This busy section once was a "Country Road" to Washingtonians looking for peace and recreation. If you drove by here a century ago, you would have passed woods and large estates, and might even have seen fox hunters. Across Georgia was the . . . — — Map (db m72813) HM
Apple and Peach Trees once covered the slopes to your left, some 40 acres' worth, all planted by noted horticulturalist John Saul (1819-1897). In the 1870s Saul was one of Brightwood's largest landowners. In addition to these orchards, he . . . — — Map (db m143797) HM
Back in the 1920s, most people walked or rode a streetcar to go shopping. Then cars became affordable, and people drove everywhere. Soon the shopping center, with free parking, was born. In 1937 Brightwood's "Park and Shop" opened on Georgia . . . — — Map (db m72826) HM
As one of Washington's oldest commercial corridors, Wisconsin Avenue has been a direct route to the Potomac River for more than 250 years. Originally an Indian trail, the route became known as Frederick Pike and linked the small port of George . . . — — Map (db m113387) HM
On March 3, 1869, President Andrew Johnson signed the Congressional Act chartering The Masonic Mutual Relief Association that became Acacia Life Insurance Company
Built as its headquarters and occupied by Acacia until 1997, the building . . . — — Map (db m186817) HM
Until the 1920s, Cathedral Heights was richer in cows than people. The neighborhood was carved into plots of woodland and farms, including nearly 30 acres owned by Henry Kengla on which the Westchester Cooperative Apartments now stand. The Kengla . . . — — Map (db m126975) HM
The Broad Branch Market has been a neighborhood tradition since 1919. In its honor, and in celebration of historic Chevy Chase DC this Call Box was restored by
Sydney Butler and his family
with the generous support of
Cahill . . . — — Map (db m116018) HM
The Washington Post, Nov. 30, 2016
Lin Han, noodle master
It's a simple window that looks out onto Sixth Street NW, but in a way, it's also a stage. Chinatown Express is the theater. "Fresh Noodle Made on the Spot," the lettering . . . — — Map (db m113107) HM
1920-1930:
Apartments, Shops and Cars
“Connecticut Avenue is the principal approach to what is undoubtedly Washington's greatest suburban buying power” — The Washington Post, December 7, 1930
Early development . . . — — Map (db m155387) HM
Connecticut Avenue's commercial corridor, between Macomb and Ordway, reflects changes in retail that followed changes in modes of transportation from 1890 streetcar, to automobiles, to the Cleveland Park Metro Station in 1981. Individual stores . . . — — Map (db m149062) HM
The Peirce Still House, built between 1796 and 1811, was part of a large plantation owned by Isaac Peirce, a Quaker from Pennsylvania and slave owner, who purchased the property in 1795. Much of the Peirce Estate became part of Rock Creek Park when . . . — — Map (db m82098) HM
Cleveland Park was named for Grover Cleveland who bought a country house on now Newark Street in 1886. In the 1890s, electrified streetcars ran on Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues and led to the development of the Cleveland Park "suburb". . . . — — Map (db m112449) HM
The Broadmoor epitomizes the luxury apartment/hotels built along Connecticut Avenue in the 1920s. Designed in 1927 by prominent architect Joseph H. Abel, the Broadmoor featured a pioneering underground garage, restaurant and bar, beauty salon, . . . — — Map (db m111655) HM
Following the April 4, 1968, assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., rioting broke out when angry crowds gathered at 14th and U Streets. The disturbances, here and around the city, lasted four days. At least ten people were . . . — — Map (db m184987) HM
Columbia Heights by the mid 1920s was a center of white elite activity and commerce. The elegant, Neoclassical style Riggs Bank branch and the Italian Renaissance style Tivoli Theater opened to great acclaim. Soon after, radio station WRC . . . — — Map (db m130743) HM
When the smoke cleared after the civil disturbances of April 1968, Columbia Heights lay devastated. Many residents and businesses simply left. Others remained to pick up the pieces. But who would help rebuild?
