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    David Bowie: 1947-2016
     
     
    David Bowie Lands in Washington
    In 1971 a largely unknown David Bowie landed at Dulles Airport and stayed in the Washington, D.C. area on his first visit to America.
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    Weather History
     
     
    1987: The Blizzard of Discontent
    On the morning of January 22, 1987, Washington was hit by a massive snowstorm that, in some ways, might have been the beginning of then-Mayor Marion Barry's ignominious downfall.
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    Did You Know?
     
     
    The Little Italy Under the Parkway
    Before the northern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway was built in the 1950s, Arlington was home to a village of Italian quarrymen, accessible only by footpath.
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    Mary Church Terrell
     
     
    The End of Segretation in DC Restaurants
    Ending segregation in Washington restaurants hinged on activism and the Supreme Court's interpretation of DC laws which had been literally lost.
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    Music History
     
     
    Two Steinways and Three Roosevelts
    How two custom Steinway pianos became White House symbols for art and entertainment with the help of three Roosevelts
DC
Phyllis Schlafly and the End of the Equal Rights Amendment

Phyllis Schlafly and the End of the Equal Rights Amendment

04/19/2022 in DC by Henry Kokkeler

As the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment lapsed in June 1982, the amendment's foes celebrated its demise while its proponents looked to the future to continue the struggle.

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DC
Howard University's First Dean of Women Had to Fight to Keep Her Brookland Home

Howard University's First Dean of Women Had to Fight to Keep Her Brookland Home

04/18/2022 in DC by Fontana Micucci

Returning to campus for the new school year in 1937, Howard University’s students received grim news: one of their deans, Lucy Diggs Slowe, was “reputed critically ill with pleurisy. Her condition was such on Tuesday that relatives were called to her bedside.” After 15 years at the university, Slowe was a staple to the campus and its students – many of the women enrolled at the college saw her has a mentor and advocate for their education at Howard. 

What the headline didn’t mention was what some believed was the cause of her declining health. There were rumblings that it was the efforts of key Howard University staff that had caused her illness, and they wouldn’t stop until Slowe left the school for good. 

Who was Lucy Diggs Slowe, and what led to such harsh conflict between her and the university?

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DC
The 1978 Equal Rights Amendment March

The 1978 Equal Rights Amendment March

04/12/2022 in DC by Henry Kokkeler

As the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment approached, proponents of the amendment held what was then known as the "largest parade for feminism in history" to pressure Congress for an extension to the ratification date.

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Virginia
Reston's Roots: Black Activism in Virginia's New Town

Reston's Roots: Black Activism in Virginia's New Town

03/31/2022 in Virginia by Charlotte Muth

Around the same time that Walt Disney envisioned a futuristic alternative to urban living—EPCOT (The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow)—a man named Robert E. Simon Jr. dreamed of a better way to live in the suburbs. It was an era of hope when many were asking: “Through careful planning, innovate design, and high ideals, can we manufacture a better way to live?”

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Maryland
What's in a Name? Silver Spring

What's in a Name? Silver Spring

03/22/2022 in Maryland by Katherine Brodt

How did Silver Spring, Maryland land one of the prettiest, most mystical-sounding names in the Washington, D.C. area? Was there really a magical silver spring that once flowed through the area? Is it as pretty and idyllic as it sounds? Actually, that's exactly where the name comes from: a "silver spring."

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Virginia
The Bank Robberies of Del Ray

The Bank Robberies of Del Ray

03/16/2022 in Virginia by Henry Kokkeler

In 1929, six bandits robbed the Bank of Del Ray in the Town of Potomac, Virginia. But little did anyone know that a much larger crime was unfolding inside the bank the whole time...

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Maryland
The Lynching of George Armwood

The Lynching of George Armwood

03/01/2022 in Maryland by Henry Kokkeler

George Armwood was the last recorded lynching in the state of Maryland. The story of his murder and its shocking aftermath exposed the depth and sinister workings of white supremacy in one of the darkest chapters of American history.

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DC
The Dangerous Ghosts of WWI Research in Spring Valley

The Dangerous Ghosts of WWI Research in Spring Valley

02/25/2022 in DC by Fontana Micucci

On January 7, 1993, an alarming headline greeted readers of The Washington Post: “25 HOUSES EVACUATED AS WWI SHELLS EXAMINED.” The previous day, a backhoe operator digging a trench in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest Washington had uncovered a suspicious object. The construction company called the D.C. Fire Department… who called the police… who called the bomb squad. Within hours, 25 homes in the upscale neighborhood had been temporarily evacuated as munitions crews from the Army Technical Escort Unit at Aberdeen Proving Grounds investigated. Their verdict? The objects were unexploded mortar and artillery shells – and there might be more in the area.

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DC
America's First Modern Art Museum

America's First Modern Art Museum

01/28/2022 in DC by Katherine Brodt

The country’s first modern art museum was established 100 years ago in a Dupont Circle townhouse. And since the Phillips Collection celebrated its centenary last year, it’s a great time to remind Washingtonians that their city has a rich art history—largely exemplified by the story of this museum.

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Virginia
George Washington’s Final Command

George Washington’s Final Command

01/18/2022 in Virginia by Arielle Gordon

From July 4, 1798 to his death in 1799, George Washington served as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army. Tensions with France were on the rise during the Quasi-War, so President John Adams appointed Washington to lead the nation’s armed forces.

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