The statue in the center of Lafayette Square

Today's stereoview, published in 1869 by the Washington firm of Bell & Bros., depicts the famous statue in Lafayette Square of a general doffing his hat to the White House as his gallant steed rears up defiantly. Everybody knows this statue, and everybody knows who it depicts...

The old Windsor Park Hotel comes down

Located at 2300 Connecticut Avenue, NW, in Kalorama Heights, the original Windsor Park Hotel was always a bit ungainly, even when it was new. It was far too massive and ordinary for its distinctive residential location, cheek by jowl with such distinctive neighbors as the embassies of France and the Netherlands, the impressive Woodward apartments, and Harry Wardman's magnificent Dresden building. Now the old hotel building is finally being torn down. Plans are to replace it with an equally large but hopefully more distinctive structure.

Postcard rendering of the Windsor Park (author's collection).

Briefly noted: Lincoln Hall

This post is the first in a new series of short pieces designed to show off unusual stereographs, postcards, and other photographs of old Washington, DC. Today's subject is Lincoln Hall, which was located on the northeast corner of 9th and D Streets NW from 1867 to 1886.

Lincoln Hall, circa 1880. From the author's collection.

The Willard Hotel in the 19th Century

Of Washington's great hotels, the Willard is one of the most celebrated and easily recognized. Many people know that President Lincoln stayed at Willard's before he was inaugurated in 1861. Others believe (incorrectly) that the word "lobbyist" was coined to refer to promoters of various causes who hung around the Willard's lobby, hoping to buttonhole President Ulysses S. Grant for favors. But fewer realize how many incarnations the old hotel has had, that it began life as a rather mediocre hostelry, or that many of the famous events in its history occurred in a very different, earlier building.

Early view of Pennsylvania Avenue with the City Hotel on the right (Source: Library of Congress).