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
Continuing our look at manufacturing on the Hill, we turn now brick-making. Remarkably, there used to me many of these businesses in DC, including one on the Hill. I say ‘remarkably,’ as there was little to be gained from having the manufacturing site close to the place where they would be used. Nonetheless, for many […]
Following up a couple of recent articles I wrote about manufacturing on the Hill, I wanted to look at a factory that was right in the middle of the neighborhood and two blocks behind the Capitol. Though hardly heavy industry, the pie bakery at 220 East Capitol Street had a “national reputation” for the quality […]
In researching my recent epic on the Keeper of the Crypt, I came across another example of a topic that I thought I had exhausted in my book: Explosions in the Capitol. I had documented occurrences in 1876, 1898, 1915, 1971, and 1983. It turns out that there was an even earlier one. Like all […]
On April 14, 1876, the Emancipation statue in Lincoln Park was unveiled. Thousands of people, including the President, attended. The person chosen to give the main oration that day was Frederick Douglass. Given the amount of work he had done for the cause of emancipation since escaping from slavery in 1838, he was an obvious […]
While researching a piece on manufacturing on the Hill (see this month’s Hill Rag for more) I came across a curious book: Historical and Commercial Sketches of Washington and Environs: Our Capital City, “The Paris of America”; Its Prominent Places and People etc etc. Most of the book is a series of short pieces extolling all […]