Amazing 1870s Railroad Photos of Washington
These 1870s photos are incredible, showing the District just following the Civil War. Click on them for more details.
1879 Smithsonian Construction
This great old photo shows the Arts and Industries Building on the Mall under construction in 1879. And below we found an interesting 1878 rendering of what the building should look like. And finally, here’s a...
1877 Map of Georgetown
This is a great old map of Georgetown. Click on it for greater details. Source: Library of Congress
Rare Photo of Frederick Douglass in Front of His Home
This amazing find was dug up courtesy of the National Park Service. You’re look at a grainy image of Frederick Douglass standing in front of his home on Capitol Hill at 320 A St. NE. The...
Best Photo of Unfinished Washington Monument in 1877
Many of you know that the Washington Monument sat unfinished for decades, an eye-sore of a stump on what would become the National Mall. Here is what it looked like in 1877, as seen from the...
1877 Drawing of Proposed Capitol Modifications
Fascinating drawing of the U.S. Capitol from the 1870s showing proposed modifications to the building. This is the west elevation of the building, the opposite side of the National Mall. Source: Library of Congress
Why Is It Named LeDroit Park?
Well, you might not know this, but there really was a Mr. LeDroit … sort of. LeDroit Park was established as one of the first suburbs of Washington, D.C. That’s kind of hard to believe right,...
What Did D.C. Look Like in 1872?
Here’s a cool bird’s-eye view of the Capitol and the rest of Washington from 1872. Source: Library of Congress
1874 Map of Suburban Mt. Pleasant
This is a great old map, about a decade earlier than this one of Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant. Click on it for a larger version to see more details. In this, Howard is Newton St....
1874 Map of Georgetown’s Old Street Names
Check out this terrific 1874 map of Georgetown with the old street names. Source: Dig DC
Carlin Springs Subdivision Map from 1887 and 1890
Here is a map of the Carlin Springs subdivision in Alexandria, now Arlington County. Source: Library of Congress The above map shows the area south of Arlington Blvd. and east of S. Carlin Springs Rd. Check...
Which President Got a Speeding Ticket on a Horse?
Ulysses Grant was arrested for directing by William West, an African-American metropolitan policeman. This is a great historical story.
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 building with some perspective. Check out a few more of his...
Irish Thief and Family Arrested in Swampoodle for Assaulting Officers
This is a colorful story for the lost neighborhood of Swampoodle. We came across the article in The Washington Post, printed on October 20th, 1879. Morris Connors, a notorious Swampoodle thief and rough, tumbled out of a...
1873 View of Ulysses Grant’s Second Inauguration
Here’s an old print from 1873, showing Ulysses Grant’s second inauguration, looking down Pennsylvania Ave. Source: Library of Congress
Beautiful 1879 Panorama of Washington
What a cool series of old photos from 1879. We’ve published so many posts that we can’t remember if these went up before, but nevertheless, sharing them twice isn’t such a bad thing. Source: Library of...
1872 Street Paving Map of Washington
You think the roads are bad today, with all the potholes? I assure you, they were worse in the 1870s. Here’s a really cool old map that we dug up at the Library of Congress, marking...
Unbuilt Proposed Design for Washington Monument (1877)
Check out this cool proposed design to finish the Washington Monument. Construction didn’t restart on the unfinished monument until 1879 after Congress appropriated another $200,000 to complete it. Below is one of the proposals on the...