Citizen groups, church . . . — — Map (db m152929) HM
The intersection of 14th Street and Park Road has been the center of community life since at least 1871, when the neighborhood was called Mount Pleasant and storekeeper George Emery made his living on the northwest corner to your left. . . . — — Map (db m130744) HM
Harry Wardman, Washington's prolific developer, built nearly all of the 300 houses to your right between Monroe Street and Spring Road. Wardman, an English immigrant and self-made millionaire, became known for his rowhouses, whose front . . . — — Map (db m130746) HM
The Drum and Spear Bookstore, founded in 1968 by Charlie Cobb, a former secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, specialized in books written by black authors, and books on Asian, African, and African American subjects. Growing . . . — — Map (db m85756) HM
Fourteenth Street has always been the business backbone of Columbia Heights. Beginning in the 1890s, electric streetcars dropped passengers at nearly every corner, attracting commerce. By 1925 storefronts occupied the blocks between Euclid . . . — — Map (db m130750) HM
For nearly 50 years, this corner was home to Nob Hill Restaurant, one of the nation's first openly gay bars for-and run by-African Americans.
Started in the 1950s as a private social club, Nob Hill went public in 1957. Patrons enjoyed . . . — — Map (db m86014) HM
Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972, the US Treasury Building is the oldest departmental building in Washington. The building serves as the headquarters of the Treasury Department. Treasury's responsibilities encompass revenue collection, . . . — — Map (db m100443) HM
"…watch yourselves closely
so that you do not forget the things
your eyes have seen…
…teach them
to your children
and to their children
and to their children
after them."
Deuteronomy 4:19
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818-1907), born into slavery in Virginia, was hired out as a seamstress. With money from clients, she bought her own and her son's freedom in 1855. She gained renown as a dressmaker after moving to Washington, where First . . . — — Map (db m141279) HM
This urban oasis exists because President Andrew Jackson needed water. The site of excellent springs (a rare commodity in the early city, when everyone was dependent on private wells), . . . — — Map (db m211818) HM
On this site stood the principal office of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company founded on March 3, 1865 to receive deposits from former slaves. Frederick Douglass served as its last president. The bank was closed on June 29, 1874. The building . . . — — Map (db m32482) HM
The seed of the Swamp Milkweed contains buoyant white tufts, effective for seed dispersal and once used for pillows and life-jackets during WWII. — — Map (db m144512) HM
Katharine Meyer Graham (1917-2001) worked at the Washington Post as a young woman, after her father, Eugene Meyer, bought the paper in 1933. Meyer made Katharine Graham's husband, Philip Graham, the Post's publisher, but she took over the job after . . . — — Map (db m141280) HM
The Linotype was introduced in Baltimore in 1883 by Ottmar Mergenthaler, a German-born inventor. By replacing hand-set type with machine-set type, the speed of composition was vastly increased by this important advance in printing.
This machine . . . — — Map (db m29511) HM
1864
David L. Morrison was a developer who sold flour and feed to the U.S. government during the Civil War. Reuben B. Clark made land investments, owned a grocery store, and served as Washington, D.C.’s jail commissioner.
1917
M. Frank . . . — — Map (db m32827) HM
"The churches are needed as never before for divine services.
So said President Lincoln from his pew in New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. While other churches were occupied by the federal government and . . . — — Map (db m211822) HM
Immigrated from Sicily in 1900 Owned and Operated his restuarant at this location for 50 years His children proudly dedicate this plaque — — Map (db m96301) HM
This hotel opened February 18, 1925. Its first major event was the inaugural ball of President Calvin Coolidge. It has entertained every President since and has been the residence of a number of Vice Presidents, Cabinet members, Supreme Court . . . — — Map (db m8955) HM
This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places
as part of the 16th Street Historic District, opened as the Statler Hotel on January 18, 1943. It is one of the few major hotels in the nation built during World War II. . . . — — Map (db m112202) HM
The original Messer Building was developed by James A. Messer and occupied a portion of this site for over half a century until 1989. The Messer family, early Scottish immigrants who settled in the District of Columbia, have left their mark as . . . — — Map (db m88823) HM
Billions for the war,
and a bunker
for the president
The grand, pillared United States Treasury building that stands before you, its first section designed by Robert Mills in 1836, was the financial command center for the Union. It . . . — — Map (db m130407) HM
Billions for the war
and a bunker
for the president
The grand, pillared United States Treasury building that stands before you was the financial command center for the Union during the Civil War. It was here between 1861 and 1865 . . . — — Map (db m130491) HM
United States Department
of the Treasury
has been designated a
Registered National
Historic Landmark
under the provisions of the
Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935
This site possesses exceptional value
in . . . — — Map (db m2122) HM
James Wormley (1819-1884), free-born like his parents, was one of a number of African Americans entrepreneurs with downtown hospitality and service businesses. His five-story Wormley's Hotel opened here in 1871, catering primarily to wealthy and . . . — — Map (db m87577) HM
Andrew Mellon Building has been designated a National Historical Landmark This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.
