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.
Get a rare glimpse of downtown DC in 1911 with this photo taken from the air. See the amazing details of the Old Post Office and other points of interest in this panoramic view.
Take a step back in time with this incredible old photo of 7th and Pennsylvania Ave. during World War I. Get a glimpse of what the streets of DC looked like during the war
Taken from the top of the Washington Monument in 1911, this photograph shows a Washington where the Lincoln Memorial didn’t exist yet, the Reflecting Pool hadn’t been dug, and the Mall was still crossed by rail lines. Click through for the full-resolution version.
This is an amazing find on YouTube showing a trip down the C&O Canal back in 1917.
The entire trip took about seven days and they end up down in Washington.
On March 3, 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, thousands of suffragists marched down Pennsylvania Avenue and straight into a hostile mob. Alice Paul planned it to force the vote into the national conversation. It worked.
Take a look at this spooky, yet beautiful photo of the Old Post Office in Washington D.C. from 1911. Captured on a snowy, foggy night, the photo was labeled June 5th but clearly it didn’t snow then. See the photo for yourself!
A rare sight of Pullman autos in 1912 at 445 G St. NW is captured in this amazing photo from William Creswell on Flickr. Check it out now on Ghosts of DC!
Take a look at this historic photo of the Heurich Brewery, taken in 1910. The brewery stood on the current site of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC
Take a look back in time to 1919 Washington, D.C. with this photo of 15th and Pennsylvania. See the old Riggs Bank building in the background, now the PNC Bank building.
