Help Wanted: Bricklayers for the Capitol Extension (1853)
This is so cool. Montgomery C. Meigs placed an advertisement in the Daily Evening Star on August 1st, 1853, exactly 160 years ago today. Meigs was seeking skilled bricklayers to help in the expansion of the...
Omnibus Advertisement from 1854
Now this is a cool old (really old) advertisement from the Daily Evening Star, printed on July 5th, 1854. It’s an advertisement for omnibus or coach service to Alexandria. Source: Library of Congress
1850 Stereoscopic Photo of the President’s Mansion
What a great photo. We found another terrific source of images, though, unfortunately they’re not high resolution. Source: New York Public Library
Why Is It Named Gaithersburg?
For this edition of “Why Is It Named…?” we will head out to the Maryland suburbs of Gaithersburg. Do you know the town’s origin? We certainly didn’t, until a little sleuthing (and Wikipedia-ing) uncovered the story....
What K Street Looked Like in 1850
The watercolor below was painted by Montgomery Meigs in 1850. It depicts a slightly more bucolic and peaceful life on K St. Take a look at a map of the area from 1888. This is the...
View of Washington in the 1840s
Here is a painting of Washington from the late 1840s or 1850s, done by Augustus Köllner. The view is from an angle south of the Capitol, looking northwest. We just came across this watercolor while digging through the...
Hang This Map on Your Wall
GoDCer, and über cartophile, Matt has sent along something that we’re compelled to share with you … because GoDCers love maps! We posted an awesome 1851 map of D.C. a while ago, and it was one of...
Why Is It Named Bloomingdale?
It has been a really long time since we did a “Why is it Named…?” post, and since at least a quarter of GoDCers live in Bloomingdale (I totally made that number up), we are going to...
Philemon Herbert: Crooked Congressman, Card Shark and Brothel Patron
This is the first guest post by Roger. Check out his blog Forgotten Stories for some excellent lost history. Philemon T. Herbert was a crooked lawyer, a card shark, frequented brothels, and stood accused of attacking a...
Isometrical View of the White House
This is a cool drawing that we found in the Library of Congress’ archives. It’s centered on the White House, showing the surrounding area around the 1850s (done in 1984). The bottom left side would be...
1851 Map of the City of Washington, D.C.
What an amazing old map of Washington, D.C. in 1851. I found this gem on the Library of Congress’ website. Click on it for a much larger version. Dig this map? Want to see more? Sign...
Contribute to the Washington National Monument Society
By 1854 the Washington Monument was about a third complete when the Washington National Monument Society ran out of funds and had to halt construction. John Carroll Brent called upon Americans to support the effort with...
Amazing Old Photo of Capitol Dome Construction in 1858
I came across this gem scanning through the Architect of the Capitol’s website. I had to share it with you tonight. Click on it for the higher resolution image. It’s pretty amazing to take a look...
