History

The 5pm Post – Cultural Tourism DC Walking and Biking Tours this Weekend

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

From Cultural Tourism DC:

WalkingTown DC/BikingTown DC
Fall Edition, September 25 & 26
See what everyone is walking about!

Experience Washington, DC
WalkingTown DC and BikingTown DC celebrate the arts, culture and heritage of Washington’s diverse neighborhoods by featuring more than 100 free guided walking and biking tours.

Visit a new neighborhood or rediscover a familiar place. From the Mall to Mount Pleasant, both well-known and unfamiliar places are ready to be explored.

Exercise Body and Mind
Tours are led by historians, community leaders, business owners, artists, licensed tour guides, enthusiasts, and docents, who all donate their time and expertise for this event. Tours are offered at varying lengths and fitness levels, so it is easy to find a tour that is right for you. Several tours are wheelchair accessible.

Be Prepared! Read Tips for Tours for everything you need to know about WalkingTown and BikingTown DC.

All tours are free and open to the public. Many tours are walk-up but the majority require online reservations.

Stay Up-to-Date! Click here to get updates on tour information.

Anyone go last year? Recommend any specific tours?

Dear PoP – Historic Grave Found in Rock Creek Park

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

While my dog and I were hiking in Rock Creek Park this weekend — not far from where Military Road and Beach Drive come together — we stumbled upon this historic gravestone just a few yards off the main trail. It has a cross etched in at the top, along with the letters “F.P.S.” and the date “Nov. 15, 1888″.

I sent a note to the Park Service to see if they knew about this one, and am still waiting to hear back.”

Very cool. Anyone know the history behind graves in Rock Creek Park? I’ve heard there is a proper cemetery as well.

Sweet Historic Photos from DDOT

By Prince Of Petworth


H Street, NE, at 15th Street looking east toward Benning Road (ca; 1945) courtesy of DDOT

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) just created a new flickr page with sweet historic photos. I could spend hours looking at these photos. Awesome.


9th St & Florida Ave, NW, (ca: 1958) courtesy of DDOT

Like Numbers? Check out DC’s Historical Population Trends

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user clintonbphotography

Thanks to a reader for sending this fascinating report from the Office of Planning/State Data Center, titled ‘District Population Trends 1800 to 2009.’ For full report please click below:

June 2010 Briefing Report

Population in 1950
Total: 802,178
White: 517,865
Black: 280,803
Hispanic: N/A

Population in 2000
Total: 572,059
White: 197,168
Black: 349,390
Hispanic: 44,953

Population in 2009
Total: 599,657
White: 243,617
Black: 323,931
Hispanic: 53,025

When do you think DC will hit 1,000,000?

Celebrate Fort Stevens Day 2010 This Sat.

By Prince Of Petworth


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This sounds interesting. From a press release:

“Join the National Park Service and our partners for a fun day at Fort Stevens. Learn how the brave soldiers of Washington, D.C. valiantly defended the Union capital from occupation and how medical practices evolved throughout the war.

The Battle of Fort Stevens was the only battle to occur in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War and the only time a sitting president came under enemy fire. The actual fighting took place on July 11th and 12th, 1864. Not only did the defenses serve their purpose well by deterring Confederate attack on the capital, but they impacted the city culturally, socially, and politically. Further, the battle was not limited to the current Fort Stevens site. Confederate General Jubal Early’s invading troops were staged on the grounds of what is today Walter Reed Army Medical Center. With the proposed closing of Walter Reed, participants will explore this previously overlooked aspect of the Fort Stevens story.”

Details after the jump. (more…)

Dear PoP – Help To Track Down Family in Photo

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

A couple years ago my sister and I acquired several hundred slides of a Virginia family’s cross country and European travels from the late 50’s & early 60’s (Mexico, France, Italy, Holland, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and so on) from Ruff & Ready. Some real Time Life meets National Geographic shit. One of the slides at the beginning of the cross country trip (Virginia to San Francisco via New Orleans and Mexico) shows the family car (with obligatory bug screen) and its license plate: Arlington, 1960 and the number. [License plate: Virginia 1960, A127-199; 44973, Arlington 8]

Does anyone out there know how I would go about trying to track down the family through public records or DMV? I’ve enjoyed them and thought their kids might want a family keepsake.”

Any suggestions? Seems like a long shot but it would be fantastic if they could be tracked down.

Horse’s Ass Award – Carter G. Woodson House

By Prince Of Petworth

Well it’s been a year and a half since I said the Carter G. Woodson House deserves better. The home is located at 1538 Ninth Street, NW and its Web site says:

“On February 27, 2006, the building was officially dedicated as the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, the 389th unit of the National Park System. The National Park Service will be restoring the building and developing a visitor center for the historic site.”

Well this is new:

DC Boundary Stones Final Journey by Vaughn and Amelia

By Prince Of Petworth

You can read Vaughn and Amelia’s first journey here, second journey here and third journey here.

Who knew a simple “I wonder if we could walk around the whole District of Columbia?” uttered between friends would result in this adventure?! This post marks the final quadrant of our boundary stones trek – the NW border. Our adventure started back in August, as we set off to walk the historical perimeter of DC one side at a time, locating as many of our oldest federal monuments, the boundary stones, as possible.

Because two stones are located on the grounds of the Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant, which is not open on weekends, we took a day off work for this last trek. The day was perfect for celebration: Vaughn’s birthday, beautiful weather, and the PoP happy hour that night. Though the Army Corps of Engineers staff were very accommodating about arranging tours of the stones (thanks Sandy!), you do have to plan around their daily commitments. Unfortunately, we got lost in a neighborhood of hilly cul-de-sacs (the lack of a street sign caused much distress) and missed our window of opportunity to see those two stones.

We soon realized just how beta Google Maps walking directions are. It’s great that Chain Bridge Road has a pedestrian path, but the roads leading to and away from it – Glebe Road and Canal Road – are NOT safe for walkers. Running from one pseudo-shoulder on Glebe to the next while being passed by speeding vehicles, Vaughn twisted her ankle. We paused, she downed two Advils, and hobbled across the border into Maryland. While Glebe was dangerous, walking on Canal was impossible. Nada. No way. After much waiting around and debating whether to hitchhike or not, we found a cab to transport us past the pedestrian kill zone. We whizzed past the water treatment plant on the Dalecarlia Parkway and were deposited on Western Ave to resume our journey and locate the remaining stones.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

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