Tag Archive | Pennsylvania Ave
July 28, 2018  

Then & Now: New Occidental Hotel Washington, DC

In this “Then & Now” feature, I have combined one of Lewis Reed’s original photograph’s for “then” and matched it with a corresponding contemporary shot for “now” to see how the location has changed or remained nearly the same through the years. I started doing this as a research tool, now I mostly do it because of my passion for history and fascination with the subject. In the following photographs, you can see the difference 100 years can make.

New Occidental Hotel (THEN): The New Occidental Hotel was built by Henry Willard (of Willard Hotel fame) in 1906. If any of 2,500 celebrities — including four presidents — forgot who they were, they could stop by the Occidental Restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue and check their picture on the wall. Within a few years the Occidental became known as the place “Where Statesmen Dine”.

After the restaurant closed in 1971, the wall-to-wall collection of paintings and photographs of the famous was auctioned off. The new Occidental Restaurant re-opened at 1475 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, almost on the old site, as part of the Willard Collection of buildings.

Looking from the Treasury Building directly at the United States Capitol, this 1912 photograph taken by Lewis Reed shows the first floor retail shops and the Occidental Hotel, which has an Electric Grill Room, on the left. On the right are office buildings and the Old Post Office. The magnificent Raleigh Hotel held a commanding position on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the Old Post Office Building. The Occidental Hotel was located at 1411 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Occidental Hotel DC

Historic street view of Pennsylvania Avenue. Photo by Lewis Reed, 1912

New Occidental Hotel (NOW): Google Street View from approximately the same perspective in 2018.

New Occidental Hotel

Screenshot of Google Street View 2018

Source: Historic Restaurants of Washington

April 19, 2018  

U.S. Capitol Then & Now… 108 Years of Change

You might not realize how much Washington DC has changed until you look back and see what it looked like in the past. I thought it would be fun to revisit an historic location using one of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for “then” and a stock image from today for “now” to see what differences are visible. In the following photographs, you can see how the United States Capitol looks both the same and completely different from a century ago.

U.S. Capitol (THEN): Seen in the black & white photograph taken by Lewis Reed in 1910, is the United States Capitol in Washington, DC. Visible in both photos is the white marble Peace Monument that stands in the circle to the west of the U.S. Capitol at Pennsylvania Avenue and First Street, NW. A streetcar can also be seen in the black & white photo. The Pennsylvania Ave streetcar line ran from Georgetown, across Pennsylvania Avenue, past the White House, up to Capitol Hill, and then down to the Navy Yard. With no stop signs, speed limits, or lane lines, the streets of the early 1900s were completely different.

US Capitol 1910

U.S. Capitol as seen from Pennsylvania Ave in 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

U.S. Capitol (NOW): The same view over a century later hasn’t changed much… except for the traffic and Segway riders with fanny packs.

U.S. Capitol Now

On Pennsylvania Ave and U.S. Capitol building today. A Segway tour is stopped along the bike lanes.