1977
National Park Service United States Department . . . — — Map (db m40505) HM
Connecticut Ave. from Lafayette Square to Ashmead Place was just a well-worn trail for many years, after L'Enfant made it a prominent diagonal in his 1792 plan. The route was known as "the road to Holmead's" because of the family-owned . . . — — Map (db m93418) HM
Politician James G. Blaine (1830-1893), the three-time Republican presidential hopeful who represented Maine in the House and the Senate, built this house in 1881-82. Blaine and his family lived here only briefly because the mansion proved too . . . — — Map (db m98315) HM
Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 - February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and playwright of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil . . . — — Map (db m114774) HM
A Washington, D.C. Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places
Built by Christian Heurich (1842-1945), the world's oldest brewer, patriarch of the Washington business community, philanthropist, German immigrant, and American citizen . . . — — Map (db m68527) HM
Police Call Boxes such as this one (originally painted blue) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Officers on foot patrol used this secure telegraph system to contact the station, accessing the box with a now highly collectible . . . — — Map (db m112628) HM
The Cairo apartment house, built in 1894, was (and remains) the tallest privately owned building in Washington. At 156 feet, it towered over its neighbors, prompting laws limiting building heights. Local architect Thomas Franklin Schneider packed . . . — — Map (db m123771) HM
Theodore Roosevelt resided in a number of houses in Dupont Circle. Two still standing are 1215 19th St. and 1820 Jefferson St. In 1898, he lived at 1810 N St. (below, since razed). That year he led a volunteer cavalry called the Rough Riders . . . — — Map (db m96038) HM
Governor, Territory of the District of Columbia (1873-1874)
Born Washington, D.C. January 31, 1835
Died Batopilas, Mexico, September 12, 1902
Buried Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Civil War Union veteran, entrepreneur, civil leader . . . — — Map (db m65158) HM
Financier, Industrialist, Statesman
Secretary of the Treasury 1921-1932
Ambassador to Great Britain 1932-1933
Founder of the National Gallery of Art 1937
This fountain is a tribute from his friends. — — Map (db m71866) HM
General John J. Pershing died in 1948. The troops he led to victory 30 years before in World War I wanted a memorial. Of the potential locations, the block that you are standing on was the most appealing. It was available and it was next to the . . . — — Map (db m179904) HM
Lithuania
Capital Vilnius
Population 2.88 Million
Primary Export Refined fuel
Flag Fact
Lithuania's flag features three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red. The color yellow symbolizes golden fields, . . . — — Map (db m113333) HM
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, whose mission is to protect human health and the environment, has occupied the majority of offices in this block since 2001. EPA West (this building), the adjacent Mellon Auditorium, . . . — — Map (db m57210) HM
Across the street the Department of Commerce's Herbert C. Hoover Building anchors the Federal Triangle, just as the department - with its mission of promoting trade, supporting economic development, and strengthening the competitiveness of . . . — — Map (db m57204) HM
While only Congress — the people's elected representatives — can impose taxes and decide how they are spent, the Internal Revenue Service, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury, ensures those taxes are collected fairly and efficiently. The IRS . . . — — Map (db m57212) HM
This monument was erected by public subscription in accordance with the joint resolution of Congress of December 16, 1927. Signed by President Coolidge March 2, 1929, in memory of
Oscar S. Straus
1850 - 1926
Author . . . — — Map (db m9159) HM
In Greek mythology, Helios was imagined as a handsome god crowned with the shining aureole of the sun. He drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day to the earth—circling Oceanus and returning through the world-ocean to his palace in . . . — — Map (db m198007) HM
For years it was a dream – a canal to open a trade route from local commercial centers to the rich Ohio country across the Allegheny Mountains. Business would thrive as mule-drawn barges carried wheat, furs, whiskey, livestock, and coal to . . . — — Map (db m46939) HM
The Department of State is the nation’s oldest and senior cabinet agency. It was established by Congress in 1789 to conduct America’s diplomatic relations.
