This is quite a beautiful photo of the Potomac River from 1898. I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to locate this photo, but if you have any thoughts, add them below in the comments. Source: Library of Congress

This is a sad story that we came across in The Washington Postfrom June 29th, 1908. John McCalip, 22 years old, an electrician, at the Senate office building, was drowned yesterday while swimming in Broad Creek, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, a short distance below Alexandria. The Washington Police were notified, and the […]

You think it’s cold today? Well, it is … but 130 years ago, there were some record freezing temperatures causing problems all over the city. We went through the papers to dig up some old stories about the misery of winter and found some good stuff. Here’s an article that we dug up in The Evening […]

Remember how nasty the Potomac River was? Yes, it’s still not the greatest, but it’s swimmable in some parts (as long as you don’t have open wounds). Back in the 1970s, it was absolutely polluted. Check out this sign from 1973, recommending you seek immediate medical attention after prolonged exposure. Source: U.S. National Archives

Here’s a great shot that we found on Flickr. It’s the boat club just above Aqueduct Bridge (or where Key Bridge is today). Source: D.C. Public Library

What an incredible photo. We dug this one up thanks to Reddit.

That’s right, the Patawmack River, not the Potomac. Check out this cool map of what would become the City of Washington. It was done around 1893, near the city’s centennial. Source: Library of Congress

What an amazing photograph from the 1860s. This shows the entrance to the Washington Water Works near Great Falls. Source: Library of Congress

Here is a cool old photo of the Potomac Boat Club in 1921, standing in front of, what will soon become, the Key Bridge. Looks like the guy on the right is in dire need of new socks. Source: Library of Congress

These are some great prints of Washington as it looked in the mid-1790s. They were done by George Isham Parkyns and they show a slightly different and more pastoral landscape. Here is the print of the Potomac and I’m guessing that island is Roosevelt Island.

Where was Herzog's famous sea food restaurant in Washington, DC? And, what did it look like?

In 1872, Congress appropriated $100,000 for a bridge made of iron. Construction lasted until 1874, when it was rechristened "Chain Bridge" without chains.

It’s often hard to believe how rural much of Washington appeared in the 19th century. This is one of those photographs that you marvel at for a while. The image shows a view of Washington, down the Potomac River from the top of Georgetown in 1865. You can also see Aqueduct Bridge from Virginia into […]

Hard to believe it, but back in the 1920s, Arlington had a beach. Here’s a shot of the amusement park on the Potomac River (near where the Pentagon is today) around 1925. And here is another photo of the area from 1923. Look at the faces of the kids close up … another great moment, […]

A beauty queen hero emerged on the banks of the Potomac, one summer day in 1924. Below is an article from the Washington Post, published on June 2nd, 1924. Miss Leoma Davis, winner of several Washington beauty contests, yesterday afternoon dived into the Chesapeake canal and saved G. W. Cave, local insurance man, from drowning. […]

This is a guest post by Aaron. He also wrote a really popular post on red metro trains. It must have made a splash. But nobody saw anything. An overturned taxi lay atop the rocky shore of the Potomac. There it was. No driver and perhaps no obvious clues within. But it didn’t take long for police […]

Before “Watergate” became synonymous with a group of buildings and a scandal, it was the name applied to something else. And it’s something that most of us are very familiar with, especially if you’re an avid runner who heads down to the Lincoln Memorial, on the Potomac side. There are a series of steps between […]

In the early 20th century there was a somewhat corroborated rumor of shark attacks in the Potomac River. Read the unbelievable story.

Why is the capital in Washington, DC? After the British burned the White House and Capitol in the War of 1812, the capital almost moved back to Philadelphia.

A horrific air disaster occurred on November 1st, 1949 near National Airport. An inbound passenger flight from Boston collided with a small military plane, killing everyone on board.