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Downtown and F Street

Downtown · 75 photographs

Downtown and F Street

The shopping streets and offices of downtown, from the department stores of F Street to the Patent Office.

High view of a busy junction full of streetcars and cars — March 1930 Rush hour at 15th Street and New York Avenue, 1930: streetcars, buses and motor cars jam the junction.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H2- B-3922 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

History

Downtown Washington’s shops clustered along F Street and 7th Street, between the Treasury and the Patent Office. Woodward & Lothrop’s department store at 11th and F, Hecht’s at 7th and F (from 1924) and dozens of smaller shops drew crowds; banks, theatres and newspaper offices stood around them.

The Greek Revival Patent Office (1836–1867) and Montgomery Meigs’s brick Pension Building (1887), where inaugural balls were held, were the area’s great public buildings, and the Carnegie Library of 1903 stood in Mount Vernon Square.

What's there now

The Patent Office is the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, and the Pension Building is the National Building Museum. The old department stores closed or moved in the 1980s and 1990s, and the area is now mostly offices, shops and restaurants.

Then and now

Many of the smaller commercial buildings were replaced by office blocks after the 1960s, but the big public buildings remain and the scale of the streets is the same, kept low by the Height of Buildings Act of 1910.

Photographs 75, oldest first

A long Greek Revival building with a portico across a wide empty street — c. 1900 The Patent Office, about 1900, seen across an open street.Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress · LC-D4-13014 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A plain three-storey brick building on a city street with a carriage — c. 1900 Ford's Theatre on 10th Street, where Lincoln was shot, about 1900, then used as government offices.Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress · LC-D4-13020 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A row of brick townhouses with a stoop, one with a plaque — c. 1900 The plain brick rowhouse where Abraham Lincoln died, around 1900.Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress · LC-D4-13021 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A large Second Empire hotel with mansard roofs on a corner, a few pedestrians — c. 1900–10 The mansard-roofed Ebbitt House hotel stands at its street corner, early 1900s.Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress · LC-D4-33002 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd of churchgoers in hats and long coats outside a stone Gothic church — 1911 Easter crowds in their spring hats spill down the steps and along the sidewalk outside St. Patrick's Church, 1911.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 984 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Choirboys with candles and men in dark coats in a crowd outside a church — 1912 Choirboys and clergy file out of St. Patrick's Church for the Pan American Thanksgiving Day mass of 1912.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 1206 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

An early box-bodied motor delivery van with a driver and a man in uniform carrying parcels — 1912 A Woodward and Lothrop motor delivery van with its driver and a uniformed deliveryman, 1912.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 1988 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A row of early motor delivery vans parked along a city street beside a big store — 1912 A long line of Woodward & Lothrop delivery vans parked at the kerb along the department store's flank in 1912.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 2009-A [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A downtown street lined with tall commercial buildings, flags and awnings — c. 1905–20 F Street looking east from the Treasury, with shops, flags and awnings along both sides of the street.Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress · LC-D4-36808 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

