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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
When the Willard Hotel served as the White House

When the Willard Hotel served as the White House

01/05/2022 in DC by Arielle Gordon

For the first weeks of his presidency, Calvin Coolidge conducted business from a different iconic D.C. residence — the Willard Hotel. The Coolidges lived at the hotel while he was Vice President and they waited to move to the White House until Warren Harding’s family had time to move out after he died in office.

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DC
When the Washington Post Covered Up a Presidential Scandal

When the Washington Post Covered Up a Presidential Scandal

12/22/2021 in DC by Ben Miller

In 1923, Washington Post publisher Ned McLean became embroiled in the Teapot Dome scandal — and turned his paper into a national laughingstock in the process.

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DC
John Collier's Conference at the Cosmos Club

John Collier's Conference at the Cosmos Club

12/20/2021 in DC by Holly McDonald

By 1934, BIA Commissioner John Collier believed that land allotment and other policies meant to help Native Americans were doing more harm than good, and he wanted to reverse them through an ambitious bill known as the Indian Reorganization Act (also called the Wheeler-Howard Act). Collier’s bill would not only nullify the land allotment policy, but it would also allow Native American tribes to govern themselves, decentralize the BIA, consolidate Native land, and transfer Indigenous children from boarding schools to day schools.

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DC
"Giving People the Courage to Be Themselves": Gay Pride Day in D.C.

"Giving People the Courage to Be Themselves": Gay Pride Day in D.C.

12/17/2021 in DC by Holly McDonald

Gay rights activist Larry “Deacon” Maccubbin was at a party with friends in 1975 when the topic of New York Pride eventually came up. As they were discussing who would be going, one of his friends asked why their own city, Washington, D.C., didn’t have a similar event ─ it was the nation’s capital, after all. The idea stuck in Maccubin’s head.

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DC
The Show Must Go On: Shirley Horn at the Howard Theatre

The Show Must Go On: Shirley Horn at the Howard Theatre

12/10/2021 in DC by Holly McDonald

By the late 1950s, Shirley Horn had performed all up and down the U Street corridor a countless number of times, but her show at the Howard Theatre one October night in 1958 was particularly memorable for her. The jazz pianist and singer happened to be in the ninth month of her pregnancy at the time and was expecting the baby to be due any day.

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DC

How Chinatown's Friendship Archway Came To Be

12/03/2021 in DC by Holly McDonald

In addition to tours of the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, former D.C. mayor Marion Barry’s trip to China in May 1984 involved talks with Beijing mayor Chen Xitong about constructing a symbol of the friendship between the two capital cities in the form of an archway in D.C.’s Chinatown.

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DC
Respect, Unity, and Brotherhood at the Million Man March

Respect, Unity, and Brotherhood at the Million Man March

11/27/2021 in DC by Holly McDonald

If you visited any major U.S. city in the early fall of 1995, there’s no doubt you would have heard of the Million Man March for Black men in Washington, D.C., on October 16, either from flyers posted around town or through word of mouth. After all, plans for a massive gathering of African American men on the National Mall had been in motion for over a year.

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DC
Dinner and Debates: Boardinghouses of the District

Dinner and Debates: Boardinghouses of the District

11/24/2021 in DC by Emily Robinson

Long before the invention of the airplane and a short time before trains were used for commercial transportation, congressmen traveling to Washington for extended periods faced a complicated issue: where would they live in the developing capital city while Congress was in session? Some wealthier members of Congress could purchase private residences or stay with a colleague, but this was not a realistic option for most. The most common solution by far, was to reside in one of the District’s many boardinghouses. Several former presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, found boardinghouses to be a phenomenally sufficient option during their congressional years— for a reasonable fee, a boardinghouse would provide you a room, quality meals, place to work, and lively conversation with fellow residents, many of whom were also politicians. Boardinghouses were scattered throughout the city, but the majority of them were located on Capitol Hill in the area where the Library of Congress stands today.

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DC
Thrice Uprooted: The U.S. Botanic Garden

Thrice Uprooted: The U.S. Botanic Garden

11/11/2021 in DC by Charlotte Muth

The U.S. Botanic Garden—located adjacent to the Capitol in a triangle between Maryland Ave SW, Washington Ave SW, and First Street—is rooted in the earliest planning of the capital city. Many of the Founding Fathers believed that a living repository for plants would have countless benefits, from the production of food and medicine to the scientific study of international specimens to the enjoyment of aesthetic beauty. George Washington himself wrote an impassioned letter in 1796 about how a botanic garden should be included in the city plan, even suggesting a few feasible locations.

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Virginia
What's in a Name? Virginia

What's in a Name? Virginia

11/01/2021 in Virginia by Katherine Brodt

Perhaps, in some alternate history, the name “Virginia” may have applied to our entire country. When the English first settled North America, that was certainly the case. 

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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.

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