Washington DC Street Names: Why They’re Letters, Numbers, and States
DC’s diagonal avenues, named for states, all radiate from the Capitol. The prominent ones nearby honor the original thirteen colonies.
The Best Of
The Ghosts of DC posts readers come back to. The Bunny Man, Murder Bay, the Iran Embassy, the Reston origin story, and the rest of the ones that keep getting shared.
Three Sisters Bridge Across the Potomac Was Never Built
The Three Sisters Bridge was first proposed by L’Enfant in 1789 and seven more times after that. The 1967 version nearly got built.
Mary Surratt Boarding House is Now a Chinese Restaurant
Mary Surratt’s boarding house at 604 H Street NW, where John Wilkes Booth plotted Lincoln’s assassination, is now the Wok and Roll.
Tysons Corner Name History: Who Was William Tyson?
Tysons Corner or Tysons used to be called Peach Grove. William Tyson owned a farm west of DC which would become the site of a major shopping mall.
Washington’s Lost Neighborhoods: Buzzard’s Roost, Ryder’s Castle, and Zig-Zag Alley
The squalid alley neighborhoods of late 19th-century Washington had names like Buzzard’s Roost, Ryder’s Castle, and Zig-Zag Alley.
Which President Got a Speeding Ticket on a Horse?
In 1866, Washington police officer William West stopped President Ulysses Grant for driving his horse too fast near the White House, confiscated the buggy, and sent the president home on foot.
Glebe Road: History of Modern Day Arlington County
The name “glebe” refers to land granted to a church. Glebe Road runs through what was once church-owned land in colonial Arlington.
Before It Was Washington, D.C., This Land Was Called Rome
The land beneath Washington, DC was once a Maryland plantation called Rome, owned by a man named Francis Pope.
Griffith Stadium: The History and Demolition of Washington’s Lost Ballpark
Griffith Stadium stood where Howard University Hospital is today. Full history: from the 1911 fire to Walter Johnson to the 1965 wrecking ball.