In addition to the below posted Tuesday and Thursday hours, the Peabody Room is open the first Saturday of each month from 10;00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Named in honor of 19th century merchant, banker & philanthropist George Peabody (1795-1869), the Peabody Room is a special collections of Georgetown neighborhood history. Established in 1935, the collection houses books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, artwork, and artifacts documenting Georgetown's two and a half centuries.
Operating as usual
Free Landmark Lecture: The Peabody Room Collection: Three Centuries of Georgetown Art – Tudor Place
Since 1935, the Georgetown Neighborhood Library’s Peabody Room has served as a repository of books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, artifacts, and artworks that document the 270-year history of Georgetown, the oldest neighborhood in the District of Columbia.
Today is the 152nd anniversary of the death of George Peabody, the "Father of Modern Philanthropy." Mr. Peabody, a native of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "...commenced business for himself in early youth" here in Georgetown when he was seventeen years old.
To learn more about Mr. Peabody and his connection to the DC Public library, click on https://www.dclibrary.org/node/726. For the British perspective (he died in London where he is greatly revered), go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG8ZjHL-sWY.
Today is the 152nd anniversary of the death of George Peabody, the "Father of Modern Philanthropy." Mr. Peabody, a native of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "...commenced business for himself in early youth" here in Georgetown when he was seventeen years old.
To learn more about Mr. Peabody and his connection to the DC Public library, click on https://www.dclibrary.org/node/726. For the British perspective (he died in London where he is greatly revered), go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG8ZjHL-sWY.
Happy Halloween from the Peabody Room!
Happy Halloween from the Peabody Room!
The Sunday Star
October 23, 1921
The Sunday Star
October 23, 1921
On October 21, 1812, this advertisement appeared in the “Georgetown Courier" newspaper having been placed by 17-year-old George Peabody. The dry goods store was located on Bridge Street (M Street) near the intersection of High Street (Wisconsin Avenue).
On October 21, 1812, this advertisement appeared in the “Georgetown Courier" newspaper having been placed by 17-year-old George Peabody. The dry goods store was located on Bridge Street (M Street) near the intersection of High Street (Wisconsin Avenue).
Perspective | While working to restore two historic Black cemeteries, she discovered a construction crew digging on burial grounds
The discovery, near two Georgetown cemeteries, left Lisa Fager asking, “What have they disturbed? Who have they disturbed?”
The Georgetown Courier
October 14, 1871
The Georgetown Courier
October 14, 1871
The Georgetown Courier
October 7, 1871
Dr. Benjamin S. Bohrer passed away in 1862 and is buried in Georgetown's The Oak Hill Cemetery of Washington, DC. The Wheatley Brothers constructed three row houses on the lot occupied by Dr. Bohrer's house and today numbered 3107-09-11 N Street (originally Gay Street with 31st originally named Congress).
Perhaps the bricks from the demolished house were indeed incorporated into the new structures.
The Georgetown Courier
October 7, 1871
Dr. Benjamin S. Bohrer passed away in 1862 and is buried in Georgetown's The Oak Hill Cemetery of Washington, DC. The Wheatley Brothers constructed three row houses on the lot occupied by Dr. Bohrer's house and today numbered 3107-09-11 N Street (originally Gay Street with 31st originally named Congress).
Perhaps the bricks from the demolished house were indeed incorporated into the new structures.
WOW, look who made a "best libraries" list!!
Washington, DC, America’s most literate city, boasts the best libraries around the nation. Read on for some of the best libraries in DC.
Not applicable in the District of Columbia and Maryland.
Not applicable in the District of Columbia and Maryland.
The Sunday Star
October 2, 1921
Located at 3101 M Street, NW.
The Sunday Star
October 2, 1921
Located at 3101 M Street, NW.
The Sunday Star
October 2, 1921
The Sunday Star
October 2, 1921
The Georgetown Courier
September 30, 1871
The Georgetown Courier
September 30, 1871
The Georgetown Courier
September 23, 1871
The Evening Star
September 22, 1921
The Evening Star
September 22, 1921
The Georgetown Courier
September 16, 1871
Water Street is today's K Street.
