Skip to main content
RETURN TO Return to WETA website Donate
Boundary Stones logo

Main navigation

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • Video
  • About

1930s

DC
Elizebeth Friedman: Coast Guard Code Breaker

Elizebeth Friedman: Coast Guard Code Breaker

09/28/2016 in DC by Max Lee

By the end of her life, Elizebeth Smith Friedman was renowned for her work deciphering codes from civilian criminals. She cracked the codes that sent members of what one prosecutor called “the most powerful international smuggling syndicate in existence” to jail, took down a Vancouver opium ring, and caught a World War II Japanese spy.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

Maryland
A Plane for Every Garage

A Plane for Every Garage

08/31/2016 in Maryland by Richard Brownell

In the early days of aviation, aircraft designers and manufacturers like Henry Berliner envisioned a future in which everyone would have the opportunity to own and operate their own planes. Berliner struck out on his own in 1930 and founded the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO). Headquartered in northwest Washington, D.C., the company’s intent was to build tools for the manufacture of airplanes. Berliner’s real dream, though, was to make air travel accessible to the masses. In 1937, Berliner purchased 50 acres of land near the airport in College Park, Maryland where he built an airstrip and a large factory to manufacture ERCO’s new plane, the Ercoupe. It was a machine that might have made George Jetson proud.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

Maryland
No "Monopoly" on Monopoly: The Real Life History of One of America's Favorite Board Games

No "Monopoly" on Monopoly: The Real Life History of One of America's Favorite Board Games

04/21/2016 in Maryland by Benjamin Shaw

The official history of Monopoly states that the game was invented in 1935 by Charles Darrow, a man down on his luck during the Great Depression, who was catapulted to fame and fortune through his invention of a simple board game. The game was hugely popular, selling two million copies in its first two years in print. However, the game would have already seemed very familiar to intellectuals, leftists, and Quakers across the Northeast. And for good reason: the Monopoly we know today is a near-carbon copy of an earlier game, The Landlord’s Game, designed by a Maryland stenographer named Elizabeth Magie — except that while Monopoly’s goal is to bankrupt your opponents, The Landlord’s Game was intended to show players the evils of monopolies.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Oscar Winning Films of Washington, D.C.: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Oscar Winning Films of Washington, D.C.: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

02/25/2016 in DC by Richard Brownell

When people think of movies and Washington, D.C., the first film that often comes to mind is “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” The 1939 drama starring Jimmy Stewart as a country boy who gets a quick lesson in dirty D.C. politics is now considered an American classic. At the time of its release, however, “Mr. Smith” didn’t have many fans in the nation’s capital.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
When Parking Meters Were a Hot Controversy in Washington

When Parking Meters Were a Hot Controversy in Washington

11/20/2015 in DC by Patrick Kiger

Washington, D.C., has 17,000 parking meters, and the necessity of feeding them is one of those annoyances that urban drivers grudgingly accept. Though it may be difficult to fathom today, there was a time in the early 20th century when the idea of collecting fees for parking spaces was opposed by the American Automobile Association and motorists who saw it as unfair taxation. As a result, it took several years to get approval to install the first meters on District streets.

 

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Just Stick It in the Basement: Before the Archives

Just Stick It in the Basement: Before the Archives

08/18/2015 in DC by Benjamin Shaw

Today, the founding documents of America - the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights - are on display at the Charters of Freedom exhibit in the Rotunda of the National Archives. Tourists from across America and the world make pilgrimages to see the most revered documents in American history. Extensive preservation measures have been put in place. But this wasn’t always the case. For most of our nation’s history, these charters, now considered priceless, were kept with the United States’ other government documents - that is, shoved wherever officials could find space. Before the National Archives was founded in 1934, these documents were stored essentially at random, in basements, on walls, or even piled in hallways.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
DC's TB Problem

DC's TB Problem

02/10/2015 in DC by Mark Jones

The American Experience film The Forgotten Plague details the impact of Tuberculosis on American society. TB was a problem everywhere. But, the disease hit few places as hard as it hit Washington, D.C. In fact, according to a 1934 report by the District Medical Society, only Memphis, San Antonio and New Orleans had higher death rates among large cities in the United States.

