I was born in DC, as was my Father and his Father, who owned a theatre and a grocery/ meat market near the Navy Yard in S.E.. He built a house in far N.E. at 2650 Myrtle Ave, which today is just a vacant lot. The house built in 1908, when my Father was just two, survived until 1991 when it was bulldozed by the city, the then owners who were jailed for drugs did not maintain it and it partially collapsed. That event removed forever my feeling of connection with the city. I was born in 1938 and went to Woodridge elementary school at Central and Carlton Aves. N.E.. I doubt that it still retains that name. I also went to Taft Jr. High. just off South Dakota Ave and I believe, Perry St.'s N.E.. I went to McKinley Tech High from 1953 to 1956 and graduated in the February class, since they had split year entry into school, so some few of us ended up graduating in February. I have a lot of fond memories not unlike many of the others who have written before me. My Father drove a streetcar in DC up until they were phased out in the 60's, in favor of buses. My Mother worked as a waitress all over town at a variety of restaurants, so I ate well and learned to like a variety of food. She then settled in on a career with Peoples drug stores, where she went from soda jerk to cosmetics and ultimately a buyer. I never had to pay for a meal at Peoples lunch counter nor more then a penny for a ride on the streetcar. I remember buying student trolley tickets and splitting them length wise and rolling them into a tube shape so that it appeared that it was just a single ticket, so it was two rides for one ticket, we always had a scam. I remember collecting cicadas during one of the 17 year locust cycles. and carrying bags full of them on the streetcar and when it went under the railroad bridge on Rhode Island ave near fourth St., without the interior lights on, we would turn them all loose, great fun. I also remember pulling the overhead contactor off the overhead trolley wire and stopping the trolley, forcing the driver to get out a replace it. All of the streetcars in DC were electric and ran off of DC (Direct current) power either from overhead or underground.

I too remember and attended many movie houses in DC, in particular the Capitol theatre on F St. at 14th. it was a magnificent theatre. For under a dollar one could see a movie, short subjects, cartoons, a stage show with the likes of Mel Torme, Kay Starr, a full orchestra (Sam Jack Kaufman), sing along with a huge pipe organ played by Milt Schlosser, a Pathe news reel, (our picture news pre TV). I also saw movies at the Palace, Metropolitan, RKO Keiths and the Warner theatres. I was allowed to venture to the down town area with great freedom at the age of 9 and up. I was one of those latch key kids. It's amazing that I didn't get into a lot more trouble. I wandered all over town and went to many of the sites that DC is famous for, and many that are somewhat more obscure. One that was located on Independence Ave. along the mall, was our favorite, the Army Medical Museum, now located at Walter Reed Hospital. It contained the most off beat and grotesque collection of medical oddities as well as a history of army medicine, anywhere. By the way Glen Echo park was one of many such parks all over the country owned and operated by transit companies. They were located on property owned by the companies and served by there streetcars. Some have survived and have been featured recently on TV, on a show which depicted the history of amusement parks and there rides. I remember my Father as the motorman on a two man open trolley riding to Glen Echo, You got on at the rear and paid a fare. and the motorman was signaled that all were on and ready and he would drive the trolley. It had wicker seats which could be converted to two facing each other if desired. They were replaced by the so called St. Louis trolley, made by the St. Louis Car Co., which continued in operation until they were phased out all together, many still run in South and Central America.

I remember the black outs and enjoyed them behind black out curtains which enabled you to have lights on. but you had to take care not to open the doors or the air raid wardens could site you for violations. I remember the rationing coupons, for most staples such as sugar and meat and even gasoline, tires were hard to get so retreads came into general use. There were paper drives and collections for many things made from metals of all kinds. Savings bonds were widely sold as a patriotic gesture, it was a first time savings vehicle for many of us.

