Part of the building at 20th and P St. near Dupont Circle came crashing down during construction in 1908. Two workmen were killed and several more came close to meeting a horrific end.
Where did former President Taft live while he was the Chief Justice? This old row house in Dupont Circle was where he lives during his Supreme Court tenure.
Take a look back at the snow-filled day when William Howard Taft was sworn in as President of the United States. Photos included! Learn more about the wintery inauguration and racing President Taft.
Witness the history of aviation! Read about Harry Atwood’s historic flight to the White House in 1911, shared by GoDCer Mike. See the picture, read the Washington Post article, and more!
President Taft was a huge advocate for automobiles, so much so that he was given a budget of $12,000 to invest in both automobiles as well as a building to house them. Read about the dismantling of the White House stables and President Taft’s investment in automobiles.
For the next “This Day in History” post, I came across this list of White House visitors for January 24th, 1912. A long list of prominent individuals visited President Taft that day, from the Italian Ambassador, to the Secretary of War and many Members of Congress.
This is the early 20th century version of open government and transparency and it’s really interesting to see this printed in the newspaper.
An interesting society section article in the Washington Post from January 5th, 1912 (I know I’m a day late. I started this last night and set it to post today) mentions that President William Howard Taft — the heaviest president we’ve ever had the pleasure of electing — had dinner the night before at his Secretary of State’s home. Secretary Philander C. Knox and his wife hosted the first couple in the annual winter dinner of cabinet officers, honoring the President and Mrs. Taft (clearly not a tradition that survived across administrations). Below is the excerpt from the Post.
The President and Mrs. Taft were guests at dinner last night of the Secretary of State and Mrs. Knox at their home on K street. The dinner was the first in the series given every winter by cabinet officers in honor of the President and Mrs. Taft. The home of the Secretary and Mrs. Knox, which is one of the handsomest official residences in Washington, was decorated last night with orchids.
The other guests were the British Ambassador and Mrs. Bryce, the German Ambassador and Countess von Bernstorff, the Italian Ambassador and Marchioness Cusani, the Russian Ambassador and Mme. Bakhmeteff, Mr. Justice McKenna and Mrs. McKenna, Senator and Mrs. Warren, Senator and Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Garrison McClintock, Mr. Horace Taft, and Mr. and Mrs. Hugh S. Knox.
That is an impressive guest list. I’d love to be a fly on the wall at that dinner. I added photos of some of the guests below.
