Dupont Circle takes its name from Civil War admiral Samuel Francis du Pont, whose statue anchored the traffic circle until 1884. The neighborhood has been one of Washington’s most fashionable addresses since the Gilded Age, home to grand mansions, rowhouses, and embassies that have defined its character across 150 years. These posts dig into the history behind Dupont Circle’s streets and buildings.
We found a photo from 1935 of Massachusetts Avenue, but we’re not sure where it is. Any ideas? Go to lunch, show your friends, debate it and post your thoughts in the comments below. Are these homes still there?
Miriam Auerbach Wolf was 12 in this 1924 photo. She grew up to be the first woman life member of the Washington Board of Realtors’ Million-Dollar Sales Club.
Take a closer look at Dupont Circle in this Washington Times article from December 21st, 1902. Click on the image to get a detailed version of the page!
Explore the diplomatic history between Canada and the US through the 1927 arrival of Vincent Massey, the first Canadian diplomat posted to Washington, DC. Learn more about the “new kids in class” phenomenon and how embassies are accepted into their new community.
Ciro Gallotti gets the credit, but Luigi Calvi was advertising pizza on 18th Street NW five years earlier, in February 1938.
An 1880 statistical map compiled by Lt. F.V. Greene shows property values across Washington, with land in Shaw and Mt. Vernon Square worth three to four times more than comparable plots in Dupont Circle.
In 1919, construction began on the luxurious Hadleigh Apartments in Washington, DC. Learn about the $2,000,000 building, the mortgage, and the major bus accident that happened nearby.
Take a look back in time and see what Dupont Circle in Washington, DC looked like in 1900. This amazing shot clearly shows the Patterson House (now the Washington Club) in the background. What a beautiful frozen moment in time!
The Dupont Underground is a network of abandoned streetcar tunnels beneath Dupont Circle, frozen in time since the last car ran in 1955.
