History

Map of the Week Vol. 12 – Topographical sketch of the environs of DC from 1867

By Prince Of Petworth

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Click map to enlarge. Source: Library of Congress

Map of the Week is written by David A., a systems librarian and map geek living in Mt. Pleasant. David previously wrote about Washington, the beautiful capital of the nation – 1922.

Title: Topographical sketch of the environs of Washington, D.C. : (survey of locality for public park & site for a presidential mansion), 1867

This shaded relief map of present-day Rock Creek Park and surrounding lands comes from an 1867 survey ordered by the U.S. Senate in 1866. Michler’s map does a great job illustrating the rolling altitude of the northern part of the District. Aside from topographical features, the map includes some cadastral information (land holdings) and some road names.

Rock Creek Park did not come into being until 1890, but this map had a role in its beginnings. The U.S. Senate commissioned it out of dissatisfaction with the White House building and the desire for more park land.  Rock Creek Park: An Administrative History, by Barry Mackintosh, tells the story:

On June 25, 1866, the United States Senate directed its Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds “to inquire whether a tract of land of not less than three hundred and fifty acres, adjoining, or very near this city, can be obtained for a park and site for a presidential mansion, which shall combine convenience of access, healthfulness, good water, and capability of adornment.” Sensing that it may have overly limited its options, the Senate passed another resolution five days later lowering the minimum size to 100 acres. Then realizing the need for professional landscape gardener or topographical engineer to examine the different tracts of land offered to the committee” and to report on their suitability for the desired purpose.

Like many of the other maps featured in this series, this map includes a race course. The Piney Branch Race Course sat not far from the present-day Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. T. Rohr’s Piney Branch Hotel served visitors to the track. An 1865 ad in the Daily National Republican newspaper boasted the following event at the race course:

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Pleasant Pops free giveaway to promote DC contest for Historic Places

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Sanjay Suchak

From an email:

Pleasant Pops will be distributing thousands of their handmade locally sourced ice pops today around DC today in Partnership with American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation in order to promote the first day of voting in the Partners in Preservation Contest. Here’s all the sites and details.

Pleasant Pops will be bringing our truck “Big Poppa” today (4/24) to Foggy Bottom [H St NW between 21 and 22nd] to distribute free pops noon to 4PM.

There will be another giveaway on Friday at Farragut Square 11AM to 3PM (4/26).

Additional giveaways are scheduled for May 4 in Dupont Circle (12 noon to 4PM) and May 10 in Chinatown (12 noon to 4PM)

Streets of Washington Presents – The Hot Shoppes: Teen Twists, Mighty Mo’s, and Pappy Parker’s Fried Chicken

By Prince Of Petworth

Streets of Washington, written by John DeFerrari, covers some of DC’s most interesting buildings and history. A version of the following article will appear in Historic Restaurants of Washington, D.C.: Capital Eats, to be published this September by the History Press, Inc. John is also the author of Lost Washington DC.

Of all the mid-20th-century icons of everyday life in Washington, Hot Shoppes ranks among the most memorable. The chain of casual drive-in restaurants founded by J. Willard “Bill” Marriott (1900-1985) in 1927 once had a commanding presence at dozens of sites across the metropolitan area, serving up thousands of fast, friendly meals every day. Beginning with a tiny root beer stand in Columbia Heights, the chain rose rapidly to prominence in the 1930s, expanded in the 1940s and 50s, and then almost as dramatically dwindled away in the 1970s and 80s, eventually slipping into history after winning the hearts and stomachs of several generations of Washingtonians.

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Matchbook cover from the early 1960s (Author’s collection).

The Marriott rags-to-riches story used to be one of the most oft told in the city. The son of a Utah sheep rancher, Bill Marriott was imbued at an early age with strong Mormon beliefs and an intense work ethic. As a teenager he experienced firsthand how hard it was to make a living raising livestock out west and resolved to get into a line of business less subject to market volatilities. In September 1921, after spending time in New York, Marriott passed through Washington on his way home to Utah. He spent a day sightseeing and noticed how vendors of ice cream, lemonade, and soda would sell out to the sweltering crowds practically as soon as they arrived on the scene with their carts. Six years later, when he was ready to start out on his own, Marriott decided to return to Washington to open a franchise selling A&W root beer.

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The original Hot Shoppe on 14th Street (photo courtesy Historic Photographs collection, Marriott International Archives).