The State Department represents U.S. interests to foreign governments, promotes peace, . . . — — Map (db m40248) HM
These kilns were used as late as 1908, supplying Washington with a fine grade of lime. The limestone was brought from quarries just beyond Seneca, Maryland over the C & O Canal. — — Map (db m136875) HM
"Quigley's" at Twenty First and G Streets held a special place in university life. For a generation, the courtly presence, friendliness and human sympathy of its founder made his pharmacy an oasis of refreshment, sociability, and goodwill which will . . . — — Map (db m179005) HM
Leonard A. Grimes, a Black man born free in Leesburg, Virginia, owned a residence on this corner from 1836 to 1846.
In the 1830s, he owned a successful coach business transporting passengers in and around Washington. He also carried slaves . . . — — Map (db m46970) HM
"It has given me tremendous pleasure to serve the University and watch it grow and develop over the years. My time as a GW undergraduate was a unique experience that laid the foundation for future success and helped shape my commitment . . . — — Map (db m115893) HM
The Washington Loan & Trust Company, a predecessor of the Riggs Bank, was established in 1889, at which time it was the first chartered bank in Washington, D.C. In 1923, The Trust built a new, one story stone bank at the corner of 17th & G Streets, . . . — — Map (db m142261) HM
Notable architectural features comprised the Washington Loan & Trust Company Building, which originally stood at the corners of 17th and G St Northwest. Decorative elements from the bank building included the four medallions displayed here. Each . . . — — Map (db m142262) HM
In 1923, The Washington Loan Trust built a new, one story stone bank at the corner of 17th & G Streets, N.W. but in 1974 the building was razed for the construction of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board building that currently stands at this location. . . . — — Map (db m142263) HM
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) promotes cooperation among its member countries on monetary and economic matters. The IMF was established at a conference held at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, on July 1-22, 1944. Nearly all countries of the . . . — — Map (db m111527) HM
The Potomac River and nearby Rock Creek meet quietly here at Tide Lock.
Years ago, canal boats locked into Rock Creek from the C&O Canal about a half-mile upstream and then through Tide Lock into the bustling world of the Potomac waterfront. . . . — — Map (db m159241) HM
This structure was one of several buildings erected during 1955-57, just after Marjorie Post bought the estate. The west end was originally built as a living quarters for Post's butler, who was head of the household staff, which numbered about . . . — — Map (db m178224) HM
In the 1820s, Isaac Peirce built the mill that exists today on land he purchased in 1794. In 1892, Rock Creek Park was established and the Federal Government acquired the mill.
Artist: Mary Belcher — — Map (db m114361) HM
The last of several grain mills operating on Rock Creek during an era when most American mills derived their power from small streams. Located near an Indian site. The land was conveyed to Isaac Pierce by the Revolution patriot William Deakins in . . . — — Map (db m166590) HM
Rock Creek Park was created by Congress in 1890 through the lobbying efforts of local philanthropist Charles C. Glover. Its original 1,754 acres taken mainly by eminent domain constitutes the largest urban park in America - twice the size of New . . . — — Map (db m120161) HM
Here the Nacotchtank Indians quarried soapstone and carved vessels. Archaeologist William Henry Holmes studied prehistoric workshops in this valley and other parts of the Rock Creek Watershed in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Artist: Mary . . . — — Map (db m111605) HM
Foxhall Road was named after Henry Foxhall (with an "h" added for reasons unknown), one of the earliest armaments suppliers to the US government. Foxall emigrated from England to Philadelphia and then moved to the new capital, Washington DC. In . . . — — Map (db m187491) HM
After local builder Harry K. Boss visited England in the mid-1920s, he was determined to build a community reflecting the architecture of the town of Tewkesbury and in the spirit of ancient Bath. In 1925, the firm of Boss and Phelps, working with . . . — — Map (db m187490) HM
This building dates to the late 1700's and reputedly was constructed from brick which had been used as ballast in a ship from England. Originally the first apothecary store in Washington, it became a sign shop around 1860. In the 1890's, it was . . . — — Map (db m113645) HM
A simple corner drug store was a gathering place for famous Georgetowners in the 1970s. "Doc" Dalinsky's drug store at 1344 Wisonsin Avenue was a popular hangout for many notable Georgetowners, especially when Doc hosted brunch on Sunday — the . . . — — Map (db m113651) HM
Alfred Pope and his mother, Jedidah, moved from South Carolina and lived with Congressman John Carter at 3013 Q Street. Hannah worked as a lady's maid at Tudor Place. She was the daughter of Barbara Cole, whose family was enslaved to George . . . — — Map (db m234906) HM
Alfred Lee, one of Georgetown's more prosperous African Americans, began operating a store in the center market near Constitution and 7th Street about 1830. In 18670, looking to expand his business, Alfred purchased several M Street properties and . . . — — Map (db m240110) HM
If you could have walked along the towpath here in the 19th and early 20th century, your senses would have been overwhelmed by industrial pollution. The dust from coal being unloaded from canal boats fogged the air. The stench of animal fat being . . . — — Map (db m113411) HM
“It shall be their duty, at all hours, by night as well as by day, to pass all boats and floats presenting themselves at their locks.” —Charles Mercer, President, C&O Canal Company.
