Then & Now: Old Post Office and Clock Tower Washington, DC
Old Post Office and Clock Tower (THEN): Seen in the black & white photograph taken by Lewis Reed in 1910, is the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C. The Old Post Office, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Old Post Office and Clock Tower and located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., was begun in 1892, completed in 1899. It is the second-tallest structure in the nation’s capital, after the Washington Monument. Adjoining the building to the right is the E. H. Snyder Tailors Shop and Washington Utilities Company.
Old Post Office, 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed
Trump International Hotel and Clock Tower (NOW): Though DC residents might call it the Old Post Office out of habit, it now houses the Trump International Hotel. Even though it has been renovated into a luxury hotel, the Old Post Office Pavilion Clock Tower remains open to the public and run by the National Park Service.
Trump International Hotel and Clock Tower in Washington, DC today
Source: Wikipedia
Then & Now: Computing Tabulating Recording Company (aka IBM)
It might feel like things are always changing in Washington DC. There are always new buildings being built, businesses closing and with every few years. But you might not realize how much Washington DC has changed until you look back at what it looked like in the past. In this “Then & Now” feature, I have combined one of Lewis Reed’s original photograph’s for “then” and matched it with a google street view image for “now”. Taken approximately 108 years apart, these photos show Hollerith’s Plant then and now.
THEN: Before becoming interested in automobiles, Lewis Reed was one of the original employees of the Computing Tabulating Recording Company, a Georgetown-based manufacturing firm that eventually became International Business Machines, Inc. The Tabulating Machine Company was formed by Hermann Hollerith in 1896 and merged to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911. Seen in the photo below, the two-story building housed Hollerith’s card manufacturing plant, assembly plant, repair shop and development laboratory. Hollerith later incorporated his business as the Tabulating Machine Company. It was consolidated into the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. in 1911, and was renamed International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924.
Hollerith’s Plant 1911. Photo by Lewis Reed
NOW: Today the U.S. technology sector is inextricably linked with the West Coast, but the history of data processing actually traces back to an unassuming brick factory in Washington, D.C. This was the Georgetown headquarters of the Tabulating Machine Company, an early analog computer manufacturer that you may know by the contemporary moniker IBM. IBM placed a historical plaque on the corner of the building by 31st Street and the Canal. Hollerith is also buried nearby in the Oak Hill Cemetery.
Front of the old Tabulating Machine Company on 31st Street today
Tabulating Machine Company Delivery Truck. Note that the writing on the side of the truck is in reverse… I have no idea why. Photo by Lewis Reed
The following photographs are interior images.
Photo by Lewis Reed
Photo by Lewis Reed
Photo by Lewis Reed
Photo by Lewis Reed
Photo by Lewis Reed
Photo by Lewis Reed
Photo by Lewis Reed
Photo by Lewis Reed
Source: IBM Archives
Valentines Day and Ferris Wheels!
Ferris Wheel at Rockville Fair, circa 1920s. Photo by Lewis Reed
Did you know that February 14th is not only Valentine’s Day, but also Ferris Wheel Day? This unofficial national holiday is held on this day to honor the birth of the inventor of the Ferris Wheel, George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. What better way to celebrate Ferris Wheel Day than enjoying this old photograph of the Ferris Wheel taken at the Rockville Fairgrounds, courtesy of Lewis Reed. The fairgrounds were just outside Rockville, about where Richard Montgomery High School is today. The Fair lasted four days, from August 21st to the 24th, and drew visitors from local counties, Washington, and Baltimore.
For the singles and the “enough already with the Valentines”, here is your perfect alternative excuse. Go wish all your friends and family a Happy Ferris Wheel Day!
Then & Now: Windsor Store in Darnestown
Photos are our window to the past. You might not realize how much Darnestown has changed until you look back and see what it looked like in the past. In this “Then & Now” feature, I have combined one of Lewis Reed’s original photograph’s for “then” and matched it with a google street view image for “now”. Travel back 110 years in time to see how Windsor Store in Darnestown used to be.
A bit of Darnestown history: The Darnestown area, which was located at the intersection of Darnestown and Seneca Roads, was settled in the 1750s. Darnestown Road (Route 28) was an old Indian trail and is recognized as one of the oldest roads in Montgomery County, Maryland. By the 1820’s, the town began to blossom and hosted a wheelwright, the Grist Mill, a blacksmith, a physician, a post office and a variety of other businesses. Darnestown became an important place for commerce in the area. Seneca Road led to a sandstone mill and the C&O canal at Seneca Village. From Darnestown one could travel either by stagecoach along Darnestown Road or board a packet boat on the canal at Seneca.
THEN: Mr James Windsor, grandfather of Curry England, opened the Windsor Store at the corner of Seneca and Darnestown Roads in approximately 1878. He operated the store for many years, and also served as Darnestown’s Postmaster for some 20 years. During the 1800s mail arrived three times a week by stagecoach from Rockville and local people gathered for the arrival, creating a regular social event. The Darnestown Post Office was discontinued in 1911. The Windsor building survived until 1969, when it caught fire and burned to the ground.
Windsor Store in Darnestown, early 1900s. Photo by Lewis Reed
NOW: Today, a 6-Twelve Convenient Mart sits on the site.
Then & Now: Liberty Milling Company, Germantown
The coming of the Industrial Age meant the end of the Romantic Era and the beginning of machine’s rule over nature. In Germantown, this was represented by the big steam-powered mill. For this post, I have used two of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for “then” and a stock image from today for “now”.
Liberty Milling Company (THEN): “Feed the Liberty Way” was the slogan of Liberty Milling Company, mainstay of the little farming community of Germantown, Maryland for many years. The original mill was steam-powered and began operation in 1888. It was founded by the Bowman brothers – Charles, Eldridge and Upton – of Cedar Grove. Lumber to build the mill was sawed at the Black Rock Mill, one of the oldest water-powered mills in Germantown. The Bowman Brothers did a brisk business milling wheat and corn and selling it in the area as well as shipping it to the Washington, D.C. markets by way of the railroad. In about 1914 fire engulfed the old wood structure and the entire mill was lost. The Bowman brothers rebuilt almost at once. The new mill was sold by the Bowman brothers to the Liberty Milling Company.
Liberty Milling Company, Main Street Germantown, ca. 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed
In 1935 the company purchased an adjacent lot to the south and built a warehouse and store to sell its many products, which, according to a 1963 Damascus Courier article included Gold Leaf Flour, Silver Leaf Flour, Liberty Cake Flour, Liberty self-rising Corn Meal, Liberty Straight-Line Winter Wheat Flour, Liberty Pancake Flour, Liberty Self-rising Buckwheat Flour, Dairy Feeds, Horse Feeds, and Chicken Feeds. These products were sold all across the nation.
By the 1950s, it was the second largest mill in Maryland with eight 50-foot silos and a capacity of 24,00 pounds of flour a day and 9,000 pounds of cornmeal a week, bringing in a profit of more than $1 million a year. During World War II, it produced flour for the armed forces.
Liberty Mill Germantown, ca. 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed
Liberty Milling Company (NOW): The Liberty Milling Company was finally put out of business by the larger commercial mills, its income dwindling in the 1960s. The mill burned in June 1972, and the still-standing cement silos were removed by the county in 1986 to make way for a train commuter parking lot. A historic marker erected by the Germantown Citizens Association stands at the edge of the parking lot.
Liberty Mill Historic Marker
Source: Germantown Patch
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Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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