An old two-storey corner building with a saloon sign, a wagon outside and an obelisk behind — 1913 P. Hohmann's saloon, a plain two-storey corner building on 14th Street, in 1913, with the Washington Monument beyond.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 3240 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A policeman beside a signal on a street with cars and a large building — 1913 A policeman with a hand-turned \"stop and go\" sign directs motor cars and wagons at a downtown corner, 1913. place uncertainHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 2000139 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Crowds on a street around a fallen awning and debris — July 30, 1913 Storm damage outside the Masonic Hall at 9th and F Streets NW after the storm of July 30, 1913.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12354-2 <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A corner commercial building with signs and a wagon in front — March 29, 1914 A store and office building at 9th and G Streets, March 29, 1914, with a horse-drawn wagon at the kerb.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 44062 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A downtown street corner with a streetcar, cars and people crossing, shops behind — c. 1909–20 Pedestrians cross the streetcar tracks at 11th and F Streets, shops and awnings lining the block.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12357-7 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A downtown street lined with canvas-covered trucks and people on the pavement — c. 1909–20 Canvas-covered trucks line F Street in wartime, with crowds on the sidewalks and shop signs overhead.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 4193A [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A street of brick shopfronts with a streetcar and horse-drawn wagons — c. 1909–20 The north side of F Street between 6th and 7th Streets, with a streetcar, horse wagons and a row of older shopfronts.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12357-7 <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A row of shops and a theatre front on a city street with parked 1910s cars — c. 1910–20 Hahn's shoe store and the Empress theatre among the shopfronts on Ninth Street NW, motor cars at the kerb.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 8546 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A tall corner building and shoppers on a wide street — c. 1910–20 The corner of 7th and F Streets NW in the 1910s.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 10076 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A large white office block on a corner with parked cars — c. 1910–20 A new office building at 15th and K Streets NW, 1910s.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 10123 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Horses pulling a caisson with a flag-draped coffin along a street, soldiers marching behind — 1915 A horse-drawn caisson bearing a flag-draped coffin passes tall downtown buildings with a military escort; the Library files it under St. Patrick's Church, Easter 1915. place uncertainNational Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 44291 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A narrow ornate high-rise on a street corner, people crossing the road — c. 1910–20 A tall office building rises on the corner of 15th and G Streets, shops and pedestrians at its foot.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H25- 834 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

High view of a large classical building with porticos, a streetcar on the street beside it — c. 1910–20 The Patent Office seen from above, with a streetcar and pedestrians on the street below.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H25- 3044 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A vast hall with giant columns and arched galleries, rows of benches on the floor — c. 1910–20 The great hall of the Pension Office, its giant columns and arcades rising over rows of benches.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H25- 3236 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A downtown street of shopfronts and big painted signs with a cart and a bicycle — 1915 Shops and signs crowd Ninth Street NW in 1915, with a pushcart, a cyclist and streetcar tracks in the roadway.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 4285 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

High view of streetcars, cars and pedestrians on a wet street by a theatre canopy — c. 1913–18 Streetcars and motor cars crowd 14th Street outside B.F. Keith's Theatre on a wet day, an American flag hanging overhead.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 11096 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

People in overcoats crossing a street past a columned bank and a streetcar — c. 1913–18 Pedestrians cross G Street on a winter day beside Riggs National Bank, a streetcar waiting behind them.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 12053 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd on a wet sidewalk beside a drug store sign, columned buildings beyond — c. 1913–18 Crowds walk along F Street past Affleck's drug store, a classical building closing the view.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 12055 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Crowds under a striped awning at the corner of a big department store, cars in the street — c. 1913–18 Shoppers crowd the awninged corner of Woodward & Lothrop's department store at 11th and F Streets on a wet day.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 12060 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A busy wet sidewalk of people in winter coats beside tall hotels and a theatre sign — c. 1913–18 A crowded sidewalk near Keith's Theater, with snow piled at the kerb and streetcars and wagons in the street.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 12063-A [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A large ornate hotel with mansard roofs and flags on a street corner — c. 1909–23 The Ebbitt House hotel at F and 14th Streets, its mansard roofs topped with flags, with carriages and pedestrians below.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 162 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Women in long coats carrying placards across a street corner past shop signs — 1917 Suffragists parade through downtown with placards inviting the public to "Come to White House Sunday at 3," 1917. place uncertainHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 7104 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Looking up at a tall brick building with a painted Lansburgh sign and an ornate cornice — 1917 The Lansburgh carpet building towers over 9th Street, where an acrobat named J. Reynolds performed balancing acts on the high cornice in 1917.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 9429 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A steam shovel digging a deep pit between city buildings — c. 1916–19 A steam shovel excavates a downtown building site, about 1918.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 24350 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A cleared building lot with large advertising boards — c. 1916–19 A construction site beside the Riggs National Bank, with a billboard urging readers to buy Third Liberty Loan bonds, 1918.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 24351 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A narrow brick rowhouse with steps, half hidden by trees — c. 1910–26 The Surratt boarding house at 604 H Street NW, where the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln was planned.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 1130 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A row of shops and cars on a busy downtown street — 1919 Shops at 13th and F Streets NW, 1919.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · U.S. GEOG FILE - Washington, D.C.--Streets [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A plain three-storey house on a cobbled corner — c. 1918–20 The Webster Law Building at 6th Street and Louisiana Avenue, said to have been the home of Daniel Webster, about 1919.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 1682 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A streetcar stopped beside a crowd of shoppers on a busy corner — c. 1918–20 A streetcar and shoppers at 11th and F Streets NW, about 1919.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 5116 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A theater facade draped with flags and bunting and a large portrait banner — 1919 B. F. Keith's Theatre hung with bunting and a portrait banner for its "Welcome Home" to President Wilson, 1919.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 30061 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd marching up a downtown street behind a Shipping Board banner, shops on each side — 1919 Employees of the U.S. Shipping Board march behind their banner along a crowded F Street in 1919.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 30196 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Soldiers and dog carts lined up on a theater stage under a huge flag, audience in front — 1919 Belgian soldiers with small dog-drawn carts fill the flag-hung stage of Keith's Theater before an audience, 1919.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H25- 2902 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

