1848 View From the President’s House
View from the White House in 1848, looking at the Capitol Building.
Featured
Posts the Ghosts of DC editors hand-pick from the archive. The strange, the vivid, and the ones worth pulling back to the front page after a few years buried.
Officer Edgar E. Porter and the White House Easter Egg Roll of 1923
Step back in time to April 2nd, 1923 and view Officer Edgar E. Porter and a group of children at the White House Easter Egg Roll. Learn more about this iconic photograph from the olden days!
Temple Heights and Oak Lawn: The Big Empty Parcel North of Dupont That Became the Hinckley Hilton
From an 1820 Nourse farmhouse to a Masonic temple that never got built to the Washington Hilton of 1965, three entirely different DC landmarks used the same ten acres.
A Look Back at the History of 1319 Connecticut Ave NW, Home of Mad Hatter
Take a look back at the history of 1319 Connecticut Ave NW in Dupont Circle, home of the Mad Hatter! We uncover the stories of Mrs. Cordley’s antiques store, The Jenny Shoppe, Wig Fair and more.
Southern Railway Building: Fire, Then Federal Triangle
The Southern Railway Building stood at 13th and Pennsylvania for 50 years. Then it burned. Then the federal government paid $2.68 million to clear it for Federal Triangle.
From High Street to Wisconsin Avenue: How D.C.’s Great Road Got Its Name
Before anyone called it Wisconsin Avenue, this road was Georgetown’s High Street and a country Tennallytown Road. The unified name took decades of debate, and an act of Congress, to sort out.
The Quaker House on Florida Ave: Unearthing Three Interesting Stories
Herbert Hoover sat in the pew at the 1930 dedication of the Friends Meeting House. Ralph Abernathy preached there 37 years later.
Is the Octagon House Haunted? DC’s Most Famous Ghost Story
The Octagon House at 1799 New York Avenue NW has been called the most haunted building in Washington since 1874. Phantom servant bells, falling Tayloe daughters, Dolley Madison’s lilacs, a gambler shot at a card game. It was also the executive mansion for six months after the British burned the White House in 1814, and where James Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent. Here is the real history behind the legends.
A Rare Glimpse Back in Time: Revisiting the Pennsylvania Avenue of 1909 and 1919
Take a rare glimpse back in time and explore Pennsylvania Avenue as it was in 1909 and 1919. See the differences and similarity and explore this amazing part of history!