Anacostia is one of DC’s oldest neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, with a history stretching from Frederick Douglass’s home on Cedar Hill to the Bonus Army encampment of 1932 and the urban renewal battles of the 20th century.
Charles Curtis had Bassett Furniture build a 19.5-foot mahogany chair outside his Anacostia showroom in 1959. A year later, model Lynn Arnold moved into a glass house on top of it for 42 days. The chair is still there.
Before dawn on March 11, 1926, 19-year-old Francis Aebersold blazed out of Anacostia in a Peerless touring car carrying 180 quarts of corn whiskey, four DC officers chasing him north at 60 miles an hour, guns drawn.
Three aerial views of the Washington Navy Yard: September 1963, March 1970 and the mid-1980s, with the USS Barry moored at the pier in the last.
A waterspout rose from the Potomac below Alexandria, came ashore, and tore a 15-mile path across Washington in under half an hour.
Read about the robbery of Frederick Douglass’ former home at Cedar Hill in Anacostia, Washington D.C. in 1905. Learn more about this historic event from The Washington Post and other sources.
Discover the forgotten history of Butler Heights, Washington DC with this vintage advertisement from 1916. Learn more about the tiny Butler St. SE, close to Frederick Douglass’ old home.
The Anacostia Bank opened at 2021 Nichols Avenue SE in 1910. In 1918 it was decorated head-to-toe in flags for a wartime parade. The building still stands, renamed, unbanked.
Four photos of Washington, DC in the 1960s, each showing the city as viewed from the east. A quick series for anyone curious about 1960s DC.
