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.
Take a look at an old map of Sixteenth Street Heights and explore the area today. See the notable buildings like the old French Embassy, The White House, and Henderson Castle. Plus, learn why it’s called Sixteenth Street Heights and why there’s also 14th Street Heights.
It’s hard to believe that 2020 is nearly upon us, but it’s also hard to imagine what it must have been like on December 31st, 1919 – the last New Year’s Eve before Prohibition was enforced. Take a look at this mildly amusing cartoon from The Washington Times.
This 1915 map shows the segregated schools of Washington. Integration wouldn’t begin until 1954.
Many don’t know the extent of chemical warfare experiment that were conducted on and near the university grounds during the Great War.
Discover the forgotten history of Camp Leach, America’s first military chemical weapons facility located on the grounds of today’s American University in upper northwest D.C. Nearly 100,000 employees worked here during World War I. Find out more about this historic site.
Back then it was called Western High School. Washington had that school north of Georgetown, Eastern High School near Capitol Hill and Central High School just north of U St.
Take a look at the Old Post Office Pavilion, now the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Pennsylvania Ave. Learn how the building’s ownership and purpose have changed over the years.
This is from the Georgetown University archives showing a group of young men gathered in a dorm room in 1913.
Take a look at this remarkable view down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. in about 1921. See the stunning photo and learn more about this historic view of the U.S Capitol.
