Our last embassy version of “If Walls Could Talk” was quite popular, so here’s another one from the same part of town, Sheridan Circle. California’s new senator buys Washington residence In December 1915, California’s freshman senator, James Phelan — former mayor of San Francisco — was about six months into his first, and only, term in Congress when he...

St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, but that is only the climax of the love affair between our country and The Emerald Isle. Everyone has, or claims to have, some link back to Ireland. My wife firmly places her heritage on that island, but alas, I trace my roots back to Ayrshire and the Scottish Lowlands — I don’t think the Irish will hold this against me. Everyone’s favorite...

You can't build an embassy anywhere in D.C. Check out this map from 1987 showing where it's okay to have your diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C.

Take a look at the Old Spanish Embassy at 1521 New Hampshire Ave. NW, as seen in 1911 and today. See the view on Google Street View, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

We need some help pinpointing the dates of these photos. They were labeled 1905 to 1945. My guess is sometime in the 1930s? Sitting room of Cuban Embassy Sitting room of Cuban Embassy Cuban Embassy Sitting room of Cuban Embassy Source: Library of Congress

Here’s a cool old photo of President Calvin Coolidge visiting President Gerardo Machado at the Cuban Embassy on April 22nd, 1927. President Coolidge calls on President Machado of Cuba upon arrival in Washington. President Coolidge with President Gerardo Machado of Cuba […]ides photographed at the Cuban embassy in Washington Chief Executive of the United States paid a return […]a’s...

What a great old shot of the Cuban Embassy at 2630 16th St. NW. Embassy of Cuba in 1937 Source: Library of Congress

Get a glimpse into the past with this 1917 photo of the British Embassy in Washington DC. See what the old embassy looks like today with a Google Map of the same intersection.

McLean Gardens in Cleveland Park was almost razed and replaced by a complex of foreign embassies.

Get a glimpse into the past and check out this amazing 1888 photo of the Windom House at 16th St. & Mass Ave in Washington, D.C. - now the site of the Australian Embassy. Source: Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

Get a glimpse into history with this amazing old photograph of the Cuban Embassy on 16th Street. See the image and read more about it from the Library of Congress!

The Italian embassy at 16th & Fuller is a tragic reminder of its former glory. Learn the history of this sad building and what it used to be in its heyday.

Americans have a complex relationship with France, and the French embassy in Washington, DC has a fascinating history of its own. Learn more about the embassy, and see photos of the building from the 1910s.

In January 1860, the Tokugawa shogunate sent a delegation to the United States with the primary objective of ratifying the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (aka, the Harris Treaty). Commodore Matthew Perry (not Chandler) had opened Japan (forcefully) in 1854 and this was the first Japanese diplomatic mission sent to the United States. This historic event is particularly...

Billionaire Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska's mansion at 2501 30th St. NW was raided by the FBI last week. Everyone's Googling around for details on Deripaska, but naturally, we're more interested in the history of the property.

We're headed to Capitol Hill to explore one of Bryce Harper's favorite haunts and a place where the President has popped in for lunch. Learn about the history of the building and its former tenant, District Lock & Hardware.

I came across a great idea while reading Prince of Petworth’s post on LivingSocial yesterday. The DC-based company just opened up their “live events center” in a building at 918 F St. NW, which was the former National Union Building. It’s a magnificently beautiful Romanesque building, six stories tall. This one certainly has a colorful history, so it’s going to make for...

This old map shows Sixteenth Street Heights real estate plots laid out in 1910.

Harry Wardman was a prolific developer of Northwest in the 1920s. This ad from The Evening Star shows some of his homes on Cathedral Ave. in Woodley Park.

Mary Surratt's boarding house is a Chinese restaurant, still standing just around the corner from Gallery Place Metro. Today, it's Wok and Roll.

Take a journey through time and explore Dupont Circle in 1919 using this vintage map from the Library of Congress. See what used to be the British Embassy at the intersection of Connecticut and N St.

This was the first time an official of the Soviet Union testified before a House committee, by Vitaly Churkin, in an attempt to be transparent after the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

“It’s Midnight in Washington…and this is the Steve Allison show.” I can remember those lines from 1959 just like it was yesterday. WWDC (1260 on the AM dial) had hired a talk show host from Philadelphia named Steve Allison who ruled the airwaves from 10:30 pm to 1 am every night. At the time this was cutting edge programming for local radio. Fidel Castro arrives at Military...

In 1985, Mayor Marion Barry proposed renaming a portion of Massachusetts Avenue in front of the South African Embassy after anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. Read the interesting story from The Baltimore Sun from July 3rd, 1985.

Read a letter from a GoDCer about the amusing consequences of the six-mile-per-hour speed limit in Glen Echo, Maryland in 1907. The story even precipitated an international incident!

50 years ago today, The Washington Post printed an article on the upcoming state visit of West Germany's Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard. Kennedy was in Dallas that day and the visit never happened. Read the full story here.

On this date, 50 years ago, The Washington Post printed a story about the government of Austria owing the District back taxes on their embassy for lack of payment during World War II. The Austrians have been billed since the property was registered in their name the whole time. Find out if the bill was ever paid.

Discover the unlikely fairy tale of Baron Bodisco and Harriet Williams, a May-December romance in Georgetown. Learn about the scandal, wedding and happy years together before his death and her remarriage. Follow the beautiful bride and famous groomsmen to the White House for dinner.

Learn about the impressive Government Printing Office, once the world's largest printing office in 1916. Explore the documents, photos and history of the GPO, and its role in making US diplomatic relations more transparent.

Take a glimpse into Washington DC in 1916 with these stunning images from the Ford Motor Company's archives! See the Ford building under construction and the location of the current Canadian Embassy.