High view of a snowy street corner with a cigar store, a streetcar and a columned building — c. 1919–20 Slush lines 9th and F Streets beside the columned Patent Office, a streetcar passing the United Cigar Stores corner, around 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 3721 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

High view of a columned government building with streetcars on the streets around it — c. 1920 The Patent Office's columned portico and long wings above streets crossed by streetcars, around 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12359-1-R [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Women and children crowding the entrance of a shop under an ornate canopy — 1920 A crowd of women and children presses round the doorway of a Peoples Drug Store in 1920. place uncertainNational Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 10247 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd on a sidewalk outside a corner drug store, a policeman nearby — 1920 Crowds at the Peoples Drug Store on 14th Street, 1920, with bicycles parked at the kerb. place probableNational Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 10248 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A grocery window piled with goods and price signs — c. 1920 The window of the Old Dutch Market at 906 G Street NW, about 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 4142 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

An ornate theater front with big signs, a horse carriage and car parked in front — c. 1920 Loew's Palace Theater on F Street shows Wallace Reid in "What's Your Hurry" around 1920, with a carriage, a motor car and bicycles at the kerb.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 4757 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd of people in straw hats under a theater marquee, a car parked at the kerb — c. 1920 Moviegoers in straw hats crowd the entrance of Loew's Columbia Theater for "Humoresque" around 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 4758 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A busy corner with an ornate theatre covered in posters and motor cars — c. 1910–30 Crandall's Theater, its front covered in posters, at 9th and E Streets NW, with Loew's Columbia sign behind and cars at the kerb.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12359-6C <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A large department store on a street corner with awnings, cars and pedestrians — c. 1910–30 The Woodward & Lothrop department store fills its downtown corner, awnings out, with cars and shoppers in the streets below.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12359-6A <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A shop front with large signs for records and Grafonolas — c. 1920 The Sport Mart at 905 F Street NW, selling sporting goods, Grafonolas and records, about 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12359-6A <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A drugstore front with a large sign, display windows and two men on the step — c. 1920–21 The W. S. Thompson branch of Peoples Drug Stores on 15th Street, its windows full of goods, around 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 4950 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A wide city street lined with tall hotels and parked cars — c. 1920–21 Looking down 14th Street from F Street around 1920, with hotels and offices on either side and motor cars parked at the kerb.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 5207 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A corner commercial building on a wet street with cars — c. 1920–21 The Stinemetz Building at 12th and F Streets NW, about 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 5453 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A quiet street corner between large buildings with the Washington Monument in the distance — c. 1920–21 The corner of 14th and F Streets around 1920, a colonnaded building opposite and the Washington Monument far down the street.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 5467 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd of men in coats and hats on a wet sidewalk outside a shop with sale signs — c. 1920–21 Shoppers in overcoats crowd the sidewalk outside Stinemetz's store at 12th and F Streets for its advertised stock sale, around 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 5508 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd lined up beneath the marquee of an ornate theater, motor cars at the kerb — c. 1920–21 Moviegoers queue under the marquee of the Metropolitan Theater for Pola Negri in "Passion," around 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 5548 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A row of downtown shop buildings with signs and parked cars in front — c. 1920–21 Shopfronts along F Street, among them Meyer's Shops, "the store with a smile," with motor cars parked along the street around 1920.