Lost Fast Food: Childs Restaurants in Washington

At 2 Massachusetts Avenue NW, where North Capitol Street intersects close to Union Station, stands a rather striking SunTrust bank building. How did this stately little building with its big windows and rough, pumice-like walls land on this corner, and why is it put to such nondescript use? Well, it's had a number of lives through the years. Designed as a restaurant, cheery and inviting, it ended up, among other things, as the setting for a protest demonstration in the civil rights movement and has had a number of tenants through the years.

Photo by the author.

Woodies, the Sentimental Favorite

For many longtime Washington residents, The Woodward & Lothrop department store, or Woodies as everybody knew it, is a touchstone for memories of easier days and simpler pleasures when Washington was younger. The looming 9-story building at 11th and F Streets, NW, taking up virtually an entire block in the heart of old downtown, served as the stage for many happy moments and a reminder that shopping has long been a key form of entertainment in the nation's capital.

The Woodies building after 1926, viewed from 11th and F Streets, NW (Source: Collection of David White).

The Woodies building today (Photo by the author).