My Mother took me to Langdon park and the big wading pool on Mills Ave off Rhode Island. I played pick up baseball games at my elementary school. We also had rival games at the Fleishmans yeast plant on Bladensburg road near South Dakota Ave. with those that lived on the other side of the railroad. We wandered through the then closed and abandoned Jimmy LaFontaines casino, just over the district line in PG county MD. at Bladensburg Road and Eastern Ave. We biked throughout the Fort Lincoln cemetery grounds at just about the same location but across the street. Bikes were prohibited but it always took a good while to catch up with us and throw us out. I served the Washington Star and the Times Herald newspapers one was an afternoon and Sunday and the other a morning and Sunday, the Herald later merged with the Washington Post. My home was near the district line and Mt. Ranier MD., where the Cameo theatre was located and we would see many of the then fright movies like Dracula, Frankenstein and the Mummy. We would then be to afraid to walk home, so my friends Mom would come and pick us up. I remember well the Kaywood Gardens, since the Kaywood theatre was nearby and we went to movies all over the place. I also sold flowers (gladiolas) throughout Kaywood gardens for a friends neighbor who grew them on a large property in MD. One favorite theatre of ours was the Jesse just off Rhode Island ave at 18th St. N.E., every Saturday would find us there, for the Sat. matinee of what I later learned were so called B movies and continued serials, endless westerns, with the likes of Roy Rogers, Lash La Rue, Hop-a-Long Cassidy, Gene Autry and others. Not to leave out Charlie Chan, Buck Rogers, Abbott and Costello and many others. Not far up Rhode Island Ave was the Village theatre, with it's bowling alleys ( pins set by people). We would walk to the rail yards on New York Ave. and look at the trains in the round house and then get hamburgers at the White tower or Little Tavern nearby for a nickle. This was all before the BW parkway was opened in 1955. So all traffic went right or left onto Bladensburg Road. from New York Ave. The only Sears store was at Bladensburg and Benning Roads, as was the Hechinger Company now gone in favor of Home Depot. While writing this I realized that I had a very active young life with a varied group of friends and a variety of adventures. I tend to dwell on some of the negatives but they are not what I ultimately remember when I sit down to write about this period. I have a fond recollection of my long association with the Methodist church, mine was at South Dakota and Rhode Island Aves. N.E. and in the MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship), we would take hay rides in a moving van to Great Falls Va. to a small amusement park and cook out and back. A great opportunity for necking in the hay. We also frequented the Hot shoppes at 14th St. and Rhode Island Ave., Bladensburg road and New York Ave., and Langley Park MD.

I went into the military service at 18 and married at 21, but now live in nearby MD.. One of my 5 children was very interested in seeing the Washington sites as I was and during his early years on his birthday we ventured down town to see many of the places that I went to, but also to many that I had never visited. I credit him with encouraging me to see just about everything that there is to see and a little more. DC was and is a great town to live in and it has a lot of fond memories for me, I am just sorry that we all don't have the same memories.

Frederick Meader

Hey Charlie NW - I remember Dixie Pig for sure as my family and I went there every Friday evening after the parents got off from work. It was our shopping evening and Coral Hills was our closest shopping area. Would love to secure the receipt for the Minced BarQ.

Anyone remember the Avenue Grand & Penn movie house across the street on Penn Ave SE? My friends and I would spend most of our weekends seeing movies at these two place as well as the RKO Keith's in NW Washington. Swimming at the Ambassador Hotel, the fun house @ Glen Echo, the carousel at North Beach were all activities enjoyed during the late 40's and early to mid-50's by girls who lived in Forestville and below.

My Father was born in Washington SE and my Step Dad in Foggy Bottom--AVERY & KEYS. Mom was born in SE Washington.

Anyone remember the Miller Furniture Co on 8th and Penn Ave? I've still have a bedroom suite purchased there in 1950.

Shirley J. Avery Buckler
Avon Park, FL 33825

I am retired from the U.S. Navy and was stationed at the Naval Medical Center from 1957-59. During that time I visited the usual areas of nighttime entertainment to include, but not limited to Guys, Rands, and Hayloft. Also Glen Echo. My favorite passtime was going to the Hot Shoppes in Bethesda, cruising the parking lot in hopes of getting a young lady's attention. To this day I would give most anything for a Teen Twist Sandwich from the Hot Shoppes. I would spend two more tours of duty in the D.C. area in 1962-69 at the Navy Yard, living on Wayne Place, SE. My last tour of duty was from 1970-74 at the Naval Medical Center. It was a memorable experience. I located a web site from old WPGC radio. Listening to this really brought back many happy memories. Oh! for a trip to Eddie Leonards for a sandwich. C'est la vie.

