Freeway construction brought neighborhood destruction
When DC built the Southwest-Southeast Freeway, it simply demolished whole swaths of the surrounding neighborhoods. Photographs from the construction show the street grid that once existed, and the extent of the destruction just to speed driving to Virginia.
Photos posted earlier show the construction in progress, 10 years later, as the freeway moved into Near Southeast.
Looking east on October 17, 1968.
Looking west on October 17, 1968.
Looking north on October 17, 1968. The freeway’s end is at the very left edge of the photo.