Here are three other notable things that happened at the Watergate. The Reagans had to exit the building by candlelight because the power went out. There were bomb threats and a major protest of the Chicago Seven trial.

Here’s a rare one. You’re looking at then-governor Clinton of Arkansas, and Georgetown graduate, delivering the commencement speech at Georgetown for the graduating class of 1980. Any of you readers graduate with that class?

Autumn 1984, Washington DC – It was the best of times, it was the worst of traffic. In September of 1984, The Washington Post published a story about a horrendous Beltway accident. Though numerous letters were published in response to the story, one letter launched a discussion that continued for months, nay, years. In the […]

You can't build an embassy anywhere in D.C. Check out this map from 1987 showing where it's okay to have your diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C.

This is an aerial image of the Willard Hotel undergoing major renovations in the 1980s. Source: Library of Congress

Remember Erol’s? They were the awesome local video chain where we rented Goonies, Ghostbusters (the original), or the Gremlins. It was a sad day when the local powerhouse came to an end with the Blockbuster acquisition. This article below by Mark Potts in The Washington Post on November 20th, 1990, talked about the recent acquisition. Erol’s Inc., […]

When this headline hit the papers in 1980, it was a big deal. A really big deal. Being gay was something that would disqualify you from holding a security clearance. Below are excerpts from the article printed on December 30th of that year. In a decision believed to be the first of its kind the […]

This photo is an aerial view of the Navy Yard just a couple of months before President Kennedy was assassinated. Source: National Museum of the U.S. Navy Here’s another one from the 1970s. Source: National Museum of the U.S. Navy And finally, from the 1980s. Source: National Museum of the U.S. Navy

Hinckley was arrested and found not guilty of his charges by reason of insanity. He was sent to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC, less than ten minutes from the place he attempted to assassinate Reagan.

Click on the image below to see the larger version and see if you recognize parts of Alexandria from the 1980s. Source: Library of Congress

Check out this unique aerial view of the waterfowl sanctuary near Gravelly Point. Source: Library of Congress

Here’s an incredible view of the Washington Monument some time in the early 1980s. Source: Library of Congress

It’s a sad fact that much of D.C. was demolished from the 1950s through the 1980s. It’s a damn shame, but everything was in the name of progress. Source: Flickr user Smithsonian Source: Streets of Washington Our role model, John DeFerrari wrote an incredible post on the building’s history, and you need to head over there […]

This was the first time an official of the Soviet Union testified before a House committee, by Vitaly Churkin, in an attempt to be transparent after the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

This is an interesting story from the 1980s. Mayor for life, and general embarrassment to the city of Washington, Marion Barry, proposed in 1985 to rename a portion of Massachusetts Ave. in front of the South African embassy after the jailed anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. We came across this article in The Baltimore Sun from July […]

Congratulations to our latest “If Walls Could Talk” poll winner, Nanny O’Briens. We’re going to do a little digging into the history of your building at 3319 Connecticut Ave. NW. The Greek restaurant investor On September 11th, 1952, The Washington Post reported on a funeral mass to be held for Louis Kanakos, who died at the […]

When did DC raise the drinking age to 21? The story goes back to 1984 with Ronald Reagan, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, and highways.

Now this is not something you’ll read everyday … or ever really. Except in 1981. We came across this article in The Baltimore Sun from September 23rd of that year. A 29-year-old White House guard has been charge with the gunpoint robbery Monday of a Citizens National Bank branch in Laurel, the FBI said yesterday. Authorities […]

This is a map of Metro done with braille. I’m not sure what the date it on this, but since the Red Line stops at Silver Spring (why is it named Silver Spring?), it’s some time before 1990, when Forest Glen was built. Source: Library of Congress

What a great shot of Federal Triangle, looking down Pennsylvania Ave. You can also see the Navy Memorial under construction. Source: Library of Congress