Washington, DC History & Old Stories of DC

  • Robert Askins, 1938 DC Cyanide Killer: A Four-Decade Arc

    Robert Askins, 1938 DC Cyanide Killer: A Four-Decade Arc

    Jul 15, 2026 · 19 min read

    On December 28, 1938, in a small alley off 6th Street NW, a 31-year-old woman named Ruth McDonald accepted a drink from a young chemistry student and was dead within the hour.

  • Millie and Al’s: 53 Years at 2440 18th Street NW

    Millie and Al’s: 53 Years at 2440 18th Street NW

    Jul 13, 2026 · 12 min read

    For 53 years, 2440 18th Street NW was Millie and Al’s. Al Shapiro bought Bobbie’s Restaurant in 1963, kept the name of his bartender girlfriend, and gave Adams Morgan Jell-o shots, a dancing skeleton, and its longest-running dive bar.

  • The Big Chair in Anacostia: Lynn Arnold’s 42 Days in a Glass House

    The Big Chair in Anacostia: Lynn Arnold’s 42 Days in a Glass House

    Jul 12, 2026 · 8 min read

    Charles Curtis had Bassett Furniture build a 19.5-foot mahogany chair outside his Anacostia showroom in 1959. A year later, model Lynn Arnold moved into a glass house on top of it for 42 days. The chair is still there.