Chocolate City
Chocolate City

Author: Chris Myers Asch

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2017-10-17

Total Pages: 624

ISBN-13: 1469635879

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Monumental in scope and vividly detailed, Chocolate City tells the tumultuous, four-century story of race and democracy in our nation's capital. Emblematic of the ongoing tensions between America's expansive democratic promises and its enduring racial realities, Washington often has served as a national battleground for contentious issues, including slavery, segregation, civil rights, the drug war, and gentrification. But D.C. is more than just a seat of government, and authors Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove also highlight the city's rich history of local activism as Washingtonians of all races have struggled to make their voices heard in an undemocratic city where residents lack full political rights. Tracing D.C.'s massive transformations--from a sparsely inhabited plantation society into a diverse metropolis, from a center of the slave trade to the nation's first black-majority city, from "Chocolate City" to "Latte City--Asch and Musgrove offer an engaging narrative peppered with unforgettable characters, a history of deep racial division but also one of hope, resilience, and interracial cooperation.

Washington
Washington

Author: Tom Lewis

Publisher:

Published: 2015-10-13

Total Pages: 562

ISBN-13: 0465039219

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Breathing life into the men and women who struggled to help the city realize its full potential, he introduces us to the mercurial French artist who created an ornate plan for the city 'en grande'; members of the nearly forgotten anti-Catholic political party who halted construction of the Washington monument for a quarter century; and the cadre of congressmen who maintained segregation and blocked the city's progress for decades. In the twentieth century Washington's Mall and streets would witness a Ku Klux Klan march, the violent end to the encampment of World War I 'Bonus Army' veterans, the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the painful rebuilding of the city in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.

Worthy of the Nation
Worthy of the Nation

Author: United States. National Capital Planning Commission

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2006-11-19

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 9780801883286

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Illustrated with plans, maps, and new and historic photographs, the second edition of Worthy of the Nation provides researchers and general readers with an appealing and authoritative view of the planning and evolution of the federal district.

Very Washington DC
Very Washington DC

Author: Diana Hollingsworth Gessler

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Published: 2013-06-14

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 161620298X

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A travel guide with character, this fact-filled keepsake offers all the history, beauty, charm, and culture of our nation's capital city. In eye-catching watercolors and detailed sketches, artist Diana Gessler captures the allure that makes Washington DC one of the most visited destinations in the country. In addition to the national landmarks, stirring memorials, and vibrant neighborhoods, there's the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Twilight Tattoo (a military pageant featuring the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the U.S. Army Drill Team), colorful row houses, famous hotels and restaurants, and more museums than you'll be able to visit in just one trip. Gessler covers the city's most popular attractions but also heads off the beaten path to share hidden gems, like the quirky Albert Einstein Memorial and Eastern Market, where you can dine on bluebucks and browse for flea market finds. Also included are an index of sites and a useful appendix of addresses, Web sites, Metro stops, and phone numbers. Very Washington DC is a picture-perfect guidebook—a one-of-a-kind memento for tourists and a cherished reminder of the city's riches for those who have always lived in America's hometown.

The Secret Architecture of Our Nation's Capital
The Secret Architecture of Our Nation's Capital

Author: David Ovason

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2002-03-26

Total Pages: 532

ISBN-13: 0060953683

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Today, there are more than twenty complete zodiacs in Washington, D.C., each one pointing to an extraordinary mystery. David Ovason, who has studied these astrological devices for ten years, now reveals why they have been placed in such abundance in the center of our nation's capital and explains their interconnections. His richly illustrated text tells the story of how Washington, from its foundation in 1791, was linked with the zodiac, with the meaning of certain stars, and with a hidden cosmological symbolism that he uncovers here for the first time. Fascinating and thoroughly researched, The Secret Architecture of Our Nation 's Capital is an engrossing book that raises provocative questions and otters complex insights into the meanings behind the mysterious symbols in Washington.

Strange and Obscure Stories of Washington, DC
Strange and Obscure Stories of Washington, DC

Author: Rowland, Tim

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2018-03-20

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 1510722793

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Strange and Obscure Stories of Washington, DC is a collection of wild but true tales about our nation’s capital. Starting in the early days of the republic and reaching into modern times, the book recounts odd and humorous events that didn’t make their way into the history books. Along the way the book introduces a host of memorable characters: • Land speculators James Greenleaf and Robert Morris, whose financial shenanigans almost took down the Federal City before it was even established • Civil War madam Mary Ann Hall, who ran the city’s most upstanding brothel and died with an estate valued at $2 million • The “Treasury Girls—the first wave of female workers, hired to cut individual bills from printed sheets of cash (with scissors), who prompted a government investigation into immoral behavior in the workplace • The NSA’s secret staff of African Americans who went to work in code rooms after Harry Truman desegregated the federal workforce • The 1960s activist who drew attention to a rat problem in poor neighborhoods by shuttling them in his station wagon to the toniest parts of Georgetown Readers will also find out how a hurricane saved the city in 1812, how a demonstration of the world’s largest naval gun nearly killed the president, and about the tree at Washington Cathedral whose origins trace back to the Holy Land at the time of Joseph of Arimathea. With Strange and Obscure Stories of Washington, DC in hand, the city will never seem the same again.

