The 1910s brought World War I and a massive wave of federal construction that reshaped downtown Washington. The war brought hundreds of thousands of workers flooding into the city, straining housing, transit, and every civic institution to its limits. Woodrow Wilson’s Washington was also the decade when the federal government was formally segregated.
Explore the lives of young boys working at the Alexandria Glass Company in the 1910s through a series of photographs taken by Lewis Hine. Learn more about one of the boys through a fascinating history page.
Pennsylvania Avenue was illuminated by electric lights for Woodrow Wilson’s 1913 inauguration, the first time the avenue had been lit this way.
Take a look at what could have been! Howard University proposed extending Vermont Ave. from Florida Ave. to Georgia Ave. back in 1919. See the maps, read the letter of rejection, and check out the intersection today on Google Maps.
The Old Dutch Market at Dupont Circle is now occupied by CVS. It was a thriving business in DC through the 1920s. See their launch ad and learn more about what happened to them.
Pauline Floyd was a pioneer and an excellent role model for women pursing a career in law. She was the youngest female lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court.
The Apollo in New York, the Pearl in Philadelphia, the Uptown in Baltimore, and the Howard Theatre in Washington were the preeminent African-American venues for stars like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and the big bands of the 1930s to rock and roll and the Motown sound.
Meridian Hill Park is DC’s Italian Renaissance secret: Mary Foote Henderson’s vision, the 1922 Joan of Arc statue, and a drum circle going since 1965.
This great series of advertisements from the papers shows the Cairo Hotel back in the result 1900s. How about a room for $45 a month?
Witness the incredible feat of aviation pioneer Claude Grahame-White as he lands his biplane on West Executive Avenue next to the White House in 1910. Read the amazing story and see the photos here!
