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1920s

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Mystic Nobles in the District

Mystic Nobles in the District

03/03/2020 in DC by Emily Robinson

In June of 1923, Washington, D.C. prepared for thousands of men to descend upon the city for the 49th  annual session of the Imperial Council of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In other words, the Shriners were coming to town. Over the course of June 5, 6, and 7, the city would become a sea of fezzes as thousands of Shriners took part in a number of different events throughout the city, including a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, a massive concert at American League Park, and even an open invitation to overtake the White House by the President himself.

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DC
When the Klan Descended on Washington

When the Klan Descended on Washington

12/11/2019 in DC by Gonzalo Pacanins

“Phantom-like hosts of the Ku Klux Klan spread their white robe over the most historic thoroughfare yesterday in one of the greatest demonstrations the city has ever seen.” So read The Washington Post on the morning of August 9th , 1925. On the previous afternoon, the nation’s capital bore witness to the largest Klan march in the city’s history as tens of thousands of robed Klansmen marched down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Washington monument, most of them feeling no need to wear a mask.

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DC
A Dog’s Life for Laddie Boy

A Dog’s Life for Laddie Boy

08/20/2018 in DC by Shaune Lee

It used to be that presidential pets were considered nothing special, but after World War I, Washingtonians were looking for happy news — and they got it in the form of a happy-go-lucky dog that changed how Americans looked at animals who lived in the White House.

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DC
The Bumpy Road to Washington National Airport

The Bumpy Road to Washington National Airport

05/03/2018 in DC by Laura Castro L…

Early in the 20th century, a modern, accessible, airport became a necessity for any major city, and Washington was no exception. However, while there was general agreement on the need for an air hub to serve the nation’s capital, the road – literally – to achieving that goal was fraught with delays and obstacles. It would take 12 years of debate and a president stepping in for the city to finally get the airport it so desperately needed.

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DC
The Dedication of the Lincoln Memorial

The Dedication of the Lincoln Memorial

04/18/2018 in DC by Anne Hollmuller

To the average visitor, the Lincoln Memorial appears to be a timeless part of the National Mall. However, this classical commemoration to the sixteenth president was dedicated less than one hundred years ago, in the presence of Civil War veterans, Robert Todd Lincoln, two Presidents and a crowd of thousands. 

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DC
Washington’s Best Thing Since Before Sliced Bread

Washington’s Best Thing Since Before Sliced Bread

11/14/2017 in DC by Emily Robinson

The industrial revolution was reshaping the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as the country shifted from a pure agrarian structure, to a more industrial one. While many major American cities of the early 20th century were home to bustling factories and mills pumping smoke into the air, Washington’s largest processing industry filled the air with a different smell—fresh baking bread. In the same neighborhood as the former Griffith Stadium in Shaw, family-owned bakeries lined the streets. Among the most prominent of these bakeries were Dorsch’s White Cross Bakery, Holzbeierlein Bakery, and Corby Baking Company, which were responsible for producing almost all of the bread, cake, and pastry products sold in the Washington area, consequently making them all household names in D.C.

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DC
1922: Washington's Deadliest Blizzard

1922: Washington's Deadliest Blizzard

01/27/2017 in DC by Patrick Kiger

When heavy snow caused an Adams Morgan theater's roof to collapse, 98 moviegoers were killed in one of the District's worst disasters ever.

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Washington Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Charles Lindbergh

Washington Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Charles Lindbergh

12/01/2016 in DC by Mark Jones

When word came from Paris that Charles Lindbergh successfully completed the first trans-Atlantic flight on May 21, 1927, the world celebrated. Overnight the young pilot became a household name and hero. Cities around the globe prepared to fete him. But to Lindbergh, one greeting stood out in particular, “Paris was marvelous and London and Brussels as well, and I wouldn’t for the world draw any comparisons, but I will say this, the Washington reception was the best handled of all.”

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DC
Elizebeth Friedman: Coast Guard Code Breaker

Elizebeth Friedman: Coast Guard Code Breaker

09/28/2016 in DC by Max Lee

By the end of her life, Elizebeth Smith Friedman was renowned for her work deciphering codes from civilian criminals. She cracked the codes that sent members of what one prosecutor called “the most powerful international smuggling syndicate in existence” to jail, took down a Vancouver opium ring, and caught a World War II Japanese spy.

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DC
Douglas MacArthur's Olympic Tradition

Douglas MacArthur's Olympic Tradition

08/05/2016 in DC by Lafayette Matthews

The United States is the only country that does not dip its flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic games. The "flag pas" began thanks to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who served a brief stint as president of the USOC in 1928.

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