The same storm system which contributed to the Johnstown Flood in June 1889 also caused flooding in Washington, DC. This map detail shows the extent to which the flooding affected the National Mall. The dark blue lines show the edges of the flooding;…

Notley Young's plantation bordering the Potomac was among the lands appropriated for the city of Washington and its public buildings. These site plans show the plantation's original grounds, buildings, slave quarters, overseer's house, gardens, water…

By 1800, the new capital city had begun to develop near the Potomac in the view down the river from the port of Georgetown. Rolling hills, prolific vegetation, and the powerful Potomac river promised a beautiful Capitol city and vibrant commercial…

This early aquatint shows the landscape surrounding Washington. Looking east from the land of the federal city, it shows views of the Potomac River.

This image of slaves chained together marching from the House of J.W. Neal & Co.in Washington, DC, was published in a broadside (or poster). The broadside was printed during an abolitionist campaign in 1835-36 designed to pressure Congress to end…

Soon after the US entered World War II in the early 1940s, the government increased tremendously. The Department of Defense expanded rapidly, but there was not enough space for all of the new employees. To accommodate these new workers, the…

During the 1840s, tired of the smell and dangers of candles and oil lamps, residents of Washington, DC regularly petitioned Congress to establish a gas company to light the city. In 1848, Congress agreed, first experimenting with lighting the Capitol…

Even before the Tidal Basin was constructed, planners proposed to use it as a recreational bathing beach. On August 24, 1918, the Tidal Basin bathing beach officially opened with a water carnival. Diving competitions, swimming competitions, and canoe…

In 1862 the Washington & Georgetown Railroad Company opened Washington, DC's first streetcar line running nine horse-drawn cars on tracks extending from the US Capitol to the State Department. The growth of public transportation was fed by the…

In 2010 the DC government announced that public wireless internet was available on the National Mall. Visitors and residents can get online by logging into “DC Wifi” using wifi-enabled devices. The Smithsonian Castle Information Center, National…