[29] They are United Streetcar model 100. During World War II, gasoline rationing limited automobile use, but transit companies were exempt from the rationing. Built in 1917 by the D.C. Paper Manufacturing Company, the three-bay brick-and-steel structure was built to serve as the power house for the paper company. For example, the Washington and Georgetown experimented with a steam motor car in the 1870s and 1880s which was run on Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Capitol several times, but was never placed in permanent use. ", Schwartzman, Paul. [1], Between 1896 and 1899, three businessmen purchased controlling interests in the Metropolitan; the Columbia; the Anacostia and Potomac River; the Georgetown and Tennallytown; the Washington, Woodside and Forest Glen; the Washington and Great Falls; and the Washington and Rockville railway companies, in addition to the Potomac Electric Power Company and the United States Electric Lighting Company. [64], In January 2010, The Washington Post reported that the K Street Line would probably be the third line to be constructed. It was incorporated on February 28, 1892, with the right to run a streetcar from the train station at 6th Street NW and B Street NW to Virginia across a new Three Sisters Bridge. [On July 5, 1892, the District of Columbia Suburban Railway was incorporated to run streetcars along the same route - on Bladensburg Road NE from the Columbia tracks on H Street NE to the Maryland line and from Brookland to Florida Avenue NE, but it was never constructed]. [39] In 1916 Capital Traction took ownership of the Washington and Maryland and its 2.591 miles of track. Founded on July 16, 1790, Washington, DC is unique among American cities because it was established by the Constitution of the United States to serve as the nation’s capital. Barry argued that the rider subsidy was too high and that the $800 million planned for construction of the remaining lines could be better used for road maintenance and school construction.[24]. 1962 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Demolished buildings and structures in Washington, D.C. See: Layton, Lyndsey. 3520 Prospect Street Washington, District of Columbia United States. In October 2010, the D.C. government unveiled its long-awaited, $1.5 billion development proposal for the city's southwest waterfront district. The line from Friendship Heights to Rockville (formerly the Washington and Rockville), the P Street line (Metropolitan), the Anacostia-Congress Heights line (Capital Railway) and the Connecticut Avenue line in Chevy Chase (Rock Creek) were all replaced with buses. [89], The Bureau of Engraving and Printing underground loop is now part of a parking structure and storage area that is located directly underneath 14th Street SW. The new station (address: 1204 N. Pennsylvania Avenue) extended along 12th Street NW from Pennsylvania Avenue NW to D Street NW, near the site of the present Federal Triangle Metro station and on the opposite side of 12th Street from the Post Office building.[34][37]. [1] It used the Union's charter to expand into Georgetown. [1] In 1912, it was incorporated into the new Washington and Old Dominion Railway and became the Great Falls Division of that company. Streetcars were unionized in 1916 when local 689 of the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America won recognition after a three-day strike. Streetcars in Washington, D.C. transported people across the city and region from 1862 until 1962. ", Smith, Will and Wellborn, Mark. In late August 2011, DDOT announced the H Street Line would begin operation in the summer of 2013. After the slaves were freed in the post-Civil War Era, a great migration northward occurred, and many of them settled in Washington, D.C. Due to racially segregated housing elsewhere in the District, U Street became many of their homes in the early 1900’s. 38.9056, -77.0699 View on Google Maps . In 1860, these two merged under the control of Vanderwerken and continued to operate until they were run out of business by the next new technology: streetcars. Vanderwerken's success attracted competitors, