Ghosts of DC

Frank Lloyd Wright drew Washington a glass city in 1940: twenty-one towers, 2,500 hotel rooms, a 400-foot crystal bar, a theater for 1,000. DC's height limit killed it. The Hinckley Hilton sits on the hill instead. ghostsofdc.org/2026/05/25/fra…

Gordon Parks timed them at seven seconds: boots, coat, helmet, gone. The Black firefighters of Engine Company No. 4 also ate off plates the department labeled separately, and slept on cots assigned by race. DC's first all-Black firehouse, 1919–1962. ghostsofdc.org/2026/05/24/eng…

In 1921, Glen Echo wouldn't let Black Washingtonians through the gate. So a vaudeville star, an engineer, and a writer built their own amusement park in Deanwood. Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway played the dance pavilion. ghostsofdc.org/2026/05/24/sub…

On June 30, 1960, five Howard students were arrested for trying to ride the Dentzel carousel at Glen Echo Park. Same horses are still spinning today. $2 a ticket. ghostsofdc.org/2026/05/22/gle…

In 1921 the future Duchess of Windsor was just a separated Navy wife in Georgetown, lunching at the Hotel Hamilton on K Street. That's where she met the Argentine diplomat who would unwind her marriage years before Edward ever did. ghostsofdc.org/2026/05/22/wal…

In 1987 the Army and Navy Club at 17th and I was gutted down to its 1912 stone shell. Reagan was supposed to cut the ribbon on the rebuild. A snowstorm scrubbed it. ghostsofdc.org/2026/05/21/arm…

Washington's first AI panic happened in 1950. A computer on Connecticut Avenue. Congress held hearings about machines replacing jobs. An MIT professor refused to help build them. Same argument. Different machine. ghostsofdc.org/2026/05/06/was… Live photo animated by Grok.

$3 million in cash hidden in the safes. Burning papers wafting from the chimney on Pearl Harbor Day. The old German Embassy at 1435 Mass Ave NW had secrets that nobody remembers anymore. ghostsofdc.org/2026/04/28/ger…

Why is it named Constitution Ave? It used to be B Street. 1937 AI-enhanced clip of 14th St NW near Constitution Ave. An 80-year-old congressman renamed it in a 30-minute hearing. He died two days before Hoover signed the bill. ghostsofdc.org/2012/02/21/why…

Pennsylvania Ave near the Archives could have looked like this. 1964 plan: 10 tunnels underground. An 800×900 ft National Square. A monumental White House gate. Pennsylvania Avenue paved in brick. MoMA exhibited the model. None of it was ever built. ghostsofdc.org/2014/04/22/nev…

Who were the ministers from Texas to the United States? ghostsofdc.org/2023/10/11/lon… @TheHistoryofTX @SaveTxHistory

Take a journey back to 1855 and marvel at this stunning painting that gives you a bird's-eye view of Georgetown, D.C. #ReRun ghostsofdc.org/2018/07/13/vie…

Exploring Washington, D.C. Through a 1939 Aerial View #ReRun ghostsofdc.org/2023/02/27/14t…

The origin of brunch in Washington can be traced back to 1895. It was first mentioned in local newspapers in the early 1900s. Are you feeling peckish? #ReRun ghostsofdc.org/2022/03/15/bru…

Exploring the Lavish Lifestyle of Oleg Deripaska: A Look Inside His Mansion #ReRun ghostsofdc.org/2021/10/25/the…

Exploring the Devastation of the April 1923 Flood in Washington, D.C. Through Photos and Streetcar Tales #ReRun ghostsofdc.org/2015/01/23/cra…

Exploring the Historic Navy and Munitions Buildings of 1918 on the National Mall #ReRun ghostsofdc.org/2023/02/26/tem…

Uncovering the History of the Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall #ReRun ghostsofdc.org/2019/04/18/187…

Take a Trip Down Memory Lane: Revisiting Washington DC in 1942 with a Photo from Shorpy #ShorpyTripDownMemoryLane #ReRun ghostsofdc.org/2015/09/16/wha…

NEW: Explore the past of Logan Circle with this photo from the Library of Congress. To gain further insight into the history of the area, check out Ghosts of DC for more information. ghostsofdc.org/2023/09/12/log…