The name "Rosslyn" doesn't sound so menacing but don't be deceived. In the late 19th century the area had such a reputation for crime that a nearby ravine was called "Dead Man's Hollow."
The USS Princeton was a new naval ship designed to show the power of young America's navy. All of Washington's high society was on board one February day to witness this marvel of modern engineering. Instead, a tragic disaster left six people dead, including two cabinet secretaries, and may have altered the course of American history.
To the average visitor, the Lincoln Memorial appears to be a timeless part of the National Mall. However, this classical commemoration to the sixteenth president was dedicated less than one hundred years ago, in the presence of Civil War veterans, Robert Todd Lincoln, two Presidents and a crowd of thousands.
East Arlington and Queen City were two tight-knit African American communities that forged a strong and independent existence despite the perils of Jim Crow. Yet the rapid expansion of federal government and the pressing demands of World War II endangered all that these Arlington residents had built together and, quite literally, wiped it off the map.
Eastern Market has been a place of social gathering in Capitol Hill since its construction in 1873. Despite many efforts to shutter the market and a devastating fire in 2007, the market endures as a Southeast institution.
The Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain honors Major Archibald Butt and artist Francis Millet, two men who died together on the ship of dreams. Close friends and housemates in Washington, D.C., these men would be mourned by most of Washington, including President William Howard Taft.
On March 3, 1913, one day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson, 5,000 women marched on Pennsylvania Avenue to demand women's suffrage. Though their parade was met with violence from the crowd, the suffragettes kept marching toward the vote.