Washington Chronicles

04/06/2025

Five boarded the ship for its maiden voyage; only two survived.

03/21/2025

Equally as important as the “Seven Buildings” in the history of early Washington, DC was another row of buildings that also stood west of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue and were known as the “Six Buildings.” Built in 1797, one of these buildings remained standing until 1985.

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Once Home to the Navy and State Departments, as well as the Circle Theatre

03/12/2025

In the 1890s, millionaire gentleman farmer Herbert Wadsworth and his wife Martha Blow Wadsworth were enjoying country living on their estate in Avon, New York.

03/04/2025

The hanging of James McGurk in 1802—Washington's first judicial execution—was not simply an act of justice in the case of a poor man who killed his wife. It was a perfect storm of factors that ensured the death penalty for his crime: a newly-established DC Circuit Court, an oversight in the law, Thomas Jefferson's fear of appearing complicit in McGurk's other alleged crimes, and xenophobia.

The hanging of James McGurk in 1802—Washington's first judicial execution—was not simply an act of justice in the case of a poor man who killed his wife.

03/04/2025

By 1895, Julia Boggs Grant, the widow of President Ulysses S. Grant, had grown tired of living in New York City. After leaving Washington in 1877 under a cloud of scandals that marked her husband’s administration, Julia had hoped that the dust had settled enough for a return to Washington.

By 1895, Julia Boggs Grant, the widow of President Ulysses S.

03/03/2025

Noted Civil War veteran General Azor Nickerson was married four times— once to two separate woman consecutively, and then to the same woman twice. At one point, he was married to two women at the same time. The result was one of the most sensational divorce cases that ever occurred in army circles.

A Man on the Run from Pinkerton's National Detective Agency

01/28/2025

The year 1879 saw the arrival of another new significant military resident on Connecticut Avenue in Dupont Circle, William Hemsley Emory Jr.

01/24/2025

“When Mrs. Ned McLean (God bless her)
Can get Russian reds to “yes” her,
Then I suppose, anything goes."

"There are many other great houses in the Capital, which by sad changes have been resolved into dust-stained mysteries.

12/17/2024

Also new this month: George and Phoebe Hearst: The Washington Years

The History of Washington, DC Through the Stories of its People, Neighborhoods, and Architecture

01/29/2022

The collapse of the Knickerbocker Theater on the evening of January 28, 1922 brought tragedy not only to all those inside, but also to its owner and architect.

The History of Washington, DC Through the Stories of its People, Neighborhoods, and Architecture

01/29/2022

The History of Washington, DC Through the Stories of its People, Neighborhoods, and Architecture

12/18/2021

William Tunnicliff's two establishments in early Washington, DC both started off as high-end hotels: the Eastern Branch Hotel (below) and Washington City Hotel.

The History of Washington, DC Through the Stories of its People, Neighborhoods, and Architecture