When Was the Pentagon Built? The 16-Month Wartime Sprint
Sixteen months from groundbreaking to dedication. Thirteen thousand workers on round-the-clock shifts. Segregated cafeterias FDR personally overruled.
Historical Events
The big days in Washington, DC history. Assassinations, riots, marches, inaugurations, and the smaller moments that turned out to matter more than people knew at the time.
Dallas Williams, the Bad Man of Swampoodle
On January 31, 1958, the Evening Star started calling Dallas O. Williams “the Bad Man of Swampoodle.” The nickname stuck through five trials, three vacated convictions, and a 1961 double murder that exposed the broken machinery of DC’s insanity defense.
The 1857 Election Day Riot, When Marines Fired on a DC Mob
In 1857 the commandant of the Marine Corps faced down a rioters’ cannon at a DC polling place, armed only with a cotton umbrella.
Glen Echo Park: From Chautauqua to Carousel Sit-In
It started as a one-summer Chautauqua on the Potomac, built by twin brothers who had cashed in on an egg beater patent. By 1933 it was a streetcar amusement park with a Spanish ballroom and a Dentzel carousel. By 1960 that carousel was the flashpoint of a Howard University sit-in.
David Crockett’s Vote Against Indian Removal: The 1830 Stand That Cost Him Congress
On May 26, 1830, the House passed the Indian Removal Bill 102-97. Tennessee’s David Crockett was the only member of his delegation to vote no.
Langston Golf Course: D.C.’s Segregated Public Course
Langston Golf Course opened June 11, 1939 as DC’s only public links for Black golfers. The fight for equal access took longer than the build.
Ford’s Theatre Collapsed in 1893 and Took 22 Lives With It
On June 9, 1893, the floors of Ford’s Theatre pancaked into the basement, killing 22 federal clerks 28 years after Lincoln was shot in the same building.
Trump Painted It Blue. Henry Bacon Wanted It Invisible: A History of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
On May 7th, 2026, Trump’s motorcade rolled across the drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, freshly painted American flag blue. Architect Henry Bacon designed the 1923 pool as a mirror you weren’t supposed to look at, built on dredged Potomac mud with no foundation.
Eastern Air Lines Flight 537: The 1949 Crash That Killed 55 Near National Airport
At 11:46 on November 1st, 1949, a young controller kept calling: Bolivia 927, turn left. The pilot never answered. Fifty-five died.