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1970s

Washington in the 1970s was a city reinventing itself. Home rule arrived in 1973, giving DC its first elected mayor. Metro opened in 1976, remaking how the region moved. Watergate consumed the political establishment for two years. And neighborhoods that had been devastated by the 1968 riots slowly started to find their footing again.

102 stories
AI-colorized photograph of the Dunbar Hotel: the hotel along 15th street.The Dunbar Hotel: A Gathering Place for Black Washington6 min readTongsun Park, in glasses and a paisley tie, raises his right hand to be sworn in, with the Great Seal of the United States behind him.Koreagate’s Clubhouse: Tongsun Park’s George Town Club8 min readTWA Boeing 727-231 jet N94314 parked at Washington National Airport in 1989The 1970 Dulles Hijacking: $100 Million Over a $471.78 Tax Bill8 min readEpisode
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AI-generated illustration of a horned, goat-faced figure in a misty forestThe Maryland Goatman: The Real 1970s Story Behind the Legend5 min readBest OfEpisodeSenior Prom at the White House: Susan Ford’s Class of 19757 min readBest OfEpisodeKenya’s embassy at 2249 R Street NW, with its pale façade, flags, and entrance archesBefore It Was Kenya’s Embassy: The Story of 2249 R Street4 min readAI-colorized version of the 1960s rendering of the proposed Three Sisters Bridge over the Potomac, with the Three Sisters islands belowThree Sisters Bridge Across the Potomac Was Never Built10 min readBest OfEpisodeThe Bayou exterior in 1977 with the Whitehurst Freeway overhead at 3135 K Street NW, GeorgetownThe Bayou: 45 Years Under the Whitehurst Freeway18 min readBest OfEpisodeThe Three SistersThe Three Sisters: How a Potomac Drowning Legend Became a Curse7 min readBest OfEpisode
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