Robert Pohl worked for many years as a computer programmer but recovered from that and became a full time stay-at-home dad. With his son now in school, he has expanded his horizons and become a self-taught historian. He has written books about his house as well as Emancipation in the District of Columbia. You can reach Robert at Robert[at]thehillishome.com
During my recent talk for the Smithsonian Associates, I was asked if any research on radio equipment had been done at the Washington Navy Yard. I was not aware of any (though it turns out that there was some activity in that regard during the First World War; more on that in a later column) […]
I have often written about street cars and their importance on Capitol Hill, so it will come as no surprise that I (along with a number of other THIH writers) were out on the first day that the new H Street Streetcar was in operation. Below, a few pictures – and because I do write […]
The Washington Navy Yard was used not just for the building, repair, and outfitting of ships, as well as the manufacturing of ordnance, it also was an important entryway to Washington, especially back in the day when the water was the best way to approach the capital. Curiosity drove many people to the Navy Yard […]
This particular post is a rerun on a day that I hope most of you will be able to spend with your families – at home, no less, given the weather that is bearing down on Washington. However, today it is more accurate to speak of ‘lost’ than the last time I ran it; as […]
Today’s post is less an explication of a piece of Capitol Hill history and more a set of questions. These questions are raised by a series of short articles/advertisements that ran in D.C. newspapers in August, 1861, so it seems unlikely that they will ever be answered. Nonetheless, I think they’re worth asking – for […]