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The images in this collection capture the diverse history of Georgetown.

Georgetown, a thriving neighborhood in the nation's capital, was established in 1751 as an independent city. As the land to its east was being developed into Washington, DC, the once sleepy river town grew and evolved. George Washington's adopted descendants lived down the street from where Kennedy lived before Camelot; Julia Child walked past the home of Robert Todd Lincoln; and a successful community of free black Americans was built around the corner from what had previously been a slave market. Georgetown depicts the history of a community whose roots span far beyond the prestigious university and upper-class neighborhood for which it is known. The images capture mansions and slums, thriving businesses and crumbling facades, an industrial revolution, and the closing of the C&O Canal.

Built as a gated, all-white community, in the 20th century LeDroit Park became the premier neighborhood of Washington, DC's Black elite.

LeDroit Park's famed arch offers entry into a tree-lined neighborhood with unique architecture and a captivating history. Developed in 1873 by a Howard University trustee who refused to sell lots to Black Washingtonians, the neighborhood was designed to be both town and country, one of DC's earliest suburbs. Not long after the fences of this gated community were torn down, the demographics changed as members of the Black elite of Washington moved there. During the 20th century it was home to educators and activists, military men and artists, doctors and scientists - both white and Black, men and women.

Local historian and guide Canden Schwantes leads you through this neighborhood, small in size but large in history, to discover the stories of the people who called LeDroit Park home.

The heroic actions of one marine group's impact on World War II is captured through testimony and nearly 200 rare and historic images.

Marine Air Group 25 was a pioneering combat air transport unit that entered overseas service during the Guadalcanal campaign in September 1942, helping to achieve the first American offensive victory of the war in the Pacific. It quickly gained fame for its rapid delivery of vital supplies and its lifesaving evacuation of casualties. During the fight for Guadalcanal, Marine Air Group 25 became the nucleus of the joint-service SOPAC (South Pacific) Combat Air Transport Command, or SCAT, partnering with troop carrier and medical units of the US Army Air Forces. SCAT would continue to play a crucial role in subsequent Allied operations throughout the Solomon Islands, including the battles for New Georgia and Bougainville. After SCAT was dissolved in February 1945, Marine Air Group 25 continued its mission in the Philippines and then Northern China until being deactivated in 1946. In 1950, the group was reactivated, seeing further service during the Korean War.

Author Gil Klein reveals the fascinating role of Lafayette Square in the nation's history.

Lafayette Square near the White House is surrounded by landmarks and steeped in a fascinating history of rebellion. A congressman shot and killed the son of Francis Scott Key in broad daylight on the square and got away with it. On the night Lincoln was assassinated, a co-conspirator forced his way into Secretary of State William Seward's house and nearly killed him. The women's suffrage movement created the White House protest that goes on to this day. Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into the Blair House to assassinate President Truman, who was living there.

This well-illustrated book follows an exhibition at the National Building Museum, highlighting the ways that this specialized architecture and landscape served the mentally ill.

St. Elizabeth's has been a mental health hospital in Washington, D.C., since 1852, when it was established by the United States Congress as the Government Hospital for the Insane. St. Elizabeths, experienced rapid expansion in its first century Deinstitutionalization in the second half of the twentieth century emptied out the historic buildings on campus. It continues the story of St. Elizabeths, a National Historic Landmark, through its current redevelopment as a federal campus and mixed-use neighborhood.

The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., an educational and cultural institution serving the residents of metropolitan Washington, presents Growing Up in Washington, D.C.: An Oral History, a book of memories excerpted from dozens of oral history interviews about childhood in Washington during the twentieth century. Telling stories of the past-from playing soccer on the National Mall to visiting the Zoo, from marching in inaugural parades to riding the roller coasters at Suburban Gardens-residents from all four quadrants of the city, from different racial and religious backgrounds, have documented the vital history of our nation's capital in their hearts and minds. In this collection, they share their personal experiences of attending school, celebrating holidays, playing games with friends, riding the streetcars and metro, and growing up in families and neighborhoods that, early on, shaped the course of their lives. Their fascinating tales and anecdotes provide a window into the city's development as seen through the innocent, yet discerning, eyes of its children. Illustrated with historic images of city life, such as eating at the Hot Shoppes and ice skating on the mall, and of recognizable local landmarks, such as Hains Point, the fun house at Glen Echo, and Rock Creek Park, Growing Up in Washington, D.C. brings to life the people and places that have helped to create the city's singular character. A one-of-a-kind testament to the variety of life in the great capital of the United States, this collection of personal childhood stories and vintage photographs offers a wealth of perspectives on growing up in Washington during the twentieth century.

The Catholic University of America is the only national university of the Catholic Church in the United States. Discover the university's history, triumphs, and crises.

Founded by U.S. bishops in 1887, the project of a national university was approved by Pope Leo XIII, and after considerable debate it was decided to put the school in the nation's capital on a hilly plot of land in Northeast Washington, D.C. Classes opened on November 13, 1889, with a distinguished faculty of eight professors. Since then the university has grown exponentially, greatly expanding the number of students, teachers, and schools. The Catholic University of America has celebrated educational triumphs, suffered fiscal crises, rejoiced in two papal visits, and earned itself a place as one of the country's leading educational institutions.

Founded in March 1912, DC branch of the NAACP quickly became the leading organization advocating for the city's Black community.

President Woodrow Wilson's institution of Jim Crow segregation in the federal government in the spring of 1913 galvanized the African American community of DC and the NAACP launched a formidable crusade against Wilson's racist policies. As the preeminent civil rights organization of the nation's capital, it also developed a dual role as a watchdog body to prevent the passage of legislation in Congress that negatively affected African Americans.

Archivist and historian Derek Gray chronicles and analyzes the work of the DC NAACP through the civil rights era to the achievement of Home Rule in the District.

Washington has a rural history of agrarian landscapes and country estates. John Adlum, the Father of American Viticulture, experimented with American grape cultivation at The Vineyard, just north of today's Cleveland Park.

Slave laborers rolled hogsheads - wooden casks filled with tobacco - down present-day Wisconsin Avenue from farms to the port at Georgetown. The growing merchant class built suburban villas on the edges of the District and became the city's first commuters. In 1791, the area was selected as the capital of a new nation, and change from rural to urban was both dramatic and progressive. Author Kim Prothro Williams reveals the rural remnants of Washington, D.C.'s past.