1860-1889 Items (102 total)

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Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian, and his family lived in the Smithsonian Institution Building, also called the Castle, from 1855 to 1878. This photograph, taken in 1862, shows Mr. Henry along with the whole family: Harriet…

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In 1877 Congress appropriated funds so that the building of the Washington Monument could continue. Budget problems had halted construction in 1854. But after sitting untouched for more than 20 years many worried that a new design was needed for the…

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On June 2, 1889, heavy rains caused massive flooding in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and overwhelmed the South Fork Dam. The storm also hit the Washington, DC, area. As a result, the Potomac River flooded and areas around Pennsylvania Avenue were under…

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This view down Pennsylvania Avenue NW from the corner of 6th Street shows part of Washington near the Mall around 1860. On the corner in the foreground, where the Newseum is today, stood the National Hotel, one of the most prominent hotels in the…

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The original building which housed the Department of Agriculture was designed in 1867 by Adolf Cluss, the same architect who designed the Smithsonian Arts and Industry Building. For decades, this building housed offices, research laboratories, and…

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The Organization of American States (OAS) Building was completed in 1910. Its style is meant to be a fusion of some of the major architectural elements from its participating members, with Spanish, Native American, French, Portuguese, and English…

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Charles Guiteau shot President Garfield on July 2, 1881 at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station on the National Mall. Guiteau shot Garfield because he had been denied a political appointment that he believed he deserved. Garfield eventually…

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Located on the grounds of the Washington Monument, the Survey Lodge was originally a boiler and steam house for the machinery necessary to power the Washington Monument's elevator. It was constructed of leftover marble and granite from the…

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Memorial Lodge is a small, flat-roofed, one-story building less than 500 feet east of the Washington Monument. It serves as an information station where tickets can be retrieved to visit the top of the Washington Monument. Originally constructed in…

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During the Civil War, the Department of the Treasury hired women workers to fill clerical positions vacated by men who had left to fight with the Union Army. Until that time, clerking was strictly a male occupation. Believing women were particularly…
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