Last week, I introduced Robert W. Smiley’s book on the nightlife of 1894 Washington D.C. While the examples I quoted are far from the kind of dirt I am sure those who purchased the guide back then were looking for, as the work progresses, it does live up to its name. On page 39, Smiley […]
Having now spent two weeks finding the good in Schott’s Alley, it’s time to go back to my real love: scandals. And Schott’s Alley had its share. In 1911, not only did a gang of purse snatchers make their home there, but it harbored an honest-to-god murderer. But first, the purse snatchers. On January 8, […]
Ever wonder how some of the trickier intersections in the city, a.k.a., traffic circles and parks like Stanton Park, Logan Circle or even Potomac and Pennsylvania Avenues at 14th Street, evolved into their present iterations? Capitol Hill resident, ANC commissioner and history buff Mark Eckenwiler (whom you should also be following on Twitter, especially if you […]
I was recently reading a book about alley life in Washington and found myself looking at a rather remarkable picture: the pediment of the Senate Office Building rising above a decrepit alley. As it turns out, I was not the only one impressed by this image. It is used on the book’s dust cover as […]
I have often written about guide books to Washington D.C., focusing on what they have to say about Capitol Hill. So when I found a thick volume entitled Thirty Years in Washington, I had to get it. Written by “Mrs. John A Logan” – actually Mary Simmerson Cunningham Logan [pictured] – the book is subtitled […]