Before Fast Food, There Was Childs’ Food
This is a guest post by Angela Harrison Eng
Before the modern fast food restaurant, there was Childs Restaurant. Childs was a chain that originated...
Washington Monument Could Have Looked Like This
We posted some great old alternative designs for the Lincoln Memorial a while back and they were quite popular. Well, we dug up one...
Before the Hay-Adams Hotel
This is what stood on the corner of 16th and H St. before the iconic Hay-Adams Hotel. this was the home of...
Drawings of Proposed I-95 Through D.C.
Here are some terrific old maps from 1971 showing the remainder of what would have been I-95 cutting through D.C. Today, what is now...
1968 War Over D.C. Interstate Highways
As you all know, D.C. is one of the only cities (if not the lone city) without an interstate highway cutting through the heart...
Run Down Tunnicliff’s Tavern in 1929
This is such a cool old photo of Tunnicliff's Tavern, taken in 1929. No, not this Tunnicliff's ... a much older one. Clearly the...
Churchill Proposes Unifying French and British Empires to Fight Nazi Germany
Here's a shot of the British Embassy before the U.S. entry into World War II. The photo was taken four days after Paris fell...
Unbuilt 1846 Proposed Design for Smithsonian Castle
What a fascinating old drawing from 1846. This is the proposed design for the Smithsonian Castle,
Source: Smithsonian Archives
Columbia Heights Building Boom Could Have Started in 1996
It's not possible for one to argue that Columbia Heights has been catapulted to the epicenter of gentrification and real estate renaissance over the...
Magnificent Lost Methodist Church on C Street
What a beautiful old church, which was sadly destroyed in the name of progress. Ugh.
Source: Shorpy
Remember the Munsey Building at 13th and Pennsylvania?
It's a sad fact that much of D.C. was demolished from the 1950s through the 1980s. It's a damn shame, but everything was in the...
What Was the Proposed National Mall in the Early 1900s?
Check out the drawing of a proposed National Mall, as viewed from the Capitol Building. This was in the early 1900s.
Source: Library of Congress
What Did 14th and F Look Like in 1903?
Now this is an incredible photograph of 14th and F Street in 1903. The big, ornate building is the old Ebbitt House. You're looking...
Proposed Demolition of McLean Gardens; Replaced by Embassy Complex
How about this interesting old article from The Washington Post, printed on August 6th, 1975.
Initially, there was a plan to demolish the entire 700+ unit...
Dangers of Dead Man’s Hollow Near Rosslyn
Rosslyn and Arlington weren't always great places to be, especially in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many parts were quite...
Original Subway Planned for Downtown D.C. in 1912
Washington DC almost has a subway started in 1912, well before WMATA and Metro opened in 1976. Learn about what almost was built in the District.
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...
Never Built Tunnels Under 1960s D.C.
The car culture of America was in full force through the 1950s and 1960s. Sadly, many beautiful cities and neighborhoods were ruined as a...
Rare Photo of Hay-Adams House in 1888
This is a photo taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston of the original Hay-Adams house.
Source: Library of Congress
Photo of Old 1907 Steel Girder K Street Bridge Over Rock...
Check this out. A much more bucolic and rural looking K St. over Rock Creek in 1907.
Source: Library of Congress
Proposed 1873 Design for Library of Congress
This is what the Library of Congress could have looked like if Leon Beaver's design from 1873 was selected.
Here's a second rendering of the...
