DC History Center

07/29/2026

in 1862, DC's first horsecar line hit the rails, carrying passengers from the Capitol to the State Department. Running on iron tracks instead of city streets, these horse-drawn streetcars offered a smoother ride than wagons and kicked off a new era of public transit. Soon, other companies joined the race, expanding horsecar service across Washington.

The horsecar boom didn't last long. Slow speeds, high maintenance, and the realities of caring for thousands of horses pushed companies toward cable and, eventually, electric streetcars. By 1900, the Anacostia and Potomac River Railroad became the last in DC to retire its horsecars.

While the horses are long gone, traces of the era remain. Although most of the building was torn down for a development project, the Washington and Georgetown Car Barn’s historic façade was preserved. It currently serves as the front of the Vuori store on 3222 M Street NW, standing as a reminder of the city's first streetcar age.

📸 Horsecar of the Metropolitan Railway Company on Boundary Street, ca. 1870-1879 (Remembering U Street photograph collection, RU PRE 4)

07/23/2026

The Girl Scouts are in town! 💚🍪

Over the next couple of days, you might see that distinctive green and brown across the city. The national Girl Scouts Unite event is happening right here in our neighborhood at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The theme for this year is Girls Make History, so you know we couldn’t resist taking a closer look at the over 100-year legacy of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

Girl Scouts was founded by Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low in 1912. Inspired by the various women-led organizations of the Progressive Era, Low built upon her passion for supporting girls by partnering with several women active in the progressive education movement to start the new organization.

The first troop included 18 girls, all from Low's hometown of Savannah, Georgia. Today, there are Girl Scouts troops across 92 different countries and over 100 local Girl Scouts councils.



📸 Wheatley School girl scouts posed in front of the school, circa 1925-1940. (General Photograph Collection, CHS 12344B)

07/21/2026

And that’s a wrap! ⚽

The World Cup has ended, and America’s soccer sleepover is officially over. But this wasn’t the first time the U.S. welcomed the world’s game.

While Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympic Soccer Tournament, Washington, DC was also an Olympic soccer city. RFK Stadium was one of the primary satellite venues, hosting a total of 9 games (6 men’s and 3 women’s). Fans saw the U.S. men battle Portugal to a draw and watched the U.S. women make history on their way to Olympic gold. 🥇

The 1996 Games also marked the Olympic debut of women’s soccer, making the United States Women's National Team the first women's soccer team to win an Olympic gold medal. 🏆



📸 Metro fare card to the 1996 Olympic Soccer Games at RFK Stadium, July 20-25. (Soccer ephemera, E 1456)

07/14/2026

Salvadoran contributions to Washington, DC go far beyond the pupusa.

Join the DC History Center and The People's Archive at MLK Library on Monday, July 27 for a conversation with Ana Patricia Rodríguez about her new book, Avocado Dreams: Remaking Salvadoran Life and Art in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area, and learn why Latinx art, history, and culture is relevant to all Washingtonians.

In conversation with Kristy L, Rodríguez will explore how generations of Salvadorans have shaped the cultural life of the DC region through art, literature, performance, and community building—and how those histories continue to inform our city today.

At a time when Latinx communities face increasing political backlash, this timely discussion offers a deeper understanding of migration, identity, and the vibrant cultural traditions that have helped define Washington, DC.

📍New Books at MLK Library (901 G St NW)
🗓 Monday, July 27 | 6:30 - 8 pm

Register today and reserve a copy of the book to pick up at the event!

The University of Arizona Press
University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities

07/11/2026

🌲It’s Park and Recreation Month!🌲

Established by the National Recreation and Park Association in 1985, this annual celebration recognizes the vital role parks and recreation play in strengthening communities.

Just outside Washington, DC, Glen Echo Park has been bringing people together for more than 130 years. Founded in 1891 by Edward and Edwin Baltzley as a National Chautauqua Assembly, the park was created as a center for lifelong learning, featuring a 6,000-seat amphitheater and summer educational programs.

Although the Chautauqua lasted only one season, the site evolved into Glen Echo Amusement Park, entertaining generations of Washington-area families until 1968. The National Park Service later revived the park’s educational and cultural mission, and in 2002 Montgomery County established the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts & Culture to manage its historic campus.

Today, rather than the traditional park with scenic landscapes, Glen Echo offers an alternative "People’s Park” that celebrates creativity, connection, and community. 🎡🎠🎨



📸 View of the Glen Echo Chautauqua Amphitheater, ca. 1891 (Washington DC suburbs scenic pictures collection, SP 0190)

📸 Interior view of the Glen Echo Chautauqua Amphitheater, ca. 1891 (Washington DC suburbs scenic pictures collection, SP 0190)

07/07/2026

📖 It’s International Zine Month! 📖

Short for “fanzine,” zines are self-published magazines that give creators complete freedom to share their ideas, passions, and perspectives. The format emerged in the 1930s and 40s among science fiction fans, who produced small publications to discuss the stories they loved. By the 1970s, zines had become a defining part of punk culture, offering a space for music criticism, political debate, and DIY creativity.

