Metro’s 1968 Mockup Station: Before the First Tunnel Was Dug
In 1968, WMATA spent $69,000 on a full-scale mockup of a Metro station to test the design before construction began. At just 17 feet long, it looked right but went nowhere.
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.
A Brief History of Brunch in D.C.
What is the history of brunch in Washington? The word dates back to 1895 and started appearing the the local papers in the early 20th century. Are you hungry?
When Did Metro Open in D.C.?
Washington’s Metro opened on March 27, 1976, with 4.6 miles of track between Rhode Island Avenue and Farragut North. All rides were free.
Who Was Involved in the Watergate Scandal?
Remember the names of those involved in the Watergate scandal? In August 1974, Richard Nixon resigned before being impeached.
Dulles Airport’s 1970 Hijacking and $100 Million Ransom
On June 4, 1970, a Phoenix bread truck driver hijacked a TWA jet to Dulles and demanded $100 million from the Supreme Court over a $471.78 IRS dispute.
It’s 4:20 Somewhere
Hazy blue smoke surrounds the origins of the annual Fourth of July Smoke-In. Though it now takes place in Lafayette Square, across the barricaded street from the White House, it began on the Mall.
The 1967 Map of DC Highways That Were Never Built
In 1967 the National Capital Planning Commission mapped out the freeway grid Washington was supposed to get: a K Street expressway, a Three Sisters Bridge, an I-95 extension up through northeast. Almost none of it got built.
Congressman and Exotic Dancer Sex Scandal
To sum up the bizarre incident, the Congressman’s Lincoln was pulled over the the wee hours around 2 a.m. by the park police near the Tidal Basin. Apparently Mills’ nose was bleeding and he had scratches on his face.
1977 Washington Post Exposé: Underage Substance Abuse in Silver Spring Elementary School
This is an unexpected and disappointing article from 1977 about a small group of sixth-graders and a third-grader smuggling marijuana and liquor to and from an elementary school in Montgomery County. Interestingly, this occurred just a few days before President Jimmy Carter implemented the first civil rights law for people with disabilities.