From 1908–1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold about 70,000 - 75,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program.

This is a cool old advertisement from the Evening Star from 1924. The Wardman Construction Company was headed by Harry Wardman, prolific real estate developer in Washington back in the early part of the 20th century. Today’s Redfin listing for the home has it valued at about $1.6 million, up from around $15,000 nearly a […]

Harry Wardman was a prolific developer of Northwest in the 1920s. This ad from The Evening Star shows some of his homes on Cathedral Ave. in Woodley Park.

The namesake in England no longer stands as it was torn down in 1962, but the one in Woodley Park is still there. In 1950 it became the property of the Maret School and currently serves as a library and administrative building.

Happy Sunday, and welcome to map week! Starting now, going through the rest of the week, we’re posting a map each day, so get pumped. GoDCers love maps! And this is a great one to start with. Here’s a map covering Observatory Circle, Woodley Park and some of Glover Park from back in 1913. Pretty […]

Here’s a great old advertisement for Woodley Park in 1928. We found this one in The Washington Post, and it’s advertising some Wardman homes.

In these 1966 drawings, train cars roll under Connecticut Avenue, but above Rock Creek. These amazing early Metro plans never came to fruition. They depict the Red Line between Dupont Circle and Woodley Park.

Ghost Dog went on another walk this past weekend to seek out three more stories for the GoDC community. This time, she passed through Adams Morgan, en route to the Duke Ellington Bridge (formerly known as the Calvert Street Bridge). It was named in honor of Washington’s native son in 1974, after Ellington’s death. Construction […]

This is a far more charming photo of Washington in 1943 than the mock execution being held on the grounds of Woodrow Wilson High School. More than likely, Spangenberg was in the background of that photo, running drills. After a little Googling, I found Walter Spangenberg had his own biographical page. He learned to fly […]

We are a great nation and Americans in the 1880s were proud of their rapidly growing and dominant country. But how can you truly be a great nation without a national zoo to show off all the wonderful creatures that roam your lands, as well as those of foreign lands? Not only that, how will […]

By now, everyone should know this is a blog about local history and stories lost to time. But our reader Suzanne commented on Facebook that we should post a local ghost story. So, I’m happy to oblige for another “Reader’s Choice.” There are a number of well-known ghost stories in D.C., many of them centered […]

This is the first in a four-part series of posts covering the colorful homes on Cliffbourne Pl. NW, between Calvert St. and Biltmore St. You’ve seen these before, the green, yellow, red and blue homes, perfectly complementing each other. I imagine that I’m not the only one curious about the history of the four houses […]

A curious Ghosts of D.C. reader posted on Facebook that she wanted to know why Syracuse has a house in Woodley Park. I too am curious each time I walk by the Greenberg House at 2301 Calvert St. NW. So I’m going to find out, as well as learn about the house’s history. This will […]