These are the best posts from Ghosts of DC, the lost and untold history of Washington, D.C.
1890s Map of Diarrhea Deaths in Washington
This is one of the more bizarre maps that we’ve uncovered. It certainly demonstrates how different the times were with such a high incidence of death due to diarrhea in the 19th century. Sanitation...
Unbuilt Ulysses Grant Bridge Today
This most incredible image shows what the Ulysses Grant Memorial Bridge would have liked like today. It would have been where the current Arlington Memorial Bridge is today.
1967 Map of Unbuilt D.C. Highways
Why doesn't 395 cut through Washington, DC? This is the history of highways in DC.
Photos of Columbia Heights After ’68 Riots
Here is a series of amazing photos that we came across on Flickr showing the 1968 riots in D.C. We’ve posted some stuff on the riots in the past, like this film clip, and...
Never Built Three Sisters Bridge Across the Potomac
This is a story that is most likely unknown to the great majority of GoDCers. Long-time DC residents may remember the controversy over the bridge that was to be built, connecting Virginia and the...
Mid-1980s Photo of Arlington
Do you recognize this part of Arlington? You’re looking down down N Courthouse Rd. From the cars in the photo, I’m guessing that this is sometime in the early 1990s. Source: Library of Congress...
1906 Map of All D.C. Boundary Stones
Working under commissioners that President Washington had appointed in 1790 in accordance with the Residence Act, Major Andrew Ellicott led a team that placed these markers in 1791 and 1792.
Why Is It Named Tysons Corner?
The area formerly known as Peach Grove eventually came to be known as Tysons Crossroads and then Tysons Corner after William Tyson.
Incredible 1865 Photo of the Capitol
This photograph was taken in April 1865, which would have been right around the time of President Lincoln’s assassination. You can see the unpaved roads of Maine Ave, SW. There are buildings in the...