When Was the Pentagon Built? The 16-Month Wartime Sprint
Sixteen months from groundbreaking to dedication. Thirteen thousand workers on round-the-clock shifts. Segregated cafeterias FDR personally overruled.
Segregation
Engine Company No. 4: DC’s First All-Black Firehouse
Gordon Parks photographed Engine Company No. 4 in 1943: men trusted to run into a fire, and made to eat off separate plates.
Suburban Gardens: DC’s Black Amusement Park in Deanwood
Suburban Gardens opened at 50th and Hayes NE in June 1921, built by a Black-owned company. It was the only major amusement park ever inside the District, born because the region’s white parks barred Black Washingtonians.
Langston Golf Course: D.C.’s Segregated Public Course
Langston Golf Course opened June 11, 1939 as DC’s only public links for Black golfers. The fight for equal access took longer than the build.
Bathing suit police and the segregated Tidal Basin beach
In June 1922 a Washington cop knelt on the sand of the Tidal Basin with a tape measure pressed against a woman’s thigh. He was checking how far her swimsuit climbed above the knee.