Archive for the ‘History’ Category

Tourism: The Old Stone House

‘Old Stone House NHS’
courtesy of ‘Ken Lund’
Nestled in along M Street, in the heart of Georgetown, you’ll stumble upon The Old Stone House, one of the oldest homes remaining in Washington, DC. Built in 1765, the house is maintained and operated by the National Park Service, and is part of the National Park System’s [...]

Women Airforce Service Pilots To Receive Congressional Gold Medal

‘… WASPs and B-17′
courtesy of ‘x-ray delta one’
Today at 11am, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) will get their much deserved recognition when they receive the Congressional Gold Medal, 68 years after their honorable and noble service to this country during WWII.
Faced with a shortage of U.S. based pilots in 1942, the Air Force recruited [...]

Cultural Tourism DC Opens A New Visitor Center On U Street

‘U Street’
courtesy of ‘Rolenz’
Cultural Tourism DC opened a new Visitor Center on U Street last week to introduce a new audio tour of the historic  neighborhood. Local residents and tourists are encouraged to stop by the new center and take the audio tour to learn more about the rich cultural history the neighborhood has to [...]

We Love Arts: Drawing Toward Home

Bowen House, Woodstock, Connecticut, c. 1846.  Joseph C. Wells, architect.  Courtesy Historic New England.
“A major component of the American pursuit of happiness has long been a home of one’s own (the automobile is a distant second: the one a castle, the other a chariot).”   – James F. O’Gorman, lead curator for Drawing Toward [...]

Spring Offerings From ISM

‘Boundaries’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’
Every Friday for the next six weeks, the International Spy Museum (ISM) will be debuting a new exhibit within the museum, including the addition of several new rare artifacts from the shadowy world of espionage. These new additions (some for a limited time only) join the already-extensive collection regarding the world’s “second-oldest profession” [...]

Celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday at Ford’s Theatre

Ford’s Theatre Society and the National Park Service celebrates Abraham Lincoln’s birthday with special February programming. On February 5th, 12th, and 19th, Washington-area youth will present a selection of Lincoln’s greatest speeches as part of the Target Oratory Festival. On February 12th at 8:45 a.m., National Park Service Park Rangers will commemorate President Lincoln’s birthday [...]

White House Staff: A History

‘DC’s Biggest Postcard’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’
If someone on the street asked me to list the job titles at the White House, first on the list would be the President, VP, Chief of Staff, the news core, Press Secretary, etc…you know the people we constantly see in our national and local news reports.
But what about the behind [...]

Flashback 2009: The Year In Photos

IMG_4071, courtesy of trentroche
And what a year it’s been. Here’s some of our favorites from our Flashback features, capturing images all across 2009. Enjoy.

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Happy 110th Birthday Eddye Williams!!!

‘It’s Teddy’s birthday!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99′
NBC 4 reports that Northeast’s Eddye Williams turned 110 yesterday and marked the event by celebrating with family, friends and D.C. councilman Harry Thomas Junior at her home.
Williams, the oldest known DC resident, enjoys writing poetry and banging on the tambourine. Happy Birthday Eddye and rock on!
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Snowpocalypsi of Yore

‘Ice mask, C.T. Madigan, between 1911-1914 / photograph by Frank Hurley’
courtesy of ‘State Library of New South Wales collection’
During this past weekend’s Snowpocalypse, when I was hunkering down in my blazing warm apartment, watching Mean Girls, eating curried pumpkin soup from Whole Foods and sipping on Macallan, I couldn’t help but wonder what a Snowpocalypse [...]

The History of Bullets and Snow Balls

‘IMG_2384′
courtesy of ‘AJ Ashton’
By now, pretty much everyone in DC knows about the cop that brought a gun to a snow ball fight. Before casting aspersions, it should be noted that there is historical precedence for gun fire being exchanged during snowball fights.  In 1770, the famous Boston Massacre was sparked, in part, by snowballs [...]

2010 Cherry Blossom Festival. Will the snow be gone by then?

‘Cherry Blossoms look like snow’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’
Covered in 20″ of snow, it’s hard to imagine the beautiful spring weather common during the Cherry Blossom Festival, but let’s try anyways.
The 2010 festival will run from March 27 to April 11, and marks the 98th anniversary of Japan’s cherry tree gifting. Activity planning is underway with the [...]

A Repeal Day Celebration

‘West End Bistro’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’
I can’t remember prohibition.  My grandfather can barely remember prohibition.  But that doesn’t mean that the anniversary of its repeal is bad excuse to drink.  The 76th (thanks Nicole) anniversary of the 21st Amendment is less than two weeks away and DC’s Craft Bartender’s Guild is celebrating in style.  They are [...]

The Lincoln Memorial Goes Online

‘under the pillars’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99′
History buffs take note — there’s a new, interactive Web site being launched in honor of the 146th anniversary of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
This multimedia expansion of the pristine marble temple was launched today by the National Park Service. The site includes videos, panoramas and oral testimonials from the park rangers [...]

2009 White House Christmas Ornament Poll: Naughty or Nice?

The 2009 White House Christmas ornament is upon us and this year’s edition celebrates the presidency of Grover Cleveland. Cleveland, the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms, was the president from 1885-1889 and 1893-1897. He was also the first president to have electric lights on the White House Christmas tree.
The front of [...]

Final Commemorative Penny Makes Its Debut

‘Lincoln in Illinois (2009 Proof Lincoln Cent)’
courtesy of ‘kevindooley’
This morning the U.S. Mint issued the fourth and final coin of the 2009 Lincoln Bi-Centennial One-Cent Program.
Despite the rainy, cold, miserable weather, coin enthusiasts of all ages patiently waited in line to be the first recipients of the special edition penny and to turn their hard [...]

36th Annual Conference on Washington DC Historical Studies

‘Lincoln’s Cottage – Magnified Capitol – 4-25-09′
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’
This Saturday, November 14, rub shoulders with and pick the brains of prominent DC scholars, students, history buffs and collectors at Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives.
The 36th annual conference unites all those dedicated to collecting and sharing the history of our nation’s capital and its local [...]

Mystery Mansion in Dupont: The Heurich House

‘Hidden Bronze Lion’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’
Tucked away in plain view, the Heurich House is the most intact late-Victorian home in the country. Right in the middle of the action in Dupont Circle – on a corner you have probably walked by at least a dozen times – you are absolutely transported back in time – easily [...]

Life & Death On The C&O

This Saturday from 6:30-9pm, the National Park service will host the 13th Annual Life & Death on the C&O Canal at the Great Falls Tavern Visitors Center in Great Falls, MD.
Volunteers and park rangers will take visitors on a one-hour journey back in time, and recreate the trials and tribulations experienced by the men and [...]

Host a National Park Premiere Party

This Sunday evening, September 27 at 8pm, the long awaited Ken Burns documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea premieres on PBS. The documentary stories the inspiring individuals who dedicated themselves to establishing our National Park System and to protecting America’s cultural, natural and historic heritage.  The series will air a new episode every night [...]