Faces & Places of Yesterday

Photos of yesterday, featuring regular people and regular places.

January 1918. Washington, D.C. "Billy Sunday tabernacle." A temporary meeting hall built near Union Station for a three-month series of revival meetings held by the famous evangelist. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative.

Great Photo from the Winter of 1918

This is an old photo of the “Billy Sunday tabernacle” near Union Station. Can you recognize any of the landmarks (other than the obvious Capitol and Library of Congress). Source: Shorpy
Washington, D.C. "At 7 a.m. on June 21, 1942, the day before stricter gas rationing was enforced, cars were pouring into this gas station on upper Wisconsin Avenue." If they still made cars that looked like this Packard, we'd run right out and buy one. Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information.

1942 Photo of Friendship Heights Gas Station

Here’s a cool old World War II-era photograph of Friendship Heights. It shows the old gas station at 5252 Wisconsin Ave. NW, owned by the McDowell family. Source: Shorpy Today, the spot is the location of...
Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Star Building from air." The Washington Star newspaper building at the center is at the intersection of 11th Street N.W. and Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs diagonally across the photo. The big building with the tower us the Old Post Office. There's a lot to see here, including laundry hung out to dry. National Photo Company glass negative.

Whoa! Incredible 1922 Aerial Photograph of Pennsylvania Avenue

This is incredible. No commentary needed. Just make sure you click on it for greater detail. Source: Shorpy
1939 photograph next to the railroad tracks

Cars Parked Along Railroad Tracks on Virginia Ave.

This is an old photo showing a row of parked cars along Virginia Ave. SW. Check out the Google Street View below. Source: Shorpy [googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?cbp=12,87.63,,0,4.65&layer=c&panoid=AbrZdO7-MJlqHhyJ3styhA&cbll=38.8855,-77.021597&dg=opt&ie=UTF8&ll=38.853612,-76.980515&spn=0.341689,0.724411&t=m&z=11&source=embed&output=svembed]
Old Main Building

Howard University Old Main Building in 1860s

Here are two great old photos of Howard University’s Old Main Building.
Le coin de F. Street Washington vis-à-vis nôtre maison été de 1817.

What F Street Looked Like in 1817

Check this out. This is a French drawing from the early 19th century. It looks a little different than today. I don’t see the J. Crew.
400 block of unknown street

Hey GoDCers, Where Is This Building?

Does this building still stand? I can see the “435” on the transom, but I’m not quite sure where this is. Let’s see if the GoDC community can identify this spot and send us the Google...
woman and carriage in front of store

GoDCers, Please Help Identify This Building

Okay, we need the collective power of the GoDC community. The best clue in the photo is the “1743” … where is this, and does the building still exist? Post your thoughts in the comments below....
Washington, D.C., 1920. "729 12th St., Washington Times." Various shades of Twelfth Street. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative.

What Did Metro Center Look Like in 1920?

This is a great old photo from 1920, showing the 700 block of 12th St. NW. Today, this is the area around Metro Center. I don’t know about you, but I prefer the look of the...
Washington, D.C., 1923. "City houses." One in a series of Harris & Ewing plates documenting the national capital's poorer quarters.

Run Down Old Home in 1923

Here’s a photo from a very different time here in D.C., where you could find homes like the one below. Source: Shorpy
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