Navy Yard

Aerial view of the Washington Navy Yard, looking east (top). This shot shows the Navy Yard’s borders: M Street on the north (left); the waterfront on the south; 11th street on the east, and 2nd street on the west (foreground). On the right bank of the river is Anacostia, September 1963. NHHC Photograph Collection, Navy Subject Files, Washington Navy Yard. (214).

Aerial Views of the Navy Yard in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s

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...
View toward Navy Yard

19th Century View Towards Navy Yard

What a great old photo of the Navy Yard. Source: Dig DC
1858 plan of the Navy Yard

1858 Architectural Plan for the Navy Yard

Check this out … it’s an old 1858 plan for the Navy Yard. Source: Library of Congress
guns kill people

Capitol Hill Wife Murdered by Drunk Lover, Discovered by Husband Returning From Work at Navy Yard

Digging through the old newspaper archives, we uncovered a the following headline: “Found Wife Murdered; And Many Lay Dead Beside Her In Husband’s Home; Believes He Did Shooting.” How can we not look into this? The piece...

The Leg of Ulric Dahlgren

Walking through the Navy Yard a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon an incongruous plaque embedded on the side of a building. The building was a modern parking garage, similar to dozens around the city, and...
Plan of the Navy Yard at Washington, D.C. : showing the position and dimensions of all the buildings as they were June 1st 1881.

Plan for the Navy Yard in 1881

We found this great old plan for the Washington Navy Yard at the Library of Congress. It shows the position and dimensions of all the buildings as they were on June 1st, 1881. Source: Library of...
Georgetown's gun barrel fence

Georgetown’s Gun Barrel Fence [VIDEO]

This is the best contribution thus far by a member of the GoDC community. This is from Tom H. in Bethesda, and when I first saw it, I was blown away at how professional it looked....

Map of the Navy Yard Before Nationals Park

Another map! Sweet. I think GoDCer David will dig this. Most of you will dig this because these old maps are amazing. This time, we’re checking out the Navy Yard circa 1921. This is the area...
Japanese embassy posing for photo with naval officers at Washington's navy yard (Library of Congress)

Arrival of First Japanese Embassy at the Navy Yard (1860)

In January 1860, the Tokugawa shogunate sent a delegation to the United States with the primary objective of ratifying the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (aka, the Harris Treaty). Commodore Matthew Perry (not Chandler) had opened Japan (forcefully)...
O Street pumping station (JDLand)

Three Things About the O Street Pumping Station

Your second major stop on the WABA “Down the Tubes” bicycle ride on Sunday is going to be the O Street Pumping Station, down by the Navy Yard. This is a beautiful old Beaux-Arts building from...
Unknown Soldier from World War I being taken from the USS Olympia at the Washington Navy Yard and transported to the US Capitol to lay in state (DC Public Commons)

The Unknown Soldier’s Arrival in Color (1921)

Here’s a haunting and solemn colorized photo from 1921, much like the Lincoln photo I posted a while back. The Unknown Soldier from World War I had just arrived by ship at the Washington Navy Yard....
The Assassination of President Lincoln (1865)

What Was Lincoln Doing Four Days Before Assassination?

April 10th, 1865 — Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia had surrendered a day earlier at Appomattox Court House. The Civil War was over and the Union had been preserved. Workmen from the...