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1922 Congested Parking Map of D.C.
This is a cool old map of D.C. showing where you could and could not park in 1922. Click on it to zoom in on the details. Source: Library of Congress
1903 Map of Current State Department Location
This is a 1903 map of the current location of the Department of State, on C St. between 21st and 23rd. Obviously, it was very different back then, with New York Ave. running through...
Squalid Sections: Buzzard’s Roost, Ryder’s Castle, Zig-Zag Alley, and Swinghammer Alley
Buzzard’s Roost, Ryder’s Castle, Zig-Zag Alley, and the Barracks are all old neighborhoods which were shanties of dirt and filth. We wrote about the rough-and-tumble lost neighborhood of Murder Bay, and the equally squalid...
Rare Photo of White House Stables
Have you ever seen a photo of the White House stables? We haven’t actually come across one until we found this at the Library of Congress. How cool is this? The photo was taken...
First Known Photo of Presidential Inauguration (1857)
This is an extremely rare photograph of James Buchanan‘s Inauguration at the East Front of the Capitol Building on March 4th, 1857. It’s a little blurry and not the highest resolution, but amazing nevertheless....
Proposed Second Mall East of Capitol
Check this out. It’s a proposed design for a second mall, east of the Capitol Building. Obviously, this was never built, but imagine how different things would be. The design below was done as...
Cool 1902 Ad For Kalorama Homes
This is a great old ad from The Evening Star on December 13th, 1902. It shows a bunch of homes on Kalorama Rd., in what we now call Adams Morgan, then called Washington Heights.
Beautiful 16-Mile Drive in the Nation’s Capital
This is a great image from the Washington Times, published on October 25th, 1919. It shows a scenic driving route through the city. Source: Library of Congress
1930 Assessment Map of Alexandria
More maps! Below is a great assessment map of Alexandria and Arlington County.