With a partner from Utah, Marriott rented out a slim corner storefront at 3128 14th Street NW in the Arcade Market, where the DC-USA shopping center now stands. Inside was a counter with nine stools. Offering frosted mugs of cold root beer for a nickel, Marriott did a booming business. Within a few months, he had gone out to Utah to marry his college sweetheart, Alice “Allie” Sheets (1907-2000), driven her back to D.C. in his rickety Model T, and opened his second root beer stand downtown at 606 9th Street NW, another resounding success. While Allie counted the nickels every evening, separating the ones stuck together with root beer syrup, Bill would wrestle with problems like how to keep expensive frosted mugs from shattering when they were plunged into boiling water to be sanitized. (With the help of well-connected friends, he was able to get D.C. regulations changed to allow cool chlorine-based sanitization.)

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Map of the Week Vol. 11 – Washington, the beautiful capital of the nation 1922

By Prince Of Petworth

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Click map to enlarge. Source: Library of Congress

Map of the Week is written by David A., a systems librarian and map geek living in Mt. Pleasant. David previously wrote about Development of the area west and east of the Capitol – 1941.

This bird’s eye view drawing of Washington, DC from 1922 was among the most detailed city drawings of its kind when it was created, according to the publisher’s hyperbolic caption:

“This Aero View of Washington is the most remarkable map picture that has ever been made. Remarkable for its great range of vision and the stupendous task in making such a drawing and the extreme accuracy in the architectural ‘lay-out’.”

Zoom in to see some of the really impressive details that took two years for the artist to draw. Many of the buildings have labels describing them. Two monolithic buildings housing the War Department and Navy Department occupied the land south of Constitution Avenue and east of the Lincoln Memorial. Another notable difference between this map and that of the present day is the large number of trees on the Mall and surrounding it. It’s hard to say whether these trees stood exactly where the artist put them or whether they were artistic flourishes to fill space. A few of the buildings around the Mall have also changed hands or disappeared since 1922 (Bureau of Fisheries, Center Market, Medical Museum). See if you can spot the Piggly Wiggly building in present-day NoMa.

Sweet Old Coca Cola Sign Revealed on New York Avenue, NE

By Prince Of Petworth

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Thanks to a reader for sending:

Last week I snapped this picture of a painted wall that had been revealed by demolition on the eastbound side of the unit block of New York Ave NE (the picture was taken from N St.) The sign is billboard sized and painted on the side of a building. The wall must have been covered by the construction of the building that was recently torn down and thus preserved from weather. It was not uncommon for advertisements to be painted on the sides of building, but most have long-ago worn away. After a little research I found that Coca-Cola use the slogan “Relieves Fatigue” between 1906-10. Cool huh? Check it out before the new building covers it up for another century.

Super cool!

Millie and Al’s to Celebrate their 50th Anniversary May 8-10th! A Brief History about Original Owner Al Shapiro

By Prince Of Petworth

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2440 18th Street, NW

From the owner:

Before it was Adams Morgan, the 18th St and Columbia Road NW area was home for many well-known clubs including the famous Showboat, where top entertainment performed. Many well known businesses got their start on 18th street : The first Toys R Us, the first Peoples Drug and Dart Drug Stores and Gartenhaus Furs.

Al Shapiro spent much of his time in the neighborhood and was a regular at one of the local 18th restaurants called Ballance’s Columbian Restaurant, nicknamed Bobbies. Once he learned his favorite restaurant was for sale, he jumped on it, and renamed it Millie and Al’s. Millie was Al’s girlfriend who bartended and had a great steady following.

In 60’s patrons could fill the bar from 8:30 am til the wee hours bringing a new meaning to the word, Regulars. Many sat at the bar the same time everyday and the only way they gave up their permanent bar stool was after passing away.

In the early days of Millie and Al’s, a group from the neighborhood car dealership came in everyday after work and sat at the same booth. The manager, who was part of this group died and as a Memorial gesture they brought the horse picture from his office in and placed it above their booth in his honor. Soon after the managers death, a new manager was assigned the position in the same office. He learned of the picture being moved from the office and went to Al to request that the picture be returned. There was no doing by Al, the boys brought it in honor of their friend, who died, and it would remain there . This picture still remains in the same place and has never been damaged or tampered with.

Al existed through so many neighborhood transitions, including some really bad times. Not many would have endured these changes and stayed. This area once had the nickname “Little Harlem”. You could not walk the sidewalks as a pedestrian without fear. Not long after the riots a little Havana was born with crime to match. These were ruff gangsters that could drink until they were blinded. If it was last call and the bar was closing, Al would describe these guys not wanting to leave a drop of beer, so they would chug the remains until it would seem to come out of their ears.

Al was not a very tall or bulky man, but many watched him literally jump up to hit or throw one of these gangster or punks out. They did not resist, whether it was respect or fear, but Al won. He never really boasted in this victory; it was Al defending his turf.

