DC’s Southwest quadrant has a dramatic and contested history. Once a dense working-class neighborhood, it was almost entirely demolished by urban renewal in the 1950s and 60s. These posts examine what was lost and what replaced it.
Before L’Enfant Plaza’s Brutalist towers, Southwest DC was a thriving neighborhood. We dug into the Evening Star archives to trace the full story, from the 1954 demolition to the Fedlandia proposals reshaping the area today.
Take a look at the Federal Aviation Administration’s headquarters on DC’s Independence Ave. SW and compare it to what the block looked like in 1941 on the eve of World War II. See how the landscape has changed in this comparison.
Take a look back in time at Southwest D.C. in the 1930s & 1940s through this old photograph. See how the area has changed since then and explore the 1927 Baist map of the area.
Take a look at this 1921 map of Bellevue Highlands, showing what would become Bellevue. Read up on the last farm in the city and click on the map to zoom in and see more details
Take a trip back in time to May 1913 with this amazing old photograph of the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, driving around Southwest D.C. in a car!
This is a cool old photo from the 1940s showing the 600 block of G St in Washington, DC, which has been torn down. See more photos from the area and learn about the DC Public Library’s Dig DC project.
This photograph was taken in April 1865, right around the time of President Lincoln’s assassination. You can see the unpaved roads of Maine Ave, SW and the Capitol Building in the background. Compare this to the view today via Google Street View!
Take a look at a photo from southwest Washington between 1900s and 1910s, courtesy of Streets of Washington. Get a glimpse into the daily life of this time period and see how much has changed
The progress of 1950s development in D.C. destroyed much of the city. Explore the sad reality of this destructive period in D.C. history with this post from Ghosts of DC.
