Washington DC Street Names Unveiled: From States to Letters and Numbers
Pierre L’Enfant’s 1791 plan gave DC one of the most logical street grids in America: numbers running one way, letters the other, and state names on the diagonals.
The Best Of
The finest stories from Ghosts of DC, curated from years of digging into Washington’s hidden past. The posts our readers return to most.
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: Where the Senators Played, 1911 to 1961
Griffith Stadium stood at Georgia and Florida Avenues NW, home to the Washington Senators from 1911 to 1961. Howard University Hospital sits on the site today.