For those of you that ride the Capital Crescent Trail…

[JimF22003]

what always strikes me about 19th century photographs taken in the northeast is how few trees there are. Almost all of what we think of as “forest” around here (Shen. NP, GW national forest etc.) is 2nd and 3rd-growth. Most of the hillsides were stripped bare of their trees for fuel, or the fields were cleared for pastures and farmland.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Sweet! inspired by this, I was browsing images and found this…what is now 4MRT was an at grade crossing of what is now 395!

then:

[IMG]http://www.oocities.org/pem20165/wodph330ShirleyHighway.JPG[/IMG]

now:

http://goo.gl/maps/aScS8

[DismalScientist]

@TwoWheelsDC 37710 wrote:

Sweet! inspired by this, I was browsing images and found this…what is now 4MRT was an at grade crossing of what is now 395!

It would have been a lot cheaper and faster to just throw a non-signalized crosswalk across 395 rather than build the 4MRT trail under the bridge.:rolleyes:

[eminva]

@Bilsko 37702 wrote:

Also, note just how much traffic there was on the Canal – that thing is jam-packed with barges/boats. Hard to imagine

When I dropped my husband and his friend off in Cumberland last year for their C&O trip, I was looking at the displays in the little museum they have there. Apparently, there would often be a backup of a week or two to get barges into Georgetown to unload. Years later, they interviewed kids from “barge families” who would beg their parents for money to get off the boat and go into the “big city” to buy candy and other treats.

Liz

[runbike]

I love this photo and have a framed copy at home. The house where I grew up would be built 53 years after this photo was taken, at about the location where you see a small white house towards the extreme left of picture. The large factory is the Columbia Foundry which gave its name to Foundry Branch creek which ran through what is now Glover Archbold Park. Columbia Foundry was established/owned by Henry Foxall (and we all know what he gave his name too).

As a kid I remember going down to the railroad tracks to climb on coal cars that used to feed the Georgetown Power Plant. Amazing how much has changed in just 30 years, let alone 150!

Here’s another of my favorites – you CCT users will definitely recognize this location.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2148[/ATTACH]

[Bilsko]

@run/bike 37808 wrote:

I love this photo and have a framed copy at home. The house where I grew up would be built 53 years after this photo was taken, at about the location where you see a small white house towards the extreme left of picture. The large factory is the Columbia Foundry which gave its name to Foundry Branch creek which ran through what is now Glover Archbold Park. Columbia Foundry was established/owned by Henry Foxall (and we all know what he gave his name too).

As a kid I remember going down to the railroad tracks to climb on coal cars that used to feed the Georgetown Power Plant. Amazing how much has changed in just 30 years, let alone 150!

Here’s another of my favorites – you CCT users will definitely recognize this location.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2148[/ATTACH]

Another great picture!

I’m curious – because I was trying to pinpoint the present-day locations of the various elements in the shot – you mention growing up in a house near the white one at far left. Is that more or less at the Foxhall/Macarthur split? (here: http://goo.gl/maps/iMiJI )
I live just up MacArthur and am always thrilled to find older pictures from Georgetown and the Palisades.

Here’s one of the Whitehurst under construction: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddotphotos/4830228499/sizes/o/in/set-72157624457000512/
and of the C&O – not sure exactly where: http://www.shorpy.com/node/2904?size=_original

A few more that I’ve kept in Evernote: https://www.evernote.com/pub/niebylski/dc

[Bilsko]

Couldn’t resist one more link – history of the Columbia Foundry…and some additional highlights of other landmarks along the C&O:

http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/supplemental/canal/mile1foxallsfoundry.html

[runbike]

@Bilsko 37831 wrote:

Another great picture!

I’m curious – because I was trying to pinpoint the present-day locations of the various elements in the shot – you mention growing up in a house near the white one at far left. Is that more or less at the Foxhall/Macarthur split? (here: http://goo.gl/maps/iMiJI )
I live just up MacArthur and am always thrilled to find older pictures from Georgetown and the Palisades.

Here’s one of the Whitehurst under construction: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddotphotos/4830228499/sizes/o/in/set-72157624457000512/
and of the C&O – not sure exactly where: http://www.shorpy.com/node/2904?size=_original

A few more that I’ve kept in Evernote: https://www.evernote.com/pub/niebylski/dc

You’ve got it – my childhood home was/is on 44th St. just in from the Foxhall/Macarthur split. I’ve looked at old turn-of-the-century maps of the neighborhood and I’m guessing that small white house at the extreme left is probably somewhere in the triangle created by Foxhall/44th, and P Streets.

Looking through those LOC photos is ridiculously addictive. It also helps to know the old names of streets when looking stuff up. Example: Macarthur Blvd used to be known as “Conduit Road” due to the giant, buried water main than brought (and still brings) DC’s drinking water in from Great Falls.

[runbike]

THis thread is the worst; totally brings out my DC history nerd-ism.

Bilsko – I think you’ll enjoy this picture.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2152[/ATTACH]

[runbike]

Ok, one more:

Late 19th century advertisement for the Palisades development.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90988347@N05/8267906516/sizes/l/in/photostream/

[mstone]

@run/bike 37890 wrote:

Ok, one more:

Late 19th century advertisement for the Palisades development.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90988347@N05/8267906516/sizes/l/in/photostream/

I want my electric railway!

[Bilsko]

@run/bike 37890 wrote:

Ok, one more:

Late 19th century advertisement for the Palisades development.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90988347@N05/8267906516/sizes/l/in/photostream/

They used to carry that poster at the Kodak/Imaging store between Blacksalt and Palisades Pizzeria, but I think ever since they changed mgmt a couple years back they don’t carry it anymore. Its too bad, because I’ve been meaning to buy it for a long time.

I did know about MacArthur being called Conduit Rd – how about the fact that the southernmost section (more or less from Qst down to 44th along Macarthur) used to be called Harlem. I’ll have to dig up the map that has that designation.

[Author]

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