Ghosts of DC

Try an address, a neighborhood, a name or a year, like “14th and U” or “1968.”

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The Best OfThe stories readers come back to If Walls Could TalkWho lived in that house? Why Is It Named…?How DC places got their names The PodcastOur stories, told aloud
Notable People & Places

Merriweather vs. Wolf Trap: The Fight Over the Symphony’s Summer Home

In 1966, a Maryland congressman warned that Columbia’s new pavilion shouldn’t have to compete with Wolf Trap. It hadn’t even been built yet.

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FBI agent Gene Harding standing in the front doorway of 4407 W Street NW talking with a reporter in February 1980The Abscam House: How the FBI Secretly Rented a Post Reporter’s Home on W Street NWOct 26Rock Spring Club, a three-story frame clubhouse with striped awnings on Conduit Road, about 1897Conduit Road Roadhouses: DC’s Vice Strip Over the LineOct 23Councilman Marion Barry lying in a hospital bed with a bandage and monitor leads on his chest, gesturing as he speaks.The 1977 Hanafi Siege: 39 Hours That Held Washington HostageOct 22Entrance of the Tabard Inn at 1739 N Street NW under its "Hotel Tabard Inn" marquee, photographed by Theodor HorydczakTabard Inn History: Sold in 1927, Bought Back in 1930Oct 21EpisodeA D.C. streetcar crosses the Foundry Branch trestle with Georgetown University spires behind, 1948Foundry Branch Trestle: DC’s Last Streetcar BridgeOct 20EpisodeElla Watson stands before an American flag holding a broom and mop, Gordon Parks, 1942Ella Watson’s Home: The House Behind American GothicOct 19

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William Bradford Bishop Jr., photograph taken circa 1970-1975The Bishop Family Murders: A Bethesda Home, a Foggy Bottom Memo, and a 50-Year ManhuntOn March 1, 1976, a Foreign Service officer killed his family in their Carderock Springs home and vanished. The manhunt, now 50 years old, is still open.Griffith StadiumGriffith Stadium: The History and Demolition of Washington’s Lost BallparkThe Maryland Goatman: The Real 1970s Story Behind the LegendTysons Corner history: What it looked like in 1936Tysons Corner Name History: Who Was William Tyson?Two Red Line trains arrive at Metro Center station beneath downtown Washington, the iconic Harry Weese coffered vault overhead, photographed in 1980.When Did Metro Open in D.C.?

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1952 Washington UFO Sightings: Jets Scrambled Over the CapitolOct 27EpisodeArcade Market in Columbia Heights (Library of Congress)The Arcade Market’s 1927 Plan for Rooftop ParkingOct 26Kenya’s embassy at 2249 R Street NW, with its pale façade, flags, and entrance archesBefore It Was Kenya’s Embassy: The Story of 2249 R StreetOct 26AI-colorized version of the 1960s rendering of the proposed Three Sisters Bridge over the Potomac, with the Three Sisters islands belowThree Sisters Bridge Across the Potomac Was Never BuiltOct 25Best OfEpisode

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