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1940s

World War II reshaped Washington completely. The Pentagon rose across the river in just 16 months, the federal workforce exploded, and the city became the command center for the Allied war effort. Housing was impossibly scarce, rationing was everywhere, and Washington hummed with wartime urgency from 1941 to 1945.

147 stories
Ella Watson stands before an American flag holding a broom and mop, Gordon Parks, 1942Ella Watson’s Home: The House Behind American GothicOct 19Engraving of the interior of the Northern Liberty Market in 1875, a vast hall under arched iron roof trusses with rows of market stalls and crowds of shoppersNorthern Liberty Market and Boss Shepherd’s 1872 RaidOct 17The General Scott apartment building at 1 Scott Circle NW, Washington DCThe General Scott Apartments: A 1940 Deco Landmark on Scott CircleAug 21

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Color photograph of a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-049 Constellation named Paris Sky Chief (NC86505) parked on an airport ramp. The polished silver aircraft displays TWA markings and the distinctive triple-tail design, with hangars and airport equipment visible in the background.The “Paris Sky Chief”: When a Constellation Flew From National Airport to ParisJun 23Entrance of the Tune Inn at 331 1/2 Pennsylvania Avenue SE on Capitol HillTune Inn Capitol Hill: 79 Years of a DC Dive BarJun 9Pentagon construction site on July 1, 1942, with three sides framed up, parked cars and worker trailers in the foreground, and the fifth side still open groundWhen Was the Pentagon Built? The 16-Month Wartime SprintJun 4Hand-colored 1860 lithograph showing the long Gothic Revival St. Elizabeths Hospital building with carriages and pedestrians in the foreground.Dallas Williams, the Bad Man of SwampoodleMay 30Street-level photorealistic rendering of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Crystal Heights glass towersFrank Lloyd Wright’s Crystal Heights: DC’s Lost Glass CityMay 25Black firefighters of Engine Company No. 4 pulling on boots and coats at the alarm, 1943Engine Company No. 4: DC’s First All-Black FirehouseMay 24
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