a lot of this area was hit hard during the 1968 MLK riots.

Very sad.

So much that could have been saved was bulldozed.

prior to WW2 7th street NW, along with F street NW, was the main commercial street in the old downtown.
I guess that we are lucky to have what has remained.

by w on Dec 1, 2009 5:42 pm  

What makes it even sadder is that both of the buildings right of (or behind) the truck in the old photo survived not only the '68 riots but the twentieth century: they were torn down only about five years ago.

But yes, we are fortunate indeed that the other buildings in the pictures, pretty much the entire east side of 7th Street between New York and L and the north side of New York for the half a block or so east of 7th, still stand and are likely to continue doing so.

by davidj on Dec 2, 2009 12:03 am  

you can see from those buildings you mention that 7th street was, at one time, the heart of a very busy and thriving commercial mercantile area.

And a lot of people in the area spoke German- which the historians neglect to tell us. I know this from my own family, and from the many others who used to own stores or businesses along here.

The DC of today is not like DC was 60-70 years ago.

by w on Dec 2, 2009 10:01 am  

"The DC of today is not like DC was 60-70 years ago."

The same can be said of every single city and town in the world.

Its called progress.

by metronic on Dec 2, 2009 11:05 am  

this is not necessarily the case here in DC.
Much of the beautiful fabric of the city has been lost to apathetic development and very short sighted decisions.

Progress is not always uniformly a good thing- when done in a haphazzard fashion.

DC was once home to many ethnic areas, had factories, a really nice and very large streetcar/ tram system, oyster bars on every other corner, steamship lines that ran daily up and down the Atlantic seaborad,amusement parks, and had a very very strong commercial / business/ shopping core that was both dynamic and beautiful.

I am old enough to recall the crowds on F street NW at this time of year- back in the 1960's before it all went down and "progress" waved it's destructive wand. DC was a safe and friendly place, had alot to offer for kids and families, and then for some crazy reasons a lot of the city was left to rot. Very sad. It will take generations to bring back what has been done away with in the name of "progress".

by w on Dec 2, 2009 11:57 am  

It is called "Progress" for the sake of "Progress", not for any actual progress. Let's face it, country-wide we decimated our cities for no good reason between 1950 and the late 90's except for that stupid word.

by NikolasM on Dec 2, 2009 12:39 pm  

metronic: no, it's not called "progress," it's called "change."

if destroying a city is progress, then detroit has progressed further than any city in the universe in the last 60-70 years...

by IMGoph on Dec 2, 2009 8:18 pm