I went to Petworth MacFarland and Roosevelt--Remember in 1920s trash men going thru small alleys with big burlap tarps emtying trash and swinging the enormous bundle over their shoulder before going to the truck. Also garbage collectors with open wooden buckets on shoulders what a smell!! We ran to close windows as they passed and the side open trucks were loaded with orange peels and egg shells showing. There was a man who looked like Will Rogers that would stand on the corner of 7th and Quincy NW and twirl the rope and jump in and out of the circle. Also a car would come by or horse I cannot remember and toss out tickets good for transit rides as well as the train to Seaside Park at Chesapeake Beach!!

Remember the Lydia Pinkham booklets left on your front porch? Also the tons of coal dumped on the street and some man carrying it a bushel at a time to your coal bin way back in the basement maybe 2 blocks from the curb for 25c per ton!! What an awful thing to remember. Had a very good pal Marrie who lived at 3817 Georgia Ave. above Kushners seafood--would give anything to find her--we sat on mothers porch and embroideried Mick Mouse Pillows etc also made the yoyo cloth circles that went into quilt making also remember the spool with four nails that we knitted long rope like items that we could wind into pot holders etc.?

The good old milkman at 3AM whistling to his horse to pull the wagon to the end of the street as he finished leaving the bottles at the houses.Oh yes-on Rok Creek Church Road I believe there was a stately elderly lady who drove an electric car She sat to the side and there wa an arm of wood that she pulled to drive and turn!!

Hello, I would be so grateful if you can help me out with this. This is not exactly in the DC area, but in Silver Spring on Colesville Rd. I remember many years ago a restaurant on Colesville Rd., down from the old Hecht Co. It was light up so beautifully with white lights. To a child it would have looked like a beautiful Snow Palace. I believe it was called the Crystal Palace. Do you recall it? Also, was there a Polar Bear Custard Stand across from the old Hecht Co. in Silver Spring? My brother and I are just racking our brains out. Any insight you could give us would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you,
Nancy
My e-mail is as follows: embersue2002@yahoo.com

Does anyone remember sleigh riding down Dana Place or Battery Kimble Park or races at the Georgetown pool?
Gretchen

Hello All
I remember the concrete Polar Bears embedded with shards of tiny mirrors, very impressive to a young boy, as I was in the early 50's. I believe this place was called Beck's Frozen Custard and had at least 2 locations: Fenton & Wayne St in Silver Spring and Georgia Ave above Piney Branch Rd.

Check out the novels by local writer George Pelecanos, which all take place in Silver Spring and the DC neighborhoods just below it. His latest, "Hard Revolution" takes place between 1959 - 68 and mentions the polar bears and many other local landmarks which are gone forever.

David S. Pollock

My memories of growing up in Washington, D.C. are mostly wonderful. My view, however, is different from most of those (middle class or better) I have read on this site. I grew up poor in D.C., and would like to share some of those memories with all of you.

I was born on 6th Street, S.W.. By 1948, we had lost our home, and were penniless, on the streets of the Nation’s Capital. At first, we were homeless, and would sit in Union Station, pretending to wait for a train that never arrived. My brother and I would pretend to play in the fountain in front of Union Station, to get our clothes and ourselves ‘clean’. We would swipe soap from the public restroom in the station. We then moved on to other parks, and finally, to the Salvation Army, who put us up for 3 weeks before they helped us find a home in the basement (and furnace room) of a town home at 10th and K Streets, N.W. My mother, who had previously been a homemaker, got a job at GWU Hospital for $36 a week.

Being poor in Washington, D.C. is not as bad as it must be in other places. We never resorted to welfare, never lived in a project, and most of the time, had something, even be it Dinty Moore’s stew, or a can of pork and beans, to eat. From the age of seven on, I would dust and stock shelves in the DGS or another mom and pop store and be paid in dented cans of vegetables, day-old bread, overripe fruit, and the like. We kids would collect soda bottles for the 2 cents deposit money, shine shoes for a quarter at the Greyhound bus station, or trick or treat on Halloween on F Street in front of the Lowe’s theaters for money. Money was not needed for the best things, though: The Washington Symphony Orchestra, at the Mellon art gallery, in the dome! Ah, and the Smithsonian museums, free of charge! East Potomac Park, where we would retrieve golf balls for the higher classes, and get paid for it. Hot summer nights spent at Haines Point, drag fishing for rock, eel, and catfish, and cooking them there, eating dandelion greens with them, and then sleeping on the cool grass, escaping the muggy tenements in which we lived.

