The first performance at the Sylvan Theatre on the Washington Monument grounds took place on the evening of June 2, 1917. Artist and philanthropist Alice Pike Barney Hemmick founded the theater, believing that Washington needed a nationally supported…

One of the line items in the proposed 1924 appropriations for the District of Columbia was $50,000 for a bathing beach at the Tidal Basin for the African American residents of the District. While white residents had enjoyed a formal beach since 1918,…

The Reflecting Pool was never intended to be a swimming pool. In the late 1920s, however, people cooled off in its waters because there were not many other options. The beaches at the Tidal Basin closed in 1925 due to concerns about water quality and…

The city office of public buildings and grounds, who operated the site, held a carnival to celebrate the opening of a formal bathing beach at the Tidal Basin. The beach included buildings for changing and a shelter. It was segregated, open only to…

The Center Market, one of the first formal markets in Washington City, opened in mid-December 1801. The market's location was proposed in the early plans of the city and George Washington had set aside land for its establishment in March 1797. Laws…

White residents of Washington enjoyed swimming in the Tidal Basin as early as the 1880s. In 1918, the district office of buildings and grounds added buildings to make the beach more enjoyable, like a cabana and diving platform. Like other…

In 1909, visitors standing at the entrance of the United States National Museum (now the Museum of Natural History), saw horse-drawn carriages and carts, vendors, and storefronts, of Center Market. The small building in the foreground is a guard…

People from all walks of life shopped at Center Market, from Presidents and First Ladies to local residents. In addition to the stalls and businesses inside the main building, vendors set up stalls outside the building. This photograph from 1910…

Center Market was a hub of activity for Washington's African American population during the 1800s. Both free and enslaved African Americans bought and sold produce at the market and operated stalls before and after Emancipation. This woman,…

Center Market was established in the early 1800s and for most of that century served as a central point of commerce, transportation, and entertainment for the city. Toward the end of the century, city officials, private entrepreneurs, and the federal…