Every time his boat passed through a lock, a . . . — — Map (db m128) HM
When President George Washington commissioned Andrew Ellicott to mark the boundaries of the nation's capital in 1791, Ellicott chose Benjamin Banneker as his assistant. One of Maryland's most illustrious free African Americans, Benneker was a . . . — — Map (db m237623) HM
The original Canal House was built in 1878 to store the feed and horses of the Georgetown Railroad Company. In the 1890's it was converted into a power generating plant for public transit. Today the Canal House stands as another example of the . . . — — Map (db m121206) HM
One of the best preserved and least altered of old American canals, the Chesapeake and Ohio grew from Washington's vision of linking the valleys of the early west with the east by “ties of communication.”
The Potomac Company . . . — — Map (db m97477) HM
Born Scotland 1625 - Died Maryland 1717
Patentee of Rock of Dunbarton
Member of the House of Burgesses
Commander in Chief of Provincial Forces of Maryland
In grateful recognition of his services "upon all incursions and disturbances of . . . — — Map (db m110022) HM
You are standing at what has been the crossroads of Georgetown since Colonial times. George Town was laid out on the bluffs above the harbor on either side of Wisconsin Avenue. The avenue then was called Frederick Town Rolling Road because it was . . . — — Map (db m113647) HM
Georgetown's first African Americans were brought as slaves to labor for the tobacco industry and for domestic service in the houses of wealthy tobacco merchants. Others came as freed men and women before and after the Civil War. Over time, in . . . — — Map (db m113639) HM
During America's early days, the Georgetown waterfront thrived as a port lined with wharves and seagoing vessels. It later became an industrial site. Now it is a National Park. How does an old port and industrial site become a National Park? In . . . — — Map (db m83864) HM
Left panel: Georgetown became a port city soon after its 1751 founding. Located on the Potomac River, it was the logical choice for the canal’s terminus. Canal activity further spurred Georgetown’s economic growth. By the late 1800s, it was . . . — — Map (db m97762) HM
From 1760 to 1850, at 1351 Wisconsin Avenue stood John Beattie's slave auction house—one of the more humiliating and degrading sites in slavery. (It's the old Georgetown Theater, formerly the Dumbarton Theater.) Beattie's slave pen was nearby, at . . . — — Map (db m234903) HM
The citizens of Georgetown were already raising money for good causes two centuries ago. In 1796 the Mayor of Georgetown, Daniel Reintzel, was authorized to demolish a frame market house that stood on this site and erect a new brick market . . . — — Map (db m146212) HM
Among the first businesses in historic Georgetown were its inns and taverns. They not only offered food, drink and lodging, but were focal points of community life where political debate and civic meetings took place and business deals were made. . . . — — Map (db m121195) HM
In this building, Herman Hollerith perfected his pioneering punched card tabulating machines -- the forerunners of today's computer systems. Hollerith moved his business here in 1892 while his early machines were at work on the U.S. census of 1890, . . . — — Map (db m97678) HM
Welcome to "Hilleary's Smiling Corner," named for Albert and Flora Hilleary, who ran the corner grocery store here from about 1919 to 1961. Like many other corner stores in Georgetown, this was a gathering place for the neighborhood. Children played . . . — — Map (db m98978) HM
Georgetown began in the 1740s as a tobacco port, where ships departed for Britain, Europe and the West Indies filled with flour, lumber, coal, grain and, above all, tobacco. The fine harbor brought visitors and goods and, with them, prosperity . . . — — Map (db m113415) HM
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