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Popular Content

  • View of the Smithsonian Castle building

    What's in a Name? The Smithsonian

    He never traveled to the United States or took an interest in our politics. He wasn’t known for any philanthropic efforts. Though intellectually curious, he didn’t make any groundbreaking or well...

    By Katherine Brodt

  • Leonard Bernstein reads playbill for West Side Story at the musical's premiere at the National Theater in Washington, DC on August 12, 1957. (Source: Library of Congress)

    The Night 'West Side Story' Opened in Washington

    On a sweltering August night in 1957, Washington’s National Theatre hosted a glittering crowd of senators, ambassadors, and VIPs for the pre-Broadway premiere of West Side Story. It was enough to make...

    By Ellen Wexler

  • The Beatles hold a press conference in the Washington Senators locker room before their final D.C. concert on August 15, 1966 (Bettmann via Getty Images).

    The Beatles' Final D.C. Concert

    Although their first appearance in Washington D.C. was certainly more historic, the Beatles' last visit was nothing if not eventful, and verged on the downright bizarre. In stark contrast to that...

    By Nick Scalera

  • Ben's Chili Bowl, 1980 (Photo Source: Library of Congress) Highsmith, Carol M, photographer. Ben's Chili Bowl, Washington, D.C. United States Washington D.C, None. [Between 1980 and 2006] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2011635251/. (Accessed December 04, 2017.)

    A Washington Landmark: Ben’s Chili Bowl

    According to co-founder Virginia Ali, Ben’s Chili Bowl has never been “your typical restaurant.” Unlike other diners of the 1950s, Virginia’s husband Ben thought “Washington might be hungry for the...

    By Emily Robinson

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