Washington at Home
Washington at Home

Author: Kathryn S. Smith

Publisher:

Published: 2010-05-31

Total Pages: 560

ISBN-13:

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Washington, D.C., conjures images of marble monuments, national memorials, and world-class museums. To many, the world beyond the National Mall is invisible. Yet within an area of only 68 square miles lies a residential city of diversity, beauty, and charm. In the long-awaited update of her 1988 classic Washington at Home, Kathryn Schneider Smith and a team of historians, journalists, folklorists, museum professionals, and others who know the city intimately offer a fresh look at the social history of this intriguing city through the prism of 26 diverse neighborhoods. Lavishly illustrated with engaging historical photographs and maps, Washington at Home introduces readers to the famous residents, colorful characters, distinct flavors, and important events that helped shape the city beyond the federal façade. This second edition adds six new neighborhoods from all parts of the city. Extensive notes make the book invaluable for those doing their own research as well as the more casual reader. Journalists, historians, politicians, residents, real estate agents, and students regularly consult Washington at Home as the standard resource on the social history of Washington, D.C. This expanded and updated edition will appeal to residents, both new and old, as well as to visitors eager to deepen their experience in the nation’s capital.

N Is for Our Nation's Capital
N Is for Our Nation's Capital

Author: Roland Smith

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Published: 2010-10-22

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 158536763X

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Bursting with history like no other city in the world, Washington DC is a tribute to the United States, its people and even the world. Monuments spot the landscape, tourists spot the monuments and their legends are learned. The story of DC doesn't stop there. Look beyond the monuments. That's exactly the Washington DC readers will discover with N is for our Nation's Capital: A Washington DC Alphabet. From Abigail Adams to the National Zoo and all the cherry blossoms, flags, houses and presidents in between, N is for Our Nation's Capital is like a field trip in a binding. Rhymes capture readers' interest and expository text expands on those points and others with little-known but fascinating facts. Did you know the cherry blossom trees that are an integral part of DC's scenery were gifts from Japan? Or that Mrs. Taft planted the first two? Readers will eagerly turn the pages to learn more true facts like these. Wonderfully written in engaging rhymes for young readers backed with expository text that reveals even more for the more inquisitive reader make N is for our Nation's Capital the perfect keepsake and tribute to Washington DC. Authored by the husband and wife team of Roland and Marie Smith and backed by Barbara Gibson's stylish illustrations, N is for our Nation's Capital is a perfect fit on any bookshelf. This great exploration into our country's nerve center will have teachers and parents excited and help introduce one of the world's most important cities to children from sea to shining sea.

Washington Schlepped Here
Washington Schlepped Here

Author: Christopher Buckley

Publisher: Three Rivers Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13:

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The father of our country slept with Martha, but schlepped in the District. Now in the great man's footsteps comes humorist and twenty-year Washington resident Christopher Buckley with the real story of the city's founding. Well, not really. We're just trying to get you to buy the book. But we can say with justification that there's never been a more enjoyable, funny, and informative tour guide to the city than Buckley. His delight as he points out things of interest is con-tagious, and his frequent digressions about his own adventures as a White House staffer are often hilarious. In Washington Schlepped Here, Buckley takes us along for several walks around the town and shares with us a bit of his "other" Washington. They include "Dante¿s Paradiso" (Union Station); the "Zero Milestone of American democracy" (the U.S. Capitol); the "Almost Pink House" (the White House); and many other historical (and often hysterical) journeys. Buckley is the sort of wonderful guide who pries loose the abalone-like clichés that cling to a place as mythic as D.C. Wonderfully insightful and eminently practical, Washington Schlepped Here shows us that even a city whose chief industry is government bureaucracy is a lot funnier and more surprising than its media-ready image might let on.

George Washington's Final Battle
George Washington's Final Battle

Author: Robert P. Watson

Publisher: Georgetown University Press

Published: 2021-02-15

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 1626167842

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George Washington is remembered for leading the Continental Army to victory, presiding over the Constitution, and forging a new nation, but few know the story of his involvement in the establishment of a capital city and how it nearly tore the United States apart. In George Washington’s Final Battle, Robert P. Watson brings this tale to life, telling how the country's first president tirelessly advocated for a capital on the shores of the Potomac. Washington envisioned and had a direct role in planning many aspects of the city that would house the young republic. In doing so, he created a landmark that gave the fledgling democracy credibility, united a fractious country, and created a sense of American identity. Although Washington died just months before the federal government's official relocation, his vision and influence live on in the city that bears his name. This little-known story of founding intrigue throws George Washington’s political acumen into sharp relief and provides a historical lesson in leadership and consensus-building that remains relevant today. This book will fascinate anyone interested in the founding period, the American presidency, and the history of Washington, DC.