At the doorstep of Historic Anacostia, the junction of Good Hope Road (formerly Harrison Street) and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue (formerly Piscataway Road, Monroe Street, and later Nichols Avenue) is an old corner with a unique place in the lore of DC and American history.

Eastern Branch Bridge, circa 1862. Photo from the Library of Congress.

In August 1814, with British troops descending on Washington’s federal core, local citizens burned the Eastern Branch Bridge (the Anacostia River was then known as the Eastern Branch of the Potomac) to imperil their advance.

On the night of Good Friday, April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth made his escape over the Navy Yard Bridge, through Uniontown (now Historic Anacostia), to southern Maryland after shooting President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre.

Today, as part of a massive public works project, a new 11th Street Bridge is on the cusp of reopening.

Anacostia today. Photo by the author.