Category Archives: History
Now and a Long Time Ago: The Georgetown Waterfront
This week on Now and a Long Time Ago, GM heads down to the Georgetown waterfront. Nowadays there is a beautiful and very popular public park. But during much of the 20th century, the waterfront was an industrial sector. And … Continue reading
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Georgetown Historic Alley Dwellings
In the early part of the 20th century, DC was dotted with dozens and dozens of alleys with small houses lining them. Occupied primarily by the city’s poorest residents, the alleys attracted the attention of Congress which viewed the alleys … Continue reading
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Take a Ride on the Old Route 20
GM noticed this nice piece by Jerry McCoy about a new donation to the Peabody Collection. It’s a sign from the still standing streetcar trestle over the Glover Archbold Park (which still stands). Jerry took the opportunity to link to an old … Continue reading
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Georgetown From The Sky: In the 1950s
GM loves browsing around Google Maps. It’s a quick way to survey the city without leaving the couch. And GM was particularly excited to find out that a website called historicalaerials.com archives old aerial photos and enables you to browse around … Continue reading
Georgetown’s Lost Country Club
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. GM’s really into history this week! Yesterday he brought you the fascinating 1903 survey maps that show every building in Georgetown at the time. Some of the larger institutional or commercial buildings are … Continue reading
Great Old Survey Maps For Georgetown
After writing Monday’s article on the Census and how it can tell you the stories of the former inhabitants of your home, GM came across a fantastic resource from the Library of Congress. It is a page called “Researching Historic … Continue reading
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Walls Can’t Talk But the Census Does
Last November, GM moved into a house on 33rd St. City records say the house was built in 1900, but that’s the default year the city lists when the house was built before 1877 or the city just doesn’t know … Continue reading
Bayou Documentary Looking Towards Finish Line
As described in yesterday’s Current, a small group of dedicated filmmakers have been working on a documentary of the legendary Bayou club that once stood on K St., where the Loews Theater is now. According to the Current: For the … Continue reading
Georgetown’s Fire Insurance Marks
Scattered around on the front of many Georgetown homes, you’ll see plaques like the one above. What they are are fire insurance marks. They worked basically like a big heavy insurance card. The reason you needed such a prominent proof … Continue reading
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Georgetown University: 1977
Courtesy of Hoyafootball.com. GM came across an interesting website last week that documents the various home fields of Georgetown University’s football team since 1889. The site has photos of each field and the one above particularly caught GM’s attention. It’s … Continue reading
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