Bridge Street = M Street (east of Wisconsin Avenue)
High Street = Wisconsin Avenue
West Street = P Street east of Wisconsin Avenue
First Street = N Street west of Wisconsin Avenue
Fayette Street = 35th Street
Second Street = O Street west of Wisconsin Avenue
Third Street = P Street west of Wisconsin Avenue
The Georgetown Courier
September 16, 1871
Water Street is today's K Street.
Bridge Street = M Street (east of Wisconsin Avenue)
High Street = Wisconsin Avenue
West Street = P Street east of Wisconsin Avenue
First Street = N Street west of Wisconsin Avenue
Fayette Street = 35th Street
Second Street = O Street west of Wisconsin Avenue
Third Street = P Street west of Wisconsin Avenue
Today is the 207th anniversary of the penning by Georgetown resident Francis Scott Key of the poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry," better known as "The Star Spangled Banner." In 1907 the Francis Scott Key Memorial Foundation was established to preserve his house at 3516 M Street, NW.
The following year certificates like this one, designed by Charles H. Weisgerber, promoter of the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, were given to donors who supported preservation of the house. Public interest was lax and within three years the foundation abandoned its efforts.
By 1947 the house, or what was left of it, was demolished. The Peabody Room has voluminous materials related to the sorry history of this loss of the most important structure in Georgetown's history.
Today is the 207th anniversary of the penning by Georgetown resident Francis Scott Key of the poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry," better known as "The Star Spangled Banner." In 1907 the Francis Scott Key Memorial Foundation was established to preserve his house at 3516 M Street, NW.
The following year certificates like this one, designed by Charles H. Weisgerber, promoter of the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, were given to donors who supported preservation of the house. Public interest was lax and within three years the foundation abandoned its efforts.
By 1947 the house, or what was left of it, was demolished. The Peabody Room has voluminous materials related to the sorry history of this loss of the most important structure in Georgetown's history.
Georgetown Courier
September 9, 1871
The Oldest Inhabitants' Association was in its seventh year of operation in 1871 and is still in business! Learn more at https://www.aoidc.org/home.html.
Opinion | Slavery was part and parcel of the wealth of early Georgetown
My research also showed that colonial merchants traded in human commodities.
Happy 150th Birthday Grace Street NW!
Georgetown Courier
August 26, 1871
Dog Tag Bakery
Grace Street Coffee
Chaia
South Block
Happy 150th Birthday Grace Street NW!
Georgetown Courier
August 26, 1871
Dog Tag Bakery
Grace Street Coffee
Chaia
South Block
One hundred and five summers ago on August 26, 1916, these folks were having a great time aboard the "Bartholdi" on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Real-photo postcard photographed by Willard R. Ross (1860-1948) from the Wesley Ponder Collection, People’s Archive, DC Public Library. To see other postcard images that Mr. Ross photographed, visit https://digdc.dclibrary.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3Aross.
One hundred and five summers ago on August 26, 1916, these folks were having a great time aboard the "Bartholdi" on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Real-photo postcard photographed by Willard R. Ross (1860-1948) from the Wesley Ponder Collection, People’s Archive, DC Public Library. To see other postcard images that Mr. Ross photographed, visit https://digdc.dclibrary.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3Aross.
The Peabody Room earthquake "damage" that occurred ten years ago today (two heavy four-drawer map file cabinets that shifted).
Not as dramatic as this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xncKLK9g0Oo
Or this!
https://youtu.be/b18ecF6Tz1A?t=1m10s
Where were you and what were you doing when "the earth moved under your feet?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6913KnbMpHM
The Sunday Star
August 21, 1921
"A remarkably clear view of the new Key bride, being constructed over the Potomac at Georgetown, with Georgetown University at upper right. The picture was taken from the air by the Bolling Filed photographic section of the Army air service."
