Restaurateur Michael Khalaf opened the Omar Khayyam Restaurant in 1956 at 709 18th Street NW. The restaurant featured traditional Middle Eastern fare in an exotic setting, as seen on this postcard, but it quickly faced legal troubles. It closed in 1959, just three years after opening.
A close look at the south side of the Capitol: streetsofwashington.substack.com/p/science-an...
The US Capitol, March 11, 1914, photographed by Willard R. Ross.
All about Mary Foote Henderson: streetsofwashington.substack.com/p/the-iron-w...
Circa 1900 winter scene in front of the Capitol. Happy Holidays!
Ben and Bun’s restaurant was located in the commercial storefront at 3663 Georgia Avenue NW, on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Rock Creek Church Road in Petworth. Ben and Bun’s operated in the 1960s; previously James L. Perrus’s Elite Restaurant was there. A check-cashing store is there now.
A lesser-known federal office building that deserves some attention:
streetsofwashington.substack.com/p/the-monume...
Vintage postcard of Howard University's Main Building, one of the first buildings constructed after the university's founding in 1867. It survived as a classroom and administration building until the 1930s and was torn down to make way for Founders Library (1939).
www.archpaper.com/2025/11/aia-...
New on Streets of Washington, the history of the beautiful building that Trump wants to paint white: streetsofwashington.substack.com/p/a-gray-lad...
We're wrapping up our Potomac excursions with this in-depth look at Marshall Hall and its rich legacy: streetsofwashington.substack.com/p/what-happe...
New on SoW: The Wilson Line on the Potomac:
streetsofwashington.substack.com/p/excursions...
The eastern side of the White House as seen from the Treasury Department, circa 1868.
A streetcar reaches the end of the Route 74 line on Upshur Street NW at Rock Creek Church Road NW, in 1957. The Eagle Gate of the US Soldiers Home is just behind the photographer.
New on SoW: Early steamboat excursions on the Potomac:
streetsofwashington.substack.com/p/excursions...
Joseph and Stella Lapiana, natives of Sicily, opened the Cavalier Restaurant on 14th Street in Columbia Heights in 1940. The Cavalier was one of the earliest restaurants in DC to offer authentic Italian pizza. In 1949, the Lapianas sold it to “Gentleman Jim” Hance, who moved it to Twinbrook MD.
New on SoW, an enduring preservation success story:
streetsofwashington.substack.com/p/saving-the...
A streetcar (Route 72/74) makes its way along Maine Avenue SW, along the Southwest waterfront in May 1957. Docked at the waterfront is the USS Davis, a Forrest-Sherman class destroyer that had just been commissioned and was stopping at Washington for Armed Forces Day celebrations.
Rehoboth Beach boardwalk--postcard view from the 1950s
This Hagerstown, Maryland railroad depot was built in 1890 and designed by E. Francis Baldwin in the trendy Romanesque style. It was demolished shortly after World War II. An almost identical station once stood at the Catholic University of America in DC. It was torn down in the mid 1980s.