The W.D.C. Period was a publication that circulated through the mid-1980s. Part punk rock fanzine, part alternative newspaper, The W.D.C. Period featured music columns, album reviews, political commentary, and original comics from a range of contributors. It was also the first publishing project of Gordon Gordon, who later founded the Seattle-based zine, Teen Fag.

✂️ Have a zine? DC Zinefest is in November this year, and applications for zinester exhibitors should be opening in the summer.



📸Cover of The W.D.C Period Issue 14. (P 5166)

07/04/2026

Happy Independence Day! 🎇🎉

"The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." - Frederick Douglass

📸 The Washington Monument and 4th of July fireworks reflect over Tidal Basin, ca. 1960-1965. (General Photograph Collection, CHS 01773)

07/02/2026

Did you know the brick building next to the Gap on Georgetown’s Wisconsin Avenue was once home to one of Washington's most popular ice cream parlors? Stohlman’s Confectionary, founded in 1866 by Frederick Stohlman, served generations of customers with ice cream sodas, floats, sundaes, sandwiches, and other light fare. The family-run shop remained a Georgetown fixture for almost a century until it closed in 1957.

But its story didn't end there. After Stohlman’s closed, the interior was donated to the Smithsonian and became a featured exhibit in the “Hall of Everyday Life” at the Natural History Museum. In 1964, it was moved to the newly opened American History Museum, where it remained on display until 1980. Today, the space once occupied by Stohlman’s is part of the museum’s "After the Revolution: Everyday Life in America" exhibit.

🍦

📸 Stohlman's store on Wisconsin Avenue NW, August 1959 (Emil A. Press slide collection, PR 0086B)
📸 Children at tables outside ice cream parlor (General Photograph Collection, ca. 1915-1925, CHS 14898)

05/27/2026

What does it mean to call the nation’s capital home?

We are thrilled to announce "hometown DC," a city-wide collaboration featuring oral history and outdoor exhibitions at a DC Public Library in every ward. As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, we are passing the mic to the people who call DC home.

Through immersive outdoor installations—designed as interactive cubes—and free public events in partnership with the Verbal Gymnastics Theater Company, we invite you to explore newly recorded oral history interviews from 21 Washingtonians sharing their stories of arrival, belonging, or pride in the District.

These stories will be presented in conversation with past oral history interviews from the People's Archive at the DC Public Library, historic photographs from the DC History Center, and works by local artists from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities's Art Bank.

"hometown DC", a joint project of HumanitiesDC, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the DC History Center, and DC Public Library, celebrates the vibrant culture and diversity that define Washington, DC.

Join us this summer to celebrate the fabric of our city! Stay tuned to learn more and see the full schedule of upcoming events.

Click here to read the full press release: https://dchistory.org/news-and-insights/new-oral-history-exhibition-hometown-dc-opens-june-2026/

Image of Dahlia Aguilar, narrator in “hometown DC.” Photo by Farrah Skeiky

This project is part of the following initiatives:
DC250
By the People Conversations Beyond 250

By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

hometown DC is a citywide public history project celebrating DC residents through oral histories, outdoor exhibits, and community events across all eight wards.

04/29/2026

Last year we launched the “Neighborhood History Project” in partnership with DC Public Library and the DC Public Library Foundation, aimed at studying and documenting the history of often overlooked DC neighborhoods. Our current focus is on Woodridge (Ward 5) and Hillcrest (Ward 7).

Explore Woodridge & Hillcrest on a walking tour this summer:

🚶‍➡️Hillcrest: Saturday, May 9, 10 am-12:30 pm
🚶‍➡️Woodridge: Saturday, May 16, 10 am-12:30 pm
🚶‍➡️Hillcrest: Saturday, June 6, 10 am-12:30 pm
🚶‍➡️Woodridge: Saturday, June 27, 10 am – 12:30 pm

Can’t make it? You can access our Self-Guided Walking Tour and Neighborhood History booklets through our website https://bit.ly/4241MWl

➡️ These booklets are an illustrated expression of the walking tours developed in partnership with the DC History Center, Briana Thomas of Black Broadway Travel, and longtime Hillcrest community historian Jim Beyers and Woodridge Civic Association’s Jeremiah Montague, Jr. (respectively). Designed by Carlos Carmonamedina, they include a neighborhood introduction, map, and historical information about each tour site.