I was fortunate to have Mr. Trask show me around his incredible archive, located in the Peabody Institute Library (Danvers, MA), during my 2018 George Peabody in Massachusetts tour.
The highlight was when he took me into the vault and showed me some of the original documents from the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-93!
The Danvers Archival Center located at Peabody Institute Library will be named in honor of Richard Trask, the town's longtime archivist.
August 13, 2021 is the 117th anniversary of the greatest number of drowning deaths in a single incident on the Potomac River bordering Washington, DC.
During the course of processing the Peabody Room's Potomac Boat Club Photograph Collection for placement on the DC Public Library's Dig DC web site, I came across a small album containing sixteen real-photo postcards (postcards whose images were printed on photographic paper). The PBC was established in Georgetown in 1869 and these images were taken on August 13-14, 1904, during the club's 13th annual regatta.
The album starts out with a couple of views of the original 1870 boathouse that was then located at the foot of today's Wisconsin Avenue. Hundreds of people are standing in front of, on the sides, and on the various levels of the shingled structure viewing the various competitive matches. Flipping through the albums are individual images of crews out on the river; eight oared shell crew, four oared gig, singles, etc.
But then one arrives at the last two postcards mounted in the album and identified in a flowing cursive script, "Recovering body of a Woman." Thinking how tragic it was that this woman lost her life during such a joyous event, I decided to access DCPL's newspaper databases to at least discover her name to add to the image's metadata. I quickly found the coverage of the drowning and it was far worse than the death of one person.
A total of ten people drowned that morning in plain view of hundreds of witnesses located mere yards away on the shore or in vessels. The deceased had been on board a naphtha launch named "Recreation," a 25 ft. long, gasoline powered pleasure craft. The vessel had approached the shore near the foot of 33rd Street to take on four female passengers.
The boat drifted into the wake of a mill race (the black opening in the stone wall that appears in the middle of the image). This outlet dispelled great amounts of water taken in from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to operate turbines located at the G. W. Cissel flour mill. The force of the water frightened some of the woman who immediately moved to the opposite side of the launch and caused it to flip or "turn turtle" as the press described it.
The weight of the launch's engine caused the vessel to sink, entrapping the fourteen who were aboard who became entangled in the canvas canopy that covered the vessel. Those who made it to the surface were pulled back down by the undertow caused by the water discharging from mill race.
The site of the tragedy is near Georgetown Waterfront Park's labyrinth feature. Peer over the railing to see where the mill race outlet had been located (it was removed during the creation of this section of the park 2006-2008). There is no signage memorializing the ten individuals who lost there lives at this spot.
Here is a list of those who died:
Blumer, Dr. Charles Henry, 30, druggist, 1 R Street NE
Booze, Andrew B., 35, salesman for the firm Middlekauff & Bros., hatters, Baltimore, 513 L Street NW (also identified as A. J. Boose)
Coates, J. Herbert, 35, tailor, McKeesport, PA
Dreyfus, Mrs. Lulu, wife of Joseph, 30th & M Street NW *
Hizer, Miss Helen, 18, 3160 O Street NW
Moore, Miss Helen, 16, 1504 33rd Street NW
Smith, J. George, 39, 1512 Grant Street NW
Smith, William H., 31, Navy Yard, 740 9th Street NW
Waldman, John Jr., 20
Zelbach, Miss Bertha, 504 K Street NW (also spelled Selback and Selbach) *
* Sisters
To view the other postcards in this album, visit https://digdc.dclibrary.org/islandora/search?type=dismax&f%5B0%5D=mods_subject_topic_ms%3APhotographic%5C%20postcards.
The Georgetown Courier
August 12, 1871
The Rock Creek Bridge crossed at today's P Street Bridge.
The Georgetown Courier
August 12, 1871
The Rock Creek Bridge crossed at today's P Street Bridge.
