Back in May ’10 intrepid explorers Vaughn and Amelia finished their feature for PoP seeking to find all of DC’s boundary stones. You can read Vaughn and Amelia’s first journey here, second journey here and third journey here. As a result of their work – Vaughn was recently featured on a program, “How the States Got Their Shapes”, on the History Channel!
The DC segment of the show begins around minute 29:30, and Vaughn’s 1.5 minutes of “urban explorer” fame begins around 34:30.
Awesome!!!
I saw this Columbia Heights vestibule when I was dropping off a t-shirt this weekend and it blew me away. You think these portraits are the original owners of the house? It’s by far the coolest vestibule I’ve ever seen in DC and I was going through some serious withdrawal so if anyone has a sweet vestibule or other cool feature in your home please send a photo to princeofpetworth(at)gmail
I always marvel at this house off 15th St, NW because of the wild glassed in balcony up top:
But as a result of always focusing up top I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this cool brick from their walkway:
I’ve seen some Capitol Hill ones but they didn’t have a sculpture on it. I haven’t seen too many of these in Dupont but at least one exists – and it’s pretty sweet.
Not built in DC but still pretty cool:
Well this is freaking awesome. The Meridian Hill Neighborhood Association has a new initiative – they write:
“I wanted to let you know about a new MHNA initiative this year- an online compilation of neighborhood history. It’s just a start, but we’ve already unearthed some cool things: 1922 video footage of President Harding unveiling the Joan of Arc sculpture, a documentary on the New School of African American Thought (once at 2208 14th St), a full historic review of the 1300 block of Florida Ave, etc. In the coming month 3 graduate students from Georgetown will be interviewing some of the neighborhood’s older residents, writing up transcripts and posting them on our new site. We also hope to add more old photos too.
If you (or your readers) have old photos/videos/articles about the neighborhood, we’d love to scan & post them.”
But what got me super psyched is this 1922 video footage they found. Even though there is no sound the footage is mesmerizing. You can watch the video here. The explanation says:
“1922, January 6. Ceremony of unveiling a statue of Jeanne d’Arc in Meridian Park. Crowd assembled for the ceremony. President and Mrs Warren G Harding arrive at ceremony. Officials speak at stand. Unveiling of Jeanne d’Arc statue. Flags on poles. Man places bouquet and flowers in front of the statue. Secretary of War, John W Weeks speaks. Side view of statue. Various officials speak at ceremony.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw
“For more information on the LeDroit Park /Bloomingdale Heritage Trail effort, contact Robert Sullivan: 202-365-8542.
To learn more about the Washington, DC Neighborhood Heritage Trails Program, contact Jane Freundel Levey at Cultural Tourism DC: 202-661-7581.
Washington, DC Neighborhood Heritage Trails are developed by neighborhood working groups and the nonprofit Cultural Tourism DC with funding by the District Department of Transportation, the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, and the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.”
From an press release:
In remembrance of the 146th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, President
Lincoln’s Cottage will display one of five American flags that were hanging in Ford’s Theatre the night of the assassination. The flag will be on display for one week only beginning on April 11, 2011.The flag is said to have been grabbed in haste from the bunting on the presidential box and used to cushion Lincoln’s head after he was shot. Thomas Gourlay, a part-time theater manager, kept the blood-stained flag that night, after Lincoln was moved to the Peterson House across the street from Ford’s Theatre. Jeannie Gourlay, actress in “Our American Cousin”, which was playing that night, and daughter of Thomas Gourlay, kept the flag in her possession until she died in 1924. It was donated to Pike County Historical Society by her son in 1954. The flag will be displayed in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center, adjacent to the Cottage.
In addition to this display, President Lincoln’s Cottage will host James Swanson, author of Manhunt and Bloody Crimes, on April 14, the anniversary of the assassination. The event is part of the Cottage Conversation evening lecture series. Swanson is renowned as an expert on the Lincoln assassination. Due to its immense popularity, this is currently a wait-list-only event as general admission tickets sold out in February. For more information on Cottage Conversations visit here.
President Lincoln’s Cottage, located in Washington, D.C., is the most significant site associated with Abraham Lincoln’s presidency open to the public today. Although the Cottage is in a pastoral setting 3 miles north of the White House, life here brought Lincoln and his family closer to the war. Lincoln commuted three miles daily by horseback or coach to the White House, last visiting the Cottage the day before his assassination. The New York Times said of the Cottage: “Its power is the power of association, its contact with a historical presence; we literally walk in a great figure’s footsteps.”
Opened to the public for the first time in 2008, the Cottage offers intimate, guided tours providing an in-depth, media- enhanced experience highlighting Lincoln’s ideas and actions through historical images and voices. The Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center houses thematic galleries and changing exhibitions providing visitors of all ages opportunities for in- depth exploration of Lincoln’s life and times.
For information about visiting President Lincoln’s Cottage, go to www.lincolncottage.org.
Well you can barely make out the sign but I’m 99% sure it says B. Roth Saddlery from 1033 7th St, NW at the corner of L. I’m pretty sure the building next door has been nominated as a horse’s ass award. I guess I should add this one to the list as well. Pretty ironic/awesome that the building used to sell saddles.
But the fact that you can still (barely) see a sign for B. Roth Saddelry is pretty cool. Hard to imagine horses galloping down 7th St, NW.
“Dear PoP,
I saw this today, unfortunately I’ll be out of town that weekend! I haven’t seen it reported on the blogs anywhere, but thought maybe folks would want to know.”
I actually did this tour back in April ’09 and it was awesome.
You can register for the tour here.