Ghosts of DCThe lost and untold stories of Washington

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

Not sure where to start?

Mystery Smokestack Behind St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill

What is the smokestack behind St. Peter’s Church at 2nd and C St. SE on Capitol Hill? A reader’s photo, a satellite view and a 1921 Baist map.

Posted 1 min read

There is a mystery smokestack on Capitol Hill. You may have seen it behind St. Peter’s Church at 2nd and C St. SE. Below is an image sent to us by GoDCer Geoff a while back, asking what this smokestack was. If anyone in the GoDC community knows, please email us at hello@ghostsofdc.org.

Mystery smokestack on Capitol Hill
Mystery smokestack on Capitol Hill

Here is the satellite view from Google Maps. The smokestack is in the middle, behind the church.

Below is what the block looked like in the 1921 Baist map. I see no evidence of a smokestack.

1921 map of 2nd and C St. SE
1921 map of 2nd and C St. SE
The Email

Lost Washington stories, in your inbox.

The newest story, plus a few from the archive.

Free. Unsubscribe anytime.

We use AI to help research, write and edit stories across our sites. Here’s how we use AI.Suggest a correction

Pass it on

Know someone who’d like this?

Send it to them.

Email it
Providence Hospital in the early 1900s (Library of Congress)Read nextThe History of Providence Hospital and the Fight to Save Providence ParkProvidence Hospital opened on Capitol Hill in 1861. It took First Manassas wounded a month later. The site is now Providence Park.Keep reading5 min read
On the Atlas

See where this happened.

St. Peter's Church

Open the map