Ghosts of DC

Try an address, a neighborhood, a name or a year, like “14th and U” or “1968.”

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1880s

Victorian Washington was booming in the 1880s. The decade brought the dedication of the Washington Monument (finally finished in 1884), the consolidation of Georgetown into DC, and a wave of grand Romanesque architecture that still defines many of the city’s neighborhoods. These posts explore Washington at its Victorian peak.

96 stories
Photograph shows Carroll Row, a block of five houses at 1st & A Street, SE, razed in 1887 for construction of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. Includes the sign "Architect."East Capitol Street From the Capitol Dome, Around 1880Apr 22, 2013Why Is It Named Petworth? The 200-Acre Estate Behind DC’s NeighborhoodApr 15, 2013a non-exploded manhole coverExplosion of Gas in Sewer Main Causes Chaos in Georgetown – A Washington Post Story from 1889Mar 7, 2013Photo shows a horse-drawn sleigh carrying what may be Melinda and Elise Painter across 14th St. at F St. in front of the Ebbitt House hotel. The modest buildings to the right of the grand hotel housed Newspaper Row, and just across the street at number 501 was Painter's office as Washington correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer. (Source: Ison article on Painter, 1990)Unearthing the History of the Ebbitt House Hotel and Newspaper RowFeb 21, 2013view southeast from the U.S. CapitolThe View Southeast from the U.S. Capitol, Around 1880Feb 3, 2013May 30th, 1886 real estate advertisement (Washington Post)How Much Did a House Cost in 1886? A DC Real Estate AdJan 25, 2013Takoma advertisement in the Sunday Herald - June 14th, 1891Takoma Park History and What “Takoma” MeansJan 15, 2013Sanborn fire insurance map of Washington Circle in 1888The Sanborn Fire Map of Washington Circle in 1888Jan 8, 2013Victorian-era black umbrellaOMFG! A Murder by Umbrella in 19th-Century Washington, DCDec 17, 2012
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