I really wanted to start by skewing these posts towards more anonymous D.C. residents, but I keep coming across gold on YouTube like this. I promise to return to more posts on hidden and lost Washington,...
The Washington Hilton was a happenin’ place to see live music apparently, with Hendrix also playing there in ’68. Thanksgiving was the following Thursday, so I imagine a large number of kids were home from college,...
A curious Ghosts of D.C. reader posted on Facebook that she wanted to know why Syracuse has a house in Woodley Park. I too am curious each time I walk by the Greenberg House at 2301...
This is a wild advertisement that I came across in The Evening Times (back then they’d publish the paper a couple times each day). Coke Dandruff Cure? Okay, my interest is piqued … what is that?
Swampoodle sounds like an area filled with some tough blue-collar dudes. Here’s a little column I found in the Post from January 21st, 1895 about three locals, boozing until the wee hours of the morning. Two...
Here’s a video I came across on YouTube of the old president and recently inaugurated one attending the burial ceremony of the Unknown Soldier. President Wilson was instrumental in honoring those “unknown but to God” by...
One of the most powerful and important inaugural addresses of all time, this is something worth watching in its entirety. The whole speech is below if you’d like to read it. This is a truly amazing...
I guess D.C. has always had bad drivers. This one is from December 7th, 1930. A dizzy clockwise circle of an automobile around Dupont Circle, which caused several crashed last night, was climaxed when the driver,...
This has been a great first week. With the help of my wife, I came up with the name Ghosts of D.C. on Monday and by Wednesday, the blog up and running with the first post....
Here’s a great old advertisement from the Sunday Washington Times, on Halloween, 1909. Interested in buying an electric car? Well it’ll only take $1,500 and you could be the proud owner of a Rauch & Lang...
Mark this down as something you’ll never see today. The President is just walking out of the White House grounds … alone. Let’s be honest, any guy that takes a bullet in his chest and STILL...
Buy this book and then read it (I bought the Kindle version). It is an excellent window into life in Washington City in the days after the fall of Fort Sumter. It chronicles life in the...
My wife is a huge fan of Corte Salon and she convinced me to start going there a couple of years ago … and I have to say, it’s definitely the best haircut I’ve ever had....
There’s a strong element of sadness watching this video. A burning city, military occupation … what essentially was complete chaos in the city from April 4th to April 8th, 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther...
Evidently, horses racing through the streets of Columbia Heights was a dangerous thing at the turn of the century. This article I came across from July 9th, 1900 talks about a recent accident leading to new...
This is a great one for “Faces of Yesterday” … this group of young boys worked as Dime Messenger Service boys, with their headquarters at 1228 H St. NW. Lewis Hine, the American sociologist and photographer...
I came across a great advertisement for plots in Columbia Heights. It dates back from July 20th, 1902. A few obvious differences that stick out: Georgia Ave. was named Brightwood Avenue, Irving St. was named Kenesaw St., Park...
Prince of Petworth has a couple of posts on this statue already, but I wanted to add a few then and now photos and do a little more background research on the dedication ceremony.