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Call to all D.C. Go-Go Fans: Let's Keep the Memory of D.C.'s Homegrown Sound Go-Going

Call to all D.C. Go-Go Fans: Let's Keep the Memory of D.C.'s Homegrown Sound Go-Going

08/17/2018 in DC by Dominic Charles

Go-go music is a signature Washington, D.C. sound and the D.C. Public Library has started an archive to preserve its history. Archivist Derek Gray is leading the charge and is seeking heirlooms related to the D.C. go-go scene: CDs and audio recordings of Chuck Brown and other go-go artists, flyers, posters, event advertisements, photographs, videos, DVDs, and other memorabilia. Help preserve the legacy of D.C.’s homegrown sound for future generations!

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DC
Claiming a Neighborhood: Shaw and Little Ethiopia

Claiming a Neighborhood: Shaw and Little Ethiopia

08/14/2018 in DC by Dominic Charles

In 2005, Ethiopian restaurateurs led a campaign to rename a strip of Ninth Street between U and T Little Ethiopia, to reflect the contributions that Ethiopians made to the Shaw neighborhood over the previous decade.  These business leaders faced backlash, however, from Shaw’s African-American community who thought the renaming campaign discounted the neighborhood’s proud African-American history.

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DC

Carrying a Torch for the Olympics

08/02/2018 in DC by Shaune Lee

Embed from Getty Images

One of the most memorable neighborhood block parties in recent memory kicked into gear as the Olympic flame came to Washington in the summer of 1996.  From Rockville to Reston, area residents got into the Olympic spirit as they welcomed the unusual guest.

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DC
Rare Essence Go-Goes On

Rare Essence Go-Goes On

07/26/2018 in DC by Dominic Charles

“There ain’t no party like an R.E. party, cause an R.E. party don’t stop.” Rare Essence, known around the DMV as “the most wickedest band alive,” has been one of the region’s most popular go-go acts for over 40  years despite several setbacks which could have easily ended the party.  

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DC
Metro Squashes the Y2K Bug

Metro Squashes the Y2K Bug

07/06/2018 in DC by Emily Robinson

In the midst of the final countdown to the new millennium at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 1999, people were waiting for more than confetti to fly and the ball to drop. Eyes around the world were locked on computer systems to see if the technology would advance with the clock. As news outlets had warned the public for months, the so-called Y2K bug was expected to affect, and potentially paralyze thousands of computer systems worldwide, and WMATA was taking no chances when it came to making sure Metro would be running when the year 2000 arrived. 

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DC
WHFS Sells Out the Deejay

WHFS Sells Out the Deejay

07/05/2018 in DC by Dominic Charles

On June 11, 1989, 8,000 WHFS 99.1 listeners crowded into the parking lot in front of Joe’s Record Paradise in Wheaton, Maryland for an eight hour concert to protest, station owner, Duchossois Inc.’s, decision to remove Damian Einstein from the airways.  Damian introduced the DMV to the newest music before it exploded on the national scene, and his sudden absence from the airways shocked WHFS’s most loyal fans who feared that Duchossois intended to move on from the progressive rock format. Centered on the freewheeling deejay, the progressive rock format defined WHFS defined the station since 1968. 

Fans were right to be concerned.  Over the course of the next decade, WHFS ditched the deejay for “gold-throated “on-air personalities who aired songs from corporately manufactured playlists.  While these changes initially earned the station a score of new fans, by the end of the decade, it was clear that WHFS lost the loyal support of their “bumper-stickered fans” who felt as if they lost a friend.    

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DC
Metro: It's Not Easy Being Green

Metro: It's Not Easy Being Green

06/19/2018 in DC by Emily Robinson

December 28, 1991 marked an important milestone for the Metro and for Washington: the long-awaited Green Line finally opened for business. On that Saturday, complete with official speeches, balloons and plenty of pomp and circumstance, the Anacostia, Navy Yard and Waterfront stations opened their fare gates for the first time. Getting to this celebration was anything but easy, however. For many years, it had seemed that the Green Line would never become a reality, as the last color of the Metrorail project faced countless setbacks due to budgeting, route disputes, and construction methods.

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DC
The Washington Capitals Could Have Been the Washington Pandas

The Washington Capitals Could Have Been the Washington Pandas

06/05/2018 in DC by Shaune Lee

“Now this is no easy thing — naming a sports team,” Washington Post reporter Bob Addie wrote in the spring of 1973. Naming anything can have complications: the right name is memorable, hopefully catchy, and looks good on jerseys, while a bad name becomes a joke — or worse, an embarrassment. That was why there was such surprise that Abe Pollin, who had recently become owner of the new — and still unnamed — NHL hockey team that was coming to the D.C. area was “toying with the idea of having a contest to name the baby.”

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DC
Historical D.C. Metro Map

Historical D.C. Metro Map

03/27/2018 in DC by Mark Jones

The first five Metrorail stations opened March 27, 1976, so that means today is Metro’s birthday! We thought we'd celebrate the occasion with a new Metro-inspired interactive here on the blog. In our Historical D.C. Metro Map, we’ve re-named all the stations in the system according to historical events and sometimes quirky stories from the surrounding neighborhoods. America's Toilet, Dead Man's Hollow, Xenu's Landing... What's your stop?

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Maryland
Washington’s Godfather: "Gentleman Gambler" Jimmy Lafontaine

Washington’s Godfather: "Gentleman Gambler" Jimmy Lafontaine

10/12/2017 in Maryland by Callum Cleary

When one thinks of the gambling scene in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, the likes of Al Capone, Frank Costello, and Bugsy Siegel immediately spring to mind. However, the District had its own gambling godfather — Jimmy Lafontaine. He couldn’t have been further from the American gangster archetype. Though his extralegal line of work inevitably brought him unwelcome brushes with mobsters and the law, his story is not one of bootlegged booze or mysterious murders. Rather, he’s most often remembered for his charity and reputation as Washington’s “gentleman gambler.”

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