Prohibition
Washington went dry before the rest of the country, with DC adopting prohibition in 1917, two years before the national ban took effect. The capital’s proximity to wet Maryland and Virginia made enforcement a constant battle, and the city’s speakeasies, bootleggers, and blind pigs became a defining feature of 1920s Washington. These posts explore prohibition’s particular impact on DC’s bars, restaurants, and social life.
Arthur Scrivener: Murder or Suicide in a Georgetown Alley, 1926
Stetson’s on U Street Was Once a Speakeasy Raided Five Times
The Raven Grill: 91 Years on Mount Pleasant StreetGet new stories by email
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Tune Inn Capitol Hill: 79 Years of a DC Dive Bar
Martin’s Tavern Georgetown: JFK, Booth 3, and 93 Years
Francis Aebersold, the 19-Year-Old Rum Runner Shot at 13th and D Streets NE
Criminal Automobiles: A Letter to the Editor
A New Year’s Eve Cartoon on the Eve of National Prohibition
The 1928 Prohibition Raid Gone Wrong at an Adams Morgan Oyster HouseMore storiesShowing 9 of 21