Italian immigrant Salvator Velati opened the first Velatis candy shop in Richmond, Virginia in the 1850s. This store burnt to the ground just prior to the end of the Civil War. In 1866, the Velatis Caramel Company moved to DC and reopened for…

Built by the DC based architectural firm Hornblower and Marshall, the Tuckerman House featured red brick with smoothly cut red sandstone. The house was built in a similar style to architect H.H. Richardson's (1838-1886) work; some of his commissions…

Built in 1799 by Bennett Fenwick (ca.1765-1801)—and, most likely, his enslaved work force—Rhodes' Tavern opened as a tavern and inn in 1801 under the management of William Rhodes. In 1805, Rhodes sold the tavern to his future brother-in-law, Joseph…

A Georgetown flour mill built in 1847 by Alexander Ray (1799-1878) and his two sons, Andrew Ross Ray (1826-1886) and Albert Ross Ray (1829-1882) made use of the hydroelectric power from the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. The location was ideal not…

Although he is depicted in this bronze pedestrian statue as a Masonic leader in civilian dress rather than a military man, Albert Pike was a senior officer in the Confederate Army. The Albert Pike Memorial, erected by the Supreme Council, Southern…

Founded by Abram Lisner, Palais Royal expanded from its beginnings as a specialty store to a successful department store. Lisner operated the store as a cash-only business that offered low-price merchandise, attracting customers to shop there with…

The physical structure of Northern Liberty Market came as a result of the 1870s development initiatives of then DC governor, Alexander Shepherd (1835-1902). An earlier incarnation of Northern Liberty Market existed in Mount Vernon Square starting in…

The Nineteenth Street Baptist Church is considered to be the first and oldest Black Baptist congregation in DC. The First Baptist Church, where Nineteenth Street Baptist Church finds its roots, initially described the congregation as interracial.…