Having watched the JDLand spouse go bonkers lately pouring through old photos of Washington DC that are available on the web (mainly at the
Library of Congress web site), I decided to hop on the bandwagon and pull together what photos I could find online of Near Southeast through the years onto a new
Historic Photos page. They're mostly overhead shots, though there are some street level ones (especially of streetcars near what is now the "Blue Castle" at
8th and M). I posted just a few representative shots, so follow the links beneath the photos if you're interested in seeing more images, especially of the Navy Yard (on the
Naval Historical Center web site) and of DC's streetcars (at
Dave's Rail Pix site). I also was recently sent a few photos from the archive of the old Alley Dwelling Authority (the precursor to the DC Housing Authority); hopefully the rest of those 1930s photos (showing slums in the old Ellen Wilson area and Southwest) can eventually be posted where folks can get to them.
And soon I'll start posting on the blog from time to time short excerpts of old Washington Post news items from the neighborhood to continue the walk down memory lane. (My degree is in history, so it's rather amazing it's taken me this long to do this. I guess all the current events have kept me plenty busy.)
UPDATE: One item of interest I've uncovered today: In the overhead shot from 1939 on the
Historic Photos page, you can see a big building at 4th and M streets; I've determined that this is the original John P. Van Ness School, which was opened in 1909. The current Van Ness school, at 5th and M, replaced the old one in 1956.
