The 2009 Presidential Inauguration was the first in which the entire length of the Mall was open to spectators. In previous years, parts of the Mall were used as staging areas for the inaugural parade. In this photo you can see that the crowds…

James Monroe was the first president to take the oath of office outdoors after the government moved to Washington. Previous inaugurations were held indoors, which limited the number of people who could attend. The inauguration was originally going to…

The 1949 Inauguration of President Harry S. Truman was the first to be broadcast live on television. This footage from the US Air Force was shot from behind where Truman stood to take the oath of office. As the camera pans, one of the press platforms…

On Easter Sunday, 1939, celebrated African American opera singer Marian Anderson gave a free concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. She had been denied the opportunity to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution concert hall because of…

In 1863, the Commissioner of Public Buildings offered the Department of Agriculture the land between 12th and 14th streets and North and South B Streets (today's Constitution and Independence Avenues) for use as an experimental garden for…

The Smithsonian Institution celebrated its 150th birthday in 1996 with special exhibits and multi-day celebration on the Mall. There were multiple stages set up, with daytime performances from a wide variety of performers. On August 10 there was a…

Washington, DC, is home to a number of softball leagues, most of which make use of the fields on the Mall. All of the fields are managed by the National Park Service and some are first come, first served. The six fields on the Washington Monument…

Some baseball clubs in the 1860s exchanged ribbons printed with their team names just before a game. Some players collected the ribbons on their uniforms, displaying all the teams they had faced. These ribbons are from the Washington Nationals and…

Washington residents often use the Mall as a place to play sports. This game of football in 1971 was organized enough that everyone brought helmets, but still fairly informal. They were playing on the Ellipse, which was home to four baseball diamonds…

The pages for the Senate and House of Representatives in the 1920s were junior-high and high-school aged boys who ran messages for Congressmen. Both the Senate and the House pages had baseball teams which played each other, as well as local schools.…