We would walk along the streetcar tracks to Glen Echo, and even sometimes get to ride the rides. It was fun just being there. And the Washington Zoo, free… we would spend the day there, and then there was Rock Creek Park, which we would pretend was Sherwood Forest… So much fun!

The schools and churches provided dance and music lessons. Sometimes, we had to pay 25 cents a lesson. We all belonged to the Children’s Theater, and we got to see plays by the Mount Vernon Players. We were also taken to Constitution Hall for several productions. The teen clubs at Mount Vernon Place Methodist-Episcopal Church, and New York Avenue Presbyterian were great. I’ll never forget the Big Ben sound of the church tower clock at NY Avenue Presbyterian, nor its kind minister, and the sunrise services on Easter morning, in that little triangle of a park in front of the church.

To this day, I don’t know whether my love of reading came from the Central Public Library at Mount Vernon Place, or my love of the library came from the fact that I could read endlessly in that beautiful white marble building. I would spend whole days there, pretending to myself that it was my home.

We snuck into the Central Theater on 9th Street, or better, the Lowe’s Columbia, Palace, or Capital Theaters on F Street. The stage shows at the Capital were marvelous! We would also pretend the Lowe’s theaters were our homes, especially the Capital, where the restrooms were exquisite.

Lots of time was spent at the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, and we memorized the words transcribed there; they meant something to us then. I sat on Lincoln’s (the statue’s) knee. I climbed the steps in the Washington Monument countless times. Meridian Hill Park was so beautiful! (And yes, we pretended it was our own private estate.)

During air raid drills, if home, my mother, brother, and I would run to the tunnel at Connecticut Avenue, where I believe the Metro runs now.

I took part in several Patrol Parades, and loved it. Buying a white blouse, navy blue skirt, and a sailor’s cap for the parade was a difficult task we had to save for every year.

I remember the McCarthy hearings blaring from radios all over the neighborhood. I remember the flag over the Carpenter Drug Store building at 10th and K Streets being changed to read “AFL-CIO” when those two labor groups merged. And Haje’s restaurant, where one could play pinball, at the southeast corner of New York Avenue and 10th Streets, where now stands the “old” Convention Center. I remember having to try to remember to say “under God” in the middle of, “one nation, indivisible, with liberty…etc. It was difficult at first.

“Washington, the fairest city in the greatest land of all.” We sang it, and believed it.

I went to Jefferson Jr. High when it was ranked one of the best schools in the nation, (or was it THE best school? I can’t recall, exactly.) when Mr. Smith, who had been my parents’ science teacher, was the Principal. The rest of the D.C. public schools were no slackers, either. I rode the streetcar to Jefferson, with school tickets purchased at Woodies. And oh, yes, the Christmas displays in the stores downtown, especially Woodies – Woodward and Lothrop’s… were great. You got it: We would stand looking in those windows, we would get into the lines for the store Santas – and we would pretend we believed, and that we were going to get something for Christmas, too. The Central Union Mission gave my brother a toy, and me a Navy peacoat, one Christmas. All my adult life, I have sent something to the Mission at Christmastime. I used that peacoat until the elbows were threadbare, and the sleeves were midway up my arm, then passed it on to my brother, who was five years younger than I.

Washington, D.C. was a wonderful and beautiful city to grow up in – whether you were rich or poor. Overall, we were rich in more ways than money could ever make us.

Rose

I was born in Sibley Hospital in 1921. My fondest memories are of life on 10th St. S.W. between 'F' and 'G' Streets. There was a fire station at the corner of 10th and 'G' which still had an engine pulled by big white horses. The fire Captain was a very amiable man who enjoyed having a group of kids hanging around to tell tall tales to and liked to let the children pretend to operate the mammoth equipment. The houses on the northern half of the block had an entrance to their street level basements and wrought iron stairs up to the main entrance to their parlors. The houses on the south end of the block were at a level with the second floor of the other homes. They had concrete steps going up the hill to their front doors.

There was an alley width space between the two different levels of homes and the street level went back the length of the homes to a cement wall with concrete steps to the upper level. This took you to a alley that ran downhill to 9th street. The concrete alcove off of 10th street made a great playground for the children of the area.

