Then & Now: The New Raleigh Hotel Washington DC, 1912
Some of the city’s oldest hotels not only have a long history of storied visitors and impressive tales, but they’ve shaped the city’s landscape for decades and perhaps centuries. However, for every Hay-Adams, Willard Continental and Morrison-Clark, there’s a hotel like the the Raleigh Hotel that’s either been converted and or destroyed entirely.
Raleigh Hotel (THEN): Along with the Willard, the Raleigh Hotel was one of the largest and grandest hotels in Washington in the first part of the twentieth century. It held a commanding position on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the Old Post Office Building and was famous as a Mecca for patrons of the performing arts. In 1911, the building was razed and rebuilt as a 13-story Beaux Arts hotel.
The recently completed Raleigh Hotel at Pennsylvania Ave and 12th Street NW, built on the site of the previous Raleigh Hotel. Photo taken by Lewis Reed, ca. 1912
Raleigh Hotel (NOW): The hotel closed in 1963, its furnishings were sold off, and it was demolished a year later. Its replacement, a 14-story office building at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, was completed in 1968, and it still stands on the site today.
The site of the Raleigh as it appears today.
Then & Now: Smithsonian Institution Castle
This post is a continuation of a series of “Then & Now” images from Lewis Reed’s Photo Collection alongside photographs of how they appear today. Lewis Reed worked hard to preserve a visual history of Montgomery County, Maryland and surrounding area long before automobiles were even around. As early as 1905, he toured on his motorcycle across the states of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. and took photographs of many historic locations. Taken approximately 115 years apart, you can see how the Smithsonian Institution Castle looks both the same and completely different from over a century ago.
Smithsonian Institution Castle (THEN): The Smithsonian Institution Building, popularly known as the “Castle,” was designed by architect James Renwick, Jr. Initially, the Castle was intended to be built in white marble and then in yellow sandstone. The architect and the building committee finally agreed on using Seneca red sandstone from the Seneca Quarry, located in Montgomery County, Maryland. When it was completed in 1855, it sat on an isolated piece of land cut off from downtown Washington, DC, by a canal. In the ensuing decades, the Castle became the anchor for the National Mall, as additional museums and government buildings were constructed around it.
Smithsonian Institution Castle. Photo taken by Lewis Reed in 1907
Smithsonian Institution Castle (NOW): The same view over a century later. The Smithsonian Institution Castle, located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery, houses the Smithsonian Institution’s administrative offices and information center.
Smithsonian Institution Castle today
Then & Now: Rockville Garage 102 Years Ago
Reed Brothers Dodge and the surrounding area sure has changed a lot in its almost century-long history. You might not realize how much things have changed until you look back and see what it looked like in the past. For this post, I have used one of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for “then” and a Google Maps street view image from today for “now”.
1918 two-story addition to original Rockville Garage. View from side on Rockville Pike.
Rockville Garage (Reed Brothers Dodge) original location at the triangle today. Google Image Capture, 2019
Then & Now: State of Pennsylvania Monument (Gettysburg)
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”. The Pennsylvania State Memorial is a monument in Gettysburg National Military Park that commemorates the 34,530 Pennsylvania soldiers who fought in the July 1 to 3, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. These photos show the same view taken about 109 years apart.
State of Pennsylvania Monument (THEN): This rare photograph was taken by Lewis Reed of the State of Pennsylvania Monument while under construction. Completed in 1914, it is the largest of the state monuments on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Taken approximately 109 years apart, these photos show the State of Pennsylvania Monument then and now.
State of Pennsylvania Monument Under Construction, ca. 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed
State of Pennsylvania Monument (NOW): The State of Pennsylvania Monument (at 110 feet tall) incorporates individual sculptures commemorating the six Keystone State generals who fought at Gettysburg — plus President Abraham Lincoln and Governor Andrew Curtain — and 90 bronze plaques emblazoned with the names of each of the 34,530 Pennsylvanians who fought in the battle. It cost $240,000 to build in the early 1900s, or almost $6 million in 2018.
State of Pennsylvania Monument as it is today.
Source: Wikipedia
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
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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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