Tag Archive | Potomac Aqueduct Bridge Washington DC 1913
April 5, 2018  

Then & Now: Georgetown University and Potomac Aqueduct Bridge 100 Years Apart

Washington DC has a lot of history. The Smithsonian museums, the monuments, etc., but it is interesting to see just how much the city has changed over the years. 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 Washington, DC looks both the same and completely different from a century ago.

Georgetown University and Aqueduct Bridge (THEN): The Key Bridge was not the original connector between Georgetown and Virginia. Prior to that construction in the 1920s, there were two iterations of the Aqueduct Bridge. The second iteration of the bridge looked visibly different, but even that one suffered from deterioration and was only used between 1889 and 1918. The Aqueduct Bridge continued as a bridge for traffic until the Key Bridge opened in 1923.

Seen in the black & white photograph taken by Lewis Reed in 1913, is the Aqueduct Bridge over the Potomac River in Washington, DC. The spires of buildings at Georgetown University can be seen in the background.

Aqueduct Bridge Washington DC 1913

Potomac Aqueduct Bridge Washington DC 1913. Photo by Lewis Reed

Georgetown University and Key Bridge (NOW): The same view over a century later hasn’t changed much.

Georgetown University and Key Bridge Washington DC

Georgetown University and Key Bridge Washington DC today