1891 Ad for Wesley Heights Real Estate
Check out this great old advertisement from The Washington Post in 1891.
Squalid Sections: Buzzard’s Roost, Ryder’s Castle, Zig-Zag Alley, and Swinghammer Alley
Buzzard’s Roost, Ryder’s Castle, Zig-Zag Alley, and the Barracks are all old neighborhoods which were shanties of dirt and filth. We wrote about the rough-and-tumble lost neighborhood of Murder Bay, and the equally squalid Hell’s Bottom...
If Walls Could Talk: Super Liquor – House of Cards Edition
Like most of D.C., probably the country, we’re obsessed with House of Cards. It’s a little over the top, but sometimes that’s the beauty of it. Unfortunately, we don’t often expect movies about Washington to be...
1895 Bird’s Eye View of Brookland
How cool is this? If you live in Brookland, you’re going to love it. Click on it for a larger version and then share it with your friends on Facebook. Source: Library of Congress The map...
Photo of Segregated Southern Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue
Source: Library of Congress The hotel on the left is the Southern Hotel, a hotel for African-Americans which was situated at 311 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The photograph was taken around 1899. Below is the 1903 map...
White House Gardener Run Over by Cursed Streetcar in Tennallytown
Here is a crazy story from Tennallytown that we found in The Washington Post, printed on November 8th, 1896. A serious accident happened at Tennallytown about 7 o’clock yesterday evening. Car No. 9, of the Georgetown and...
Carriage Ride Through Rock Creek in 1890
Look at this great photo from 1890. It shows a group of people riding their horse and buggies through Rock Creek Park. I don’t suppose any of you recognize where this is? I know, that’s a...
Answer to the Baseball House Puzzle
Sorry, this was supposed to auto-publish yesterday afternoon, but didn’t. Here’s the solution to Donovan’s Baseball House Puzzle, printed in The Washington Post on October 7th, 1894. Did any of you get this? Below is the article. Last...
The Baseball House Puzzle of 1894
Here’s a terrific puzzle for you to solve, from our last post about the Baseball House and William Donovan. Below are the directions printed in The Washington Post back in 1894. We’ll be posting the answer at...
Donovan’s Baseball House: Finest Bar in The Country
Washington is a baseball town. There is no doubt about that. In fact, there is a rich history going back to the 19th century including an Irishman’s bar fully dedicated to the love of the game....
Desirable Villas in Cleveland Heights
You may or may not be aware of this, but in the early days, Cleveland Park was referred to as Cleveland Heights (i.e., Columbia Heights, and Adams Morgan formerly known as Washington Heights). Below is a...
1892 Map of Rural Anacostia
We posted a cool old rural map of Tenleytown a short while back. Here’s a map from the same group, showing Anacostia back in 1892. Source: Library of Congress
Map of a Rural Columbia Heights
What a cool map. We posted one last week showing the area around Tenleytown as it looked on an 1892 map. The area covered in the map includes today’s Columbia Heights, Park View, and a little...
When Adams Morgan Was Rural
Difficult to believe this … really difficult, but back in 1892, what is now Adams Morgan, was very rural. Less jumbo slices, more trees. You probably can’t even recognize this, with no 18th St. and 16th...
1892 Map of Rural Area Around Tenley
How cool is this old map? It shows a very rural upper northwest Washington in 1892, with the area surrounding what is now Tenleytown. This map is from a U.S. Coast and Geodetic survey. Source: Library...
National Bank of Washington in 1892
Here’s a beautiful old photograph of the National Bank of Washington back in 1892. Source: Library of Congress Both of the buildings in the above photo are still there today as shown in the Google Street...
1891 Map of Street Sweeping
Now this is interesting. It’s a map from 1891 that shows the street sweeping schedule. Source: Library of Congress
Fascinating Unbuilt Expansion of the White House (1892)
During the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, there was a push to renovate the Executive Mansion, bringing it up to the elegant standards of European castles. This was to reflect the growing importance of America and...