The stats were alarming. They were also somewhat surprising, at least according to some. As the DMS report noted, since D.C. “is less congested and the economic situation is better than in any other city in this country, we should have one of the lowest death rates.” However, the rate in the nation’s capital was “higher even than that of Baltimore, where congestion and the economic situation are notoriously unfavorable.” (Sorry, Baltimore, apparently you were the measuring stick for terrible public health in the 1930s.)

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Washingtonians React to the "War of the Worlds"

Washingtonians React to the "War of the Worlds"

10/29/2013 in DC by Mark Jones

In 1938, Welles caused mass panic as many listeners to his The Mercury Theater Over the Air drama program on CBS radio thought that he was reporting on a real alien invasion.

Locally, Washingtonians heard the show on WJSV, the precursor to today's WTOP and the broadcast got quite a reaction. Phone switchboards were overwhelmed as frightened listeners called their loved ones and contacted the radio station for the latest news. Even some law enforcement personnel were duped. Afterwards, area residents blamed a variety of factors for the hysteria.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC

The Changing Landscape of Arlington As Seen by An Old DC Hiking Club

07/11/2013 in DC by Ariel Veroske

It’s a casual Sunday in April 1934 and you’re looking for something to do. How about a hike in the great outdoors? Lucky for you, there’s a new hiking club in town and they are preparing for their very first hike!

Earlier that year, German immigrant and nature enthusiast Robert Shosteck approached The Washington Post to inquire if the paper was interested in creating a partnership. Shosteck offered to write multiple columns each week on various outdoor topics in exchange for The Post’s sponsorship of a new hiking club, which he called The Wanderbirds.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Impressions of Washington: Lead Belly's "Bourgeois Blues"

Impressions of Washington: Lead Belly's "Bourgeois Blues"

04/23/2013 in DC by Nick Scalera

Huddie William Ledbetter (January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known as Lead Belly, was a legendary folk and blues musician known for his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, powerful vocals and the huge catalog of folk standards he introduced. Inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, artists from Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin to Nirvana and the White Stripes have covered his songs and recognized his musical influence.

Somewhat less remembered, even locally, is Lead Belly's "Bourgeois Blues," a song written about his first visit to Washington, D.C. in 1937 — an incisive indictment of the city's racial segregation conveyed in 3 minutes of rippling 12-string blues.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

Pagination

  • First page «
  • Previous page ‹‹
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Current page 3
  • Page 4
  • Next page ››
  • Last page »
Surprise Me!

Not sure where to start reading? Let us pick a story for you!

Categories

  • DC (565)
  • Maryland (106)
  • Virginia (146)

Latest Posts

"DC" Really Stands for Demon Cat... Which Haunts the U.S. Capitol

03/17/2023

"DC" Really Stands for Demon Cat... Which Haunts the U.S. Capitol

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

03/10/2023

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

03/03/2023

The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

Most Popular

Time Travel in the "Virgin Vault": Washington’s Women’s Boarding House

11/25/2022

Time Travel in the "Virgin Vault": Washington’s Women’s Boarding House

GALA Hispanic Theatre: Celebrating Latin American Culture in the Arts

07/12/2022

GALA Hispanic Theatre: Celebrating Latin American Culture in the Arts

Beyond the Invitation: Chief Plenty Coups and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

11/11/2022

Beyond the Invitation: Chief Plenty Coups and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tags

1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990sAlexandriaArlingtonBlack HistoryBygone DCCivil WarGeorgetownMusic HistorySports HistoryWhite HouseWomen's HistoryWorld War IWorld War II
More
Historical D.C. Metro Map
Tweets by BoundaryStones
WETA

Footer menu

  • Support WETA
  • About WETA
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 3939 Campbell Avenue
    Arlington, VA 22206 | Map
  • 703-998-2600
  • boundarystones@weta.org

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

Bottom Footer

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Guidelines