Posts about History
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Lost Washington:The Knickerbocker Theater
The Knickerbocker Theater — once located at the southwest corner of Columbia Road and 18th Street, NW — was designed by the young Washington architect, Reginald W. Geare, to seat 1,700 movie goers at a time. When it opened in October, 1917, it was the newest theater in Harry Crandall’s string of Washington theaters. This was by far Crandall’s largest theater… Keep reading…
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Then and Now: The Townsend Mansion
Then (left): The Townsend Mansion at 2121 Massachusetts Ave, NW, ca. 1915. The home was built by Mary Scott Townsend, the daughter of William L. Scott, a Pennsylvania railroad and coal magnate who became a member of Congress. Now (right): The building has been home to the Cosmos Club since the club purchased the property in 1950. The mansion in its current state was created… Keep reading…
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Then and Now: 704 Quincy Street, NW
Left: Built ca. 1907, this photo shows 702 and 704 Quincy Street, NW ca. 1920. Right: Other than being brightly painted, the row of four including 704 is still in fairly good shape. As you can see below, each house has been painted to make it separate from the others. The only major change viewable from the street is that the corner house has been popped up and converted into multiple… Keep reading…
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Lost Washington: The McLean House
The McLean House, located at 1500 Eye Street, NW, was perhaps the most opulent of the many great houses erected in Washington at the turn of the century. A Renaissance-inspired structure, the house covered one-third of a city block on the south side of McPherson Square. The mansion incorporated the original house on the southwest corner of 15th and Eye Streets that was built… Keep reading…
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Lost Washington: Wisteria House
Once located on the northwest corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 11th Street, NW, the Wisteria House was built during the Civil War (ca. 1863) for hardware merchant William Thomas. Thomas added a two story portico in 1869. The Wisteria was brought to Washington from China and was a gift to Thomas by a naval officer. Keep reading…
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Pimp my Safeway: Redevelopment potential for the Capitol Hill Safeway
This past spring, Georgetown’s “Social Safeway” closed so that it can be torn down and rebuilt. The new Safeway will be a two-story building with street-facing stores along the sidewalk, the grocery store on the second floor, and parking behind. Farther up Wisconsin, a Giant supermarket is also pursuing a new urban design that will “replace bland, single-story… Keep reading…
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Lost Washington: The Broadway Theater
The Broadway Theater, once located at 1517 7th Street, NW, was built at a cost of $40,000 in 1921. It was built of brick and terra cotta with a Spanish tile roof. The building measured nearly 70 feet wide on 7th Street by 100 feet deep and was designed by the firm of Milburn, Heister & Co. Keep reading…