There were riots, gangsters, thugs, and then suddenly there were Yuppies. All the bad` paid off for the good times in Adams Morgan. Soon to explode to an area not duplicated or matched, diversity all the way.

As the neighborhood progressed less violence was occurring and the various cultures were uniting, thus Adams Morgan Day was born. A yearly event that has continued for over 35 years.

2013 marks the 50th year for Millie and Als, a true landmark to Adams Morgan.

The arrival of Yuppie era started a wave of restaurants, bars, and businesses to open so rapid that a Moratorium to new liquor licenses started. Millie and Al’s once a lone bar in a neighborhood with few other businesses was now surrounded by bars, restaurants and clubs. Competition or not, MA maintained its business and it increased its loyal Regulars.

The crowds grew as well as the bathroom lines. More and more couples hooked up and many getting married. There is a large unknown amount of couples that owe their partnership to MA’s: A traveling couple in China bumped into another couple wearing a MA t-shirt and reminisced over meeting at MA.

A young couple on a motorcycle stopped to help a woman with a flat tire on a hot summer day in Minneapolis. Conversation revealed that the couple met at MA and were visiting Minneapolis to announce their engagement to their parents and the misfortunate woman with flat was best friends with the owner of MA.

A couple visiting opening day at a new restaurant were introduced to the owners when they realized they all met at MA’s. Chances are someone you know met their spouse or partner at MA’s, as one of their t-shirts quotes “I met Your Mother at Millie & Al’s”.

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Millie and Al’s in the early 70s courtesy of owner Barbara Shapiro

Map of the Week Vol. 10 – Development of the area west and east of the Capitol – 1941

By Prince Of Petworth

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Click map to enlarge. Source: Library of Congress

Map of the Week is written by David A., a systems librarian and map geek living in Mt. Pleasant. David previously wrote about Rand, McNally & Co.’s D.C. in 1903.

Title: Development of the central area west and east of the Capitol–Washington D.C. 1941

What if the National Mall extended all the way to the Anacostia River? This 1941 plan from the National Capital Park and Planning Commission called for the mall to bisect the city along its east/west axis from the Lincoln Memorial to present-day RFK Stadium. The plan would have involved the razing of a huge swath of residential row houses east of the Capitol in favor of federal office buildings, “semi-public buildings,” parking lots and broad avenues.

Other highlights include a basin for historic ships at the site of the Kennedy Center, a Massachusetts Avenue bridge over the Anacostia, and a sports complex next to Kingman Lake that included a tennis arena, natatorium and baseball fields.

Map of the Week Vol. 9 – Rand, McNally & Co.’s D.C., 1903

By Prince Of Petworth

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Click map to enlarge.  Source: David Rumsey Map Collection

Map of the Week is written by David A., a systems librarian and map geek living in Mt. Pleasant. David previously wrote about the 1890 Real estate map of the B&O Railroad Company between DC and Rockville.

This week’s map comes from a 1903 Rand McNally atlas. By 1903, the city begins to look very familiar, though many of today’s roads do not yet appear. Rhode Island and New York Avenues stop far short of the DC border, though Rhode Island’s proposed extension appears. Notable points of interest include the Ivy City Race Track, Lover’s Lane and Analostan Island. The race track was part of the old National Fair Grounds, and it was one of many tracks built in DC in the 19th century. Lover’s Lane still bisects Dumbarton Oaks and Montrose Park north of Georgetown, and you can find it on Google Maps. Analostan Island would later be renamed for Theodore Roosevelt, the sitting president at the time of this map’s publication.

Map of the Week Vol. 8 – 1890 Real estate map of the B&O Railroad Company between DC and Rockville

By Prince Of Petworth

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Click map to enlarge. Source: Library of Congress

Map of the Week is written by David A., a systems librarian and map geek living in Mt. Pleasant. David previously wrote about City of Washington in 1792.

Title: Real estate map of the Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company between Washington, D.C., and Rockville, Md.

This week’s 1890 map of the Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad has some great detail north of the original city limits. The Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad connected DC with the B&O main line in Point of Rocks, MD. Highlights include names of property owners, locations of parks, railroads and the skeletal outlines of several Maryland towns including Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Bethesda and Rockville. The Metropolitan Branch made stops in DC at New York Avenue, University (presumably Catholic University), Terra Cotta (near Ft. Totten), Lamond and Takoma.

In addition to great detail north of DC, this map shows a nice snapshot of the northern part of the city. Petworth’s grid and two circles appear on this map, carving out space between larger parcels of land to the west and north. There are plenty of other interesting details here. It’s worth zooming in.

You can see a much larger version of the map here.

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