One of my favorite places to visit was the warves on water street with the long row of sales stalls selling all kinds of seafood. I was especially lucky because my grandfather's brother owned one of those stalls and my grandfather was one of the watermen that brought fish, clams, oysters, etc. to these stalls, giving me an insight into the workings of the units. Another thing that I vividly remember were the Jewish markets on the north side of the street. They would sell you live chickens and kill and defeather them for you, strictly Kosher.

Charles Roble
Orange, California

I also was born and raised in SE DC I loved the city then and now. Recently I went back to E. St. SE and found it as I remember old but clean. You can go back. I remember going to Stevenson's Bakery across the Sousa Bridge, riding a street car and bus at Barney Circle, going to movies at the Penn & Avenue Grand theater and walking the streets day and night with no problems. Was introduced to Capitol girls and went to dances boarding in NW and returning on bus. Fun was had dancing to a live band. A girl named Lucy from North Carolina went with our group. Never knew her last name but if she reads this would like to hear from her. She introduced me to my husband Lee. I worked in DC before moving to Maryland.
Ann

I’ve enjoyed reading the memories of so many others, now I’ll share some of my own.
My parents were Washingtonians. My mother was born and raised in Southwest; my father was born and raised in Georgetown. I was born at home in Ledroit Park, located in Northwest Washington. One of my fondest memories living in Ledroit Park was smelling bread baking at night from nearby Wonder Bread Bakery. Hostess chocolate cupcakes with an abundance of cream filling and the squiggle on top (2 per pack) could be purchased for a dime.

Doctors living in the area made house calls. A few of us children played with the younger children of Dr. Charles Drew, who lived on 4th Street, three blocks away from my house near Howard University. Walter Washington, the first Black mayor of D.C. lived near 4th and T Street, five blocks away from my house. Some of our elementary school teachers lived in the neighborhood and welcomed us into their homes.

We enjoyed hot, summer days at Bannecker Jr. High swimming pool. Got the best view of fireworks on July 4th seated on steps at the Bannecker stadium. Some evenings, we viewed movies at the playground across the street from Freedmen’s Hospital. Once or twice a month, after completing Saturday morning chores, I met with my two childhood friends and enjoyed entertainers such as Marvin Gaye at the Howard Theater. The price of admission to the Howard was either $1.50 or $2.50 per person before noon and you saw a newsreel, previews of coming attractions, a cartoon, a movie and the show of at least 3 or 4 performers. The Griffith Stadium was across from my aunt’s house on 5th near W Street. We smelled and saw the Barnum and Bailey Circus every year it came. The Washington Senators baseball team played there. One neighborhood church would rent the stadium to have huge baptismals. Every year we’d hurry to get a good spot to watch the Daddy Grace Parade. Afterwards, we’d go to the House of Prayer at 7th & S to purchase homemade peach cobbler or sweet potato pie. The Masons would have their parade every year starting from the lodge at 10th and U Street. One year my aunt, who was a member of the Eastern Star, rode on one of the floats.

I loved going to see Christmas displays in the windows of Hecht’s, Woodies (Woodward & Lothrop) and Lansburgh’s. Woodies had the best displays. But most of all, I remember going on a church outing to Glen Echo Amusement Park during the mid or late fifties. It was my first time going to a real amusement park. I also remember going to the National Theater to see my first play about Mary Bethune and how she made money to start her college. The view from the balcony was beautiful!

Now those were the days!

Cheryl

Although I did not grow up in DC, I enjoyed reading the DC and Silver Spring memories as I am a librarian at the Washingtoniana Division (DC history archives) of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC , the Peabody Room (Georgetown history archives) of the Georgetown Branch Library, and founder/president of the Silver Spring Historical Society .

If anyone has photographs of Silver Spring, MD that we could use in a pictorial history, please contact me at sshistory@yahoo.com. We will make copies and return the originals to you.

Thank you!

