Washington, DC History & Old Stories of DC

  • Engine Company No. 4: DC’s First All-Black Firehouse

    Engine Company No. 4: DC’s First All-Black Firehouse

    May 24, 2026 · 8 min read

    Gordon Parks photographed Engine Company No. 4 in 1943: men trusted to run into a fire, and made to eat off separate plates.

  • Suburban Gardens: DC’s Black Amusement Park in Deanwood

    Suburban Gardens: DC’s Black Amusement Park in Deanwood

    May 24, 2026 · 13 min read

    Suburban Gardens opened at 50th and Hayes NE in June 1921, built by a Black-owned company. It was the only major amusement park ever inside the District, born because the region’s white parks barred Black Washingtonians.

  • Glen Echo Park: From Chautauqua to Carousel Sit-In

    Glen Echo Park: From Chautauqua to Carousel Sit-In

    May 22, 2026 · 8 min read

    It started as a one-summer Chautauqua on the Potomac, built by twin brothers who had cashed in on an egg beater patent. By 1933 it was a streetcar amusement park with a Spanish ballroom and a Dentzel carousel. By 1960 that carousel was the flashpoint of a Howard University sit-in.