The Evening Star
August 9, 1921
(Still searching for a photo of that public comfort station at Wisconsin and M!)
The Evening Star
August 9, 1921
(Still searching for a photo of that public comfort station at Wisconsin and M!)
Happy #NationalBookLoversDay.
This is Norman Rockwell's illustration for the August 14, 1926 cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
What is your favorite old or new book that you own? Post a photo of its cover in the comments!
Happy #NationalBookLoversDay.
This is Norman Rockwell's illustration for the August 14, 1926 cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
What is your favorite old or new book that you own? Post a photo of its cover in the comments!
"And of course the show business capital of the colonial world, Georgetown!"
#Funny #Music CBS network offered up a 6 week summer series in 1977 with the Starland Vocal Band after their song Afternoon Delight was a huge hit during the...
The Sunday Star
August 7, 1921
Debut of the first (of 20) Georgetown African American Historic Landmark trail plaques on August 4, 2021 at 3324 Dent Place, NW.
Georgetown Courier
August 5, 1871
The plaque has been installed!
A new plaque celebrates the amazing tale of Yarrow Mamout.
The Georgetown Courier
June 24, 1871
The Georgetown Courier
June 24, 1871
The Georgetown Courier
June 17, 1871
The Georgetown Courier
June 17, 1871
3260 R St NW, 3RD FLOOR
Washington D.C., DC
20007
Metrobus Routes 31, 31, or 36 The D.C. Circulator stops at R St. and Wisconsin, just across the street from the library. Check out Circulator times and stops here: http://www.dccirculator.com/ .
Also open SECOND & FOURTH Saturday of each month! 9:30 am - 5:30 pm Jerry A. McCoy Special Collections Librarian Peabody Room (202) 727-0233
| Tuesday | 10am - 6pm |
| Thursday | 12pm - 7pm |
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The Peabody Room is pleased to unveil its latest acquisition! This “Regulator No. 4” pendulum wall clock was manufactured by the Sessions Clock Company of Forestville, Connecticut. It was purchased by Joseph Clinton Tribby (1875-1953), owner of J. Clinton Tribby, Jeweler and Optician, located at 3115 M Street NW, between 1910 and 1928. Tribby’s father, Charles Ellsworth Tribby, founded the business in 1864 at 512 7th Street (in today’s NW quadrant). By 1875 Charles Tribby had relocated to Georgetown at 120 Bridge Street (north side of today’s 3100 block of M Street NW). In 1940, 3111-3119 M Street was demolished with J. Clinton Tribby having prior relocated next door to 3123 M Street. Long known as “the Tiffany’s of DC,” this landmark Georgetown business remained in operation until 1977. If you patronized Tribby's or have materials related to this business or the Tribby family, please let us know in the comments! Acquisition of the clock is courtesy of The Samuel M. Levy Family Foundation.
Happening now.
Georgetown's first snow of 2014!
First annual Christmas Eve Scottish bagpipe procession from Oak Hill Cemetery to St. John's Church.
Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy
P.O. Box 32080Embassy of Denmark in the United States
3200 Whitehaven St NWCitizens Association of Georgetown CAG
1058 30th St. NWIstituto Italiano di Cultura Washington
3000 Whitehaven St NWKalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Work
Georgetown University, Maguire 209Embassy of Brazil in Washington, DC
3006 Massachusetts Ave NWGeorgetown University American Government Sem
37th and O Streets NWThe United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Comme
1212 Potomac St NWEmbassy of Türkiye, Washington D.C.
2525 Massachusetts Ave NWGeorgetown Government Department
Intercultural Center (ICC) 681 37th and O Streets, NWGeorgetown University Department of Arabic an
3700 Ost NW
CBP - Office of Field Operations Honor Guard
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Forum for Collaborative HIV Research
1608 Rhode Island Ave NW
D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and
1050 First Street NE
Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA)
400 Maryland Ave SW
American Battlefield Protection Program, NPS
1849 C Street NW
National Labor Relations Board
1015 Half St SE