April 16, 1862 was the day that Abraham Lincoln signed a bill “An Act For the Release of Certain Persons Held to Service or Labor in the District of Columbia” which freed all the slaves in the District of Columbia. This marked the first time the Federal Government freed any slaves, and the only time […]
This week marks the third and last installment of the Gessford Court saga. Previous episodes have described the building of the houses on the alley and the transformation of Tiger Alley into Gessford Court. Today, I will be looking at the story of Gessford Court’s most famous resident, and the wide range of visitors who […]
Last week, I wrote about the building of the homes on Gessford Court and its rambunctious beginnings. Today, I will look at some of the people who lived on the Court and their stories. Shortly after Charles Gessford’s death, and in hopes of quieting the alley, its name was changed to Gessford Street, and eventually, […]
On Saturday, The Hill is Home’s very own Elizabeth Festa had an article published in the Washington Post real estate section about Gessford Court. She describes the joys of living in this oasis in the middle of the city, and talks to current and former residents about their lives there. Unfortunately, the Post only afforded […]
The wonderful thing about living on Capitol Hill is that there are always those who have lived here much longer than you, who can tell you about what it was like long before you moved here. I had that happen to me recently at a party, where a neighbor mentioned the Penn Theater, which was […]