by David Falk When we moved to Forest Hills in 1964, Linnean Avenue was shaded on both sides by stately elms, creating a beautiful and cool thoroughfare for spring, summer and fall. Then Dutch elm disease arrived, and one by one our street elms withered and died, exceeding the ability of the District to plant […]
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On the Van Ness Metro station’s 40th anniversary, what could have been: “This is a Red Line train to Glenmont. The next stop is… Soapstone.”
by Ann Kessler Sunday, December 5th is the 40th anniversary of the Van Ness, Cleveland Park and Woodley Park-Zoo Metro stations’ opening ceremonies, and Monday, December 6th will mark 40 years since the stations opened for regular service. The stations’ opening was years in the making. And while the construction of these Red Line Metro […]
Watch: A short film on Hattie Sewell, one of Peirce Mill’s historical figures, and Black Washington of the early 20th century
One century ago, Hattie Sewell, a Black woman, was awarded the contract to operate a teahouse at Peirce Mill. By many accounts, she was a successful businesswoman who increased the sales and profitability of the teahouse, which had been in operation since the early 1900s. Her contract was terminated in October 1921, after a prominent […]
A brief history of the effort to research and publish the definitive volume on Forest Hills history
We know our readers enjoy our occasional articles on the people and places of the neighborhood’s past. You can also take a deeper dive into the history of Forest Hills by picking up a book on the subject. Forest Hills, like Forest Hills Connection, was a neighborhood project. Its publication in 2006 is now part […]
In 1930, a Hot Shoppe arrived in the neighborhood and drew the young and rowdy. Its neighbors weren’t pleased.
by Ann Kessler On July 2nd, 1930, a new restaurant opened on Connecticut Avenue at Yuma Street NW. The grand opening was quite the affair, with a brass band playing and coupons for free root beer being passed around the crowd. It was the fifth of the Hot Shoppes chain of restaurants. Founded by J. […]
He envisioned Albemarle Street as an ‘attractive’ thoroughfare from AU to Mount Pleasant. It was not to be.
by Ann Kessler A 1913 real estate map of Washington makes it look easy to drive into Rock Creek Park from Connecticut Avenue. Just turn onto Albemarle Street and continue straight into the park. The publisher of this map obviously took liberties, perhaps taking to heart this description of Albemarle in The Washington Post in […]
A century ago, the neighborhood playground was… the neighborhood
In 2019, we published a series of recollections by Fred Rhodes (1913-2001), a federal worker whose long and varied resumé included the Manhattan Project and the Nixon administration. But a century ago, he was just a kid in Forest Hills, and the Soapstone Valley was his playground. His memoir Four Seasons in the Soapstone Valley, shared […]
Watch: The woman who broke barriers in Rock Creek Park leadership, and other park history panels
Rock Creek Conservancy has been co-hosting a series of fascinating virtual panels on the history and people of the park. The latest, on July 27th, featured three women who have served as the park’s superintendents over the decades. Says the Conservancy: “Georgia Ellard became the first Black woman to serve in this highest position of […]
In 1967, the Giant Food in Van Ness was chandeliered and swanky, and above it was DC’s first indoor mall
by Ann Kessler I miss the Van Ness Centre Mall. Granted, it only existed for 16 years, but from 1967 on through 1983 it was part of the community and a major convenience for shoppers in the neighborhood. Now, only the original ground floor tenants of the mall remain: Giant Food, CVS (formerly Peoples Drug […]
Forest Hills was nicknamed “Hanukkah Heights.” But Jews and Black people weren’t always welcome.
by Ann Kessler The history of DC real estate is marred by restrictive covenants that prohibited the sale of property to Jews, Black people, and other frequent targets of discrimination. Forest Hills was, by comparison, more welcoming. At one point the neighborhood even earned the nickname “Hanukkah Heights,” so it’s long been assumed that Forest […]