Ghosts of DCThe lost and untold stories of Washington

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1990s

Washington hit bottom in the early 1990s, with a murder rate that earned the city a grim national reputation. But by decade’s end, the turnaround had begun. Penn Quarter was reviving, the MCI Center had opened, and the city was starting to believe in itself again after years of decline.

31 stories
The Bayou exterior in 1977 with the Whitehurst Freeway overhead at 3135 K Street NW, GeorgetownThe Bayou: 45 Years Under the Whitehurst Freeway21 min readBest OfEpisodeUptown Theater at 3426 Connecticut Avenue NW in Cleveland Park at dusk, with its red neon UPTOWN sign and lit marqueeUptown Theater in Cleveland Park: DC’s Last Movie Palace8 min readDaytime exterior of Nathans bar at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW in Georgetown, with the dark blue NATHANS awning, The Q and A Cafe subtitle, and pedestrians on the brick sidewalkNathans Georgetown: 40 Years at 3150 M Street, and What’s There Now13 min readBest Of

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Shanklin Hall lounge at 2325 18th Street NW with leather seating and local artworkBefore Shanklin Hall: 2325 18th Street Was the First Headquarters of D.G.S.9 min readTotem pole standing outside Dr. Dremo's Taphouse at 2001 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington, December 2007Dr. Dremo’s, Bardo Rodeo, and the Oldsmobile Showroom at 2000 Wilson Blvd11 min readBoogies Diner in the faux-historical building at 1229 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Georgetown, 19931229 Wisconsin Ave NW: The History of Georgetown’s Apple Store Building7 min readAI illustration of the HKS Architects ballpark concept on the Potomac, with the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Capitol beyond center fieldThe Stadium That Almost Brought the Nationals to Arlington7 min readBest OfThe Big Hunt at 1345 Connecticut Avenue NW in July 2008, mid-run, with the striped circus-tent awning and the jungle murals that defined the storefront for nearly three decades. Photo by Kevin Harber, used under Creative Commons.Inside The Big Hunt: How a 1928 Dupont Storefront Became DC’s Weirdest Bar17 min readBest Of2321 18th Street NW painted red as Death Punch bar in 2025Before Death Punch and Bourbon, 2321 18th St NW Was the Blue Room6 min read
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