library of Congress We came across this advertisement in the December 17th, 1877 Evening...

Another Amazing Photo of Fort Totten

World War I photo of military camp near Fort Totten.

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They Were Neighbors: Five Families on Corcoran Street in 1890 ... and a Feud

If you’re not a genealogy buff, you may not know this, but much of the 1890 U.S. Census was destroyed in a massive fire in January 1921....

Margaret Gorman in 1921 (Library of Congress)

Margaret Gorman: First Miss America and Washingtonian

You may not know this, but the First Miss America was a born and raised Washingtonian. The beauty pageant might be seen as completely irrelevant...

Three Stories About the Department of Commerce Building

Did you know the Commerce Department is built on top of an ancient pirate ghost river? Or that lost alligators once wandered the halls?

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