Jerry A. McCoy

===== Jerry A. McCoy
President
Silver Spring Historical Society
PO Box 1160
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-1160

EDITORS NOTE: SILVER SPRING HAS SPRUNG. WHAT A GREAT CITY AGAIN, RESTAURANTS, THEATRE, SHOPS - IF YOU EVER GET BACK INTO THE AREA YOU MUST GO TO SILVER SPRING.......AND LOOK ME UP! I'M ONLY 5 MINUTES AWAY! - DEBI

I have no need for genealogical research as I know almost everything about my family in DC. However, those memores are very evocative. To the "little black girl" I'd like to say many of us were colorblind, but also socially blind. In 1959, I was chatting with a "big black girl" in Copenhagen, while we watched the stage show at Tivoli. In all innocence, I mentioned the similartiy to the stage-shows at the Capitol Theatre on F Street, and got a grimace. It actually took me a bit to realize that if SHE saw such shows in DC, it was probably at the Republic Theater. Hey, I meant nothing by my comment. At no time did I ever wonder why there were no "colored people" (the correct term at that time) at Glen Echo or Marshall Hall. I probably believed they had their "own places."

As everyone has mentioned, Washington was a far different place, and it is again. White Flight happened, I was rather late to leave, and we were surrounded by "colored people" when we finally moved out of Anacostia. White People have returned to DC in droves, but still the crime proliferates, which indicates it's a social issue, not racial, per se. We always smugly believed for example that Chinatown was a safe place because the Chinese were so law-abiding. Yep, no gambling, prostitution or gangs in Chinatown!

I'd prefer to think about the good times. Franciscan Monastery's catacombs, yes, the basement of The Capitol where we could wander around without ID, and listen to boring speeches in the Senate or House chambers without being hassled, even eat lunch in their cafeteria. The Smithsonian was a better school for me than the schools, the Central Library on K Street was my hangout after school, and on Saturdays, there were great stage-shows at the Loew's Capital Theatre, the man who played the pipe-organ to the little bouncing ball, and a decent technicolor movie, all for about a half-dollar!

High School Cadets, that's a whole nother thing. Note that every high school had an armory containing some 300+ standard .30-caliber US Army M-1 semi-automatic rifles. Ammunition could be purchased at any hardware store. How many school shootings does anyone remember? Why didn't our "tough guys" in leather jackets simply lift an M-1 rifle off the rack and take it upstairs to massacre a couple dozen fellow students? It truly WAS a different time.

Jim Harper, Anacostia High Class of 1955

Wow this page really takes me back. I may be a little younger than the rest of you but I am going to try and bring back some unmentioned memories like S&R supermarket on Benning road, GEMS Department store on Chillum road in Hyattsville,McBrides Department store on Benning road and Minnesota Ave N.E. The Cadillac carry out in The Benco Shopping center,slot machines in Waldorf on Sunday evenings, Georges Appliance store on Queens Chapel road in N.E. Amy Joys Donut shop on New York Ave,News Stand on 14th & Kenyon Street N.W. Classic Uniforms on Minnesota Ave. Miles Long Sandwich shoppe on Benning road N.E., Eddie Leonards on Bandensburg Road.

Growing up in S.E. D.C. in the late 60's and 70's prepared me for life, I would never give that experience up for anything, I don't thing places change I think people change. The building complex I grew up in on Benning road and C street S.E. still stands to this day looking as nice as it did when my family moved in right across the street from Fletcher Johnson middle school. All neighborhoods need is tender love and care see it's not the area it is the people within the areas. Just the mention of S.E. makes some people cringe. I was very blessed and still am to this day to have a close knit family and extended family to take care of my sister and I all living in different sections of this great city,giving me city experiences I will never forget for the rest of my born days.

I love D.C. not suburban D.C.,not the D.C. area,not the metropolitan area,But D.C.

Don Hale

My family used to live on Georgia Avenue, just blocks away from Peoples Drug Store and Hoffbergs Deli. I attended Shepherd Park Elementary school, my father owned Quaker City Cycle Shop a bicycle store in Takoma Park. All the neighborhood kids used to hang out at Peoples, it seems like a lifetime ago.

Rosalind Radin

Do YOU have any memories of D.C.? If so, please e-mail me and I will add them to this page.

Back to Memories-page 1
Memories-page 2
Memories-page 3
Memories-page 4
Memories-page 5
Memories-page 6
Memories-page 7
Memories-page 8
Memories-page 9
Memories-page 10
Memories - page 11
Memories page 12
Memories - page 13
Memories - page 14
Memories Page 15
Memories - page 16
Memories - page 17