"The glorious voice"
By 1939, African-American singer Marian Anderson had toured Europe impressing crowds and composers alike. But in this country, she was banned from many concert halls...
A home for the Court
The neoclassical U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., was designed by architects Cass Gilbert, Jr., and John R. Rockart. Although a coequal branch of the...
A new dome
In 1856, workers removed the old dome of the U.S. Capitol and began replacing it with a new fireproof cast-iron dome. Philip Reid, a slave, supervised the placement...
A president immortalized
Taken in 1920, this photograph shows the installation of President Abraham Lincoln’s statue at the Lincoln Memorial. Originally designed to be 10 feet tall, the...
Back on track!
This 1876 photograph illustrates the lack of progress toward completion of the Washington Monument. Begun on July 4, 1848, the monument was only 176 feet high in 1861...
Building a better bank
Construction crews move a pillar into place in 1861 during construction of the west wing of the oldest Federal departmental building in Washington, D.C. In 1836,...
Camouflage
The campus of American University in Washington, DC was used for training and weapons storage during World War I. This soldier was demonstrating a uniform designed to...