The 1960s were a decade of transformation and trauma for Washington. The March on Washington in 1963 brought a quarter million people to the Mall. JFK’s assassination brought the city to a standstill. And the 1968 riots that followed Dr. King’s murder left scars across entire neighborhoods that would take decades to heal.
In April 1963, DC’s three appointed commissioners begged the federal government to build every freeway on the map: the Three Sisters Bridge, the Inner Loop, the East Leg, the North-Central. Almost none of it survived the decade.
It started as a one-summer Chautauqua on the Potomac, built by twin brothers who had cashed in on an egg beater patent. By 1933 it was a streetcar amusement park with a Spanish ballroom and a Dentzel carousel. By 1960 that carousel was the flashpoint of a Howard University sit-in.
The man whose name is over the door at 1264 Wisconsin Avenue was a Boston Braves shortstop in the 1914 World Series before he opened a Georgetown tavern the year Prohibition ended. Ninety-three years and four generations later, it is still open, still owned by the same family, and still has a brass plaque on the booth where John F. Kennedy proposed to Jacqueline Bouvier.
Before L’Enfant Plaza’s Brutalist towers, Southwest DC was a thriving neighborhood. We dug into the Evening Star archives to trace the full story, from the 1954 demolition to the Fedlandia proposals reshaping the area today.
Explore the legacy of Massimo Vignelli, the visionary designer behind the Washington Metro’s iconic look. Discover how his philosophy of simplicity and functionality shaped the visual identity of D.C.’s public transit system.
Braddock’s Rock was where General Edward Braddock reportedly camped on the Potomac in 1755, with a young George Washington along.
The Silver Sightseer streetcar gave cool, narrated tours of Washington D.C.’s famous landmarks in the late 1950s. Read about this one-of-a-kind, air-conditioned trolley that was specially decorated before it tragically burned down years later when the streetcar system closed.
In June 1966, the Pagans and Avengers shot it out in broad daylight at the Lee Harrison Shopping Center in Arlington. Eleven bikers went to prison.
Discover the real-life inspiration for St. Elmo’s Bar from the iconic 1985 movie. Georgetown’s The Tombs played a starring role in shaping this classic spot.