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 6508 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A corner building plastered with painted advertising signs for a drug store — c. 1921 The People's Drug Store, its walls covered in signs, at the corner of Seventh Street and Massachusetts Avenue around 1921.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12359-6A [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A tall office building and theatre signs glowing against a dark night sky — c. 1921 The Munsey Building and the National Theatre on E Street lit up at night, about 1921.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · U.S. GEOG FILE - Washington, D.C.--Theaters [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd in front of an ornate cinema facade between shops — c. 1922 Crowds outside the Leader Theater at 507 Ninth Street NW, about 1922.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12359-6-C [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A young man on hands and knees on a pavement watched by a crowd — 1922 A fraternity pledge measures F Street with a one-foot rule during the afternoon rush hour, 1922.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12294, vol. 6, p. 9 <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Looking down on a huge crowd packing a city street in front of a theatre — January 1922 A vast crowd fills the street below B.F. Keith's Theatre at 15th and G Streets in January 1922 to watch Houdini hang upside down in a straitjacket.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 17312 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Tall office buildings along a street with streetcars — c. 1918–28 The Central Savings Bank building and its neighbours on a downtown street, with streetcars and motor cars, 1920s. place uncertainNational Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 2463 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd lined up outside an ornate theatre front with a marquee, shops next door — c. 1918–28 A long queue stretches along the sidewalk outside Crandall's Metropolitan Theatre, showing "What Every Woman Wants", beside a trunk shop.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 2609 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Illuminated theatre signs and a lit marquee against a black night sky — 1924 The electric marquee of Loew's Palace Theater on F Street blazes at night in 1924, advertising Douglas MacLean and Chaplin.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12359-6-C [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A long shopping street with cars and pedestrians seen from above — 1924 F Street from 10th Street, 1924, crowded with motor cars and shoppers.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 28763 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A busy intersection seen from above, with many 1920s cars and people crossing — 1924 Motor cars and pedestrians criss-cross the junction of 13th and G Streets in 1924.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 32976 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A street corner with a small ornate building, a streetcar and a large columned building — c. 1920–29 The corner of 9th and G Streets NW in the 1920s, with a streetcar passing the Patent Office.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12357-7 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A large modern department store on a street corner with flags on the roof, cars below — c. 1925 The Hecht Company department store on its downtown corner around 1925, flags flying from the roof.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12359-6 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

High view down a city street lined with tall office buildings and trees — 1925 F Street seen from the Patent Office toward the Treasury in 1925, office blocks and trees lining the street.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 36478 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A crowd of men in caps around a police van and cars on a street of brick shops — January 31, 1925 A crowd gathers round the police wagon during a raid on a gambling den on E Street between 12th and 13th, January 31, 1925.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 34089 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A shop front with its sign intact above a street strewn with debris — November 21, 1929 Wreckage in the street after an oil-burner explosion in the basement of McCrory's five-and-ten-cent store during the lunch hour, November 21, 1929. place uncertainHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H2- B-3688 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A downtown street of shops and office blocks with cars parked along it — 1931 F Street looking east from 15th Street, with the Old Ebbitt and Garfinckel's department store, 1931.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H2- B-4914 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Nearby: Center Market · Pennsylvania Avenue · The Mall · The Treasury · The White House and Lafayette Square