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The Demise of DC's Streetcars
A streetcar in front of the U.S. Capitol. Credit: Theodor Horydczak, Library of Congress In a previous blog post, we told you about the history of the District's original streetcar system, which dated...
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Beatlemania Begins in DC
Paul McCartney and John Lennon are ushered through the crowd at Union Station on February 11, 1964. (Photo credit: Mike Mitchell)It's hard to imagine that anyone would think the Beatles might not be a...
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The Beatles' Awkward Embassy Soiree
The cold weather wasn't the only thing that was uncomfortable when the Beatles visited the British Embassy on February 11, 1964. (Photo by Flickr user UKinUSA. Used under Creative Commons attribution...
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Attempted Rembrandt Heist at the Corcoran
Nobody is 100% sure who this Rembrandt painting depicts but it is clear that it was damaged by a would-be thief in 1959 at the Corcoran. (Source: Wikimedia Commons.) The 145-year-old Corcoran Gallery...
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When Elvis Played Washington
Elvis Presley only performed three times in Washington. The first of which was on a boat in the middle of the Potomac River. (Photo source: Wikipedia) One of the most fascinatingly outlandish moments...
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Washington's Dead Letter Office
In Herman Melville's classic 1853 short story, "Bartleby the Scrivener," the narrator offers a curious explanation for the self-destructive melancholy of the main character.The report was this: that...
View Article1994: World Cup at RFK Stadium Produced One of Soccer's Greatest Goals
This year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil already has produced some exciting matches. But one of the most thrilling goals in World Cup history actually was scored at Washington's RFK Stadium back in 1994,...
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Before DC United, We Had the Ill-Starred Washington Diplomats
The Washington Diplomats sported bright red uniforms emblazoned with the abbreviated team name, "Dips." (Source: nasljerseys.com) Today, soccer finally is a big enough deal in Washington that DC...
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Flying Saucers Over DC?
Though the government discounted them, flying saucers over DC were big news in the summer of 1952. In the 1950s, Washington seems to have been a popular destination for UFOs, both actual ones and...
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Forgotten Greatness: The Washington Bears Basketball Team
In 1943, the 41-0 Washington Bears defeated the Oshkosh All-Stars, becoming the first undefated African-American team to win a championship in the World Professional Basketball Tournament. (Photo...
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March 1981: The Tourist From Hell
As the sun rose over Washington, DC, on the morning of March 30, 1981, in room 312 of the Park Central Hotel on 705 18th Street NW, a guest lay in bed, anxious and wired after a mostly sleepless night....
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How Union Station was Saved in the 1980s
Union Station in 1963, prior to a botched 1970s repurposing that nearly destroyed the building. Credit: National Archives When Union Station opened in 1907, the white granite Beaux-Arts train terminal...
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D.C. vs. The Flying Saucers... On Screen and in Real Life
Imagine what Hollywood filmmakers would've come up with if they had gotten their hands on Project Blue Book reports like this one back in the 1950s. (Photo source: Project Blue Book)From the late 1940s...
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Nixon’s Weirdest Day
On April 30, 1970, President Nixon announced the attack on Cambodia in a televised address to the nation. (Photo: Jack E.Kightlinger/NARA) On April 20, 1970 President Nixon addressed the nation...
View ArticleGrave Robbing in Washington: A History of the Morbid Trade
As Halloween fast approaches, it seems like a fitting time to explore one of Washington’s horrific nineteenth-century professions, the professional grave robber. Known as “resurrectionists” by the...
View ArticleGeorge Christian's Shipping Ring
December 13th, 1873. The streets of Washington, soupy with mud from the previous day’s rains, began crystallizing with slick patches of ice as the first kiss from winter’s lips touched the city....
View ArticleVigo Jansen: The Resurrectionist King
To conclude our series on Washington, D.C.’s professional grave robbers, we’ll focus on one of the most interesting individuals to ever stalk D.C.’s cemeteries, Vigo Jansen Ross. Like most professional...
View ArticleThe Civil War Created a Refugee Crisis in Washington
The Civil War changed Washington, D.C. tremendously, but one of the biggest impacts came from the thousands of former slaves who fled from the South and journeyed northward to seek refuge in the...
View ArticleFortress Alexandria
After Union forces were routed in the first Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, they rushed back northward in a panic, realizing that Washington was vulnerable to a Confederate counterattack that —...
View Article1973: The Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Mega-Concert
Back in the summer of 1973, long before bumper stickers iconic skeleton-and-roses logo were a familiar sight on camper vans, the Grateful Dead teamed up with another legendary rock band, the Allman...
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