Boundary Stones | WETA's Washington DC Local History Website

The Epicenter of the 1980s Alternative Music Scene in DC

When the Atlantic building at 930 F Street NW was completed in 1888, it was on the cutting edge. Designed by James Hill Green, the supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, it was the biggest commercial structure in the District and one of the first to feature a passenger elevator. Over time, however, it was gradually was overshadowed by newer, flashier modern buildings, and became a largely-forgotten bit of the District's architectural history... until the 1980s, when the building achieved new fame as the epicenter of the District's alternative music scene.

Fear the Turtle: How Testudo Became the Face of the University of Maryland

The diamondback terrapin has grown to become synonymous with College Park and the Maryland University system, but where did Testudo come from? From kidnappings and fires to student traditions and...
“Washington’s Other Monument”: The Remarkable Life of Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Washington, DC, has been home to countless larger-than-life political figures. But perhaps no other Washingtonian has had such a long-lasting—and underappreciated impact—on American popular culture...
Frances Oldham Kelsey: How an FDA Pharmacologist Prevented Thalidomide from Becoming a National Tragedy

In 1960, a new drug called thalidomide arrived for review at the FDA. Assuming the popular European drug would be a routine application, supervisors assigned its approval to their newest hire, Dr...

LGBTQ+ Pride Month

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

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.
December 17, 2021
- Washington, D.C.
By Holly McDonald
“Those Ladies Were Outraged”: A Lesbian Collective on Capitol Hill Shakes Up Feminism

In 1971, twelve women moved into a house on Capitol Hill, becoming the first serious lesbian collective in America. Contentious from the start and lasting only a year and a half, these Furies (as they called themselves) nonetheless incited a reckoning within the feminist movement, with thought and theory that is still being discussed today.
June 24, 2024
- Washington, D.C.
By Isabel Sans
In 1988, ACT UP Demonstrators Occupied the FDA Headquarters to Demand Action on AIDS

Though the AIDS epidemic had been raging for nearly a decade, by 1988, the FDA had only cleared a single drug to treat it. Frustrated with what they considered a deadly lack of initiative, AIDS patients, community activists, friends, and family marched to the FDA's headquarters in Rockville to demand more treatments, more urgency, and more understanding.
July 29, 2025
- Maryland
By Isabel Sans

Watch & Learn

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Fired for Being Gay, Frank Kameny Ran for Congress

Frank Kameny made history by being the first openly gay man to run for Congress in 1971.
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How Mary Church Terrell Beat Jim Crow in D.C. Restaurants

How Mary Church Terrell challenged racial segregation in D.C. restaurants -- and won.
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Smokey Bear Was a Real Bear Who Had His Own Zipcode in Washington, DC

Both the Smokey Bear character and the real life Smokey hail from Washington, D.C.

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SCOTUS Rules in Loving v. Virginia

SCOTUS issues landmark civil rights decision in Loving v. Virginia, deeming statutes prohibiting marriage between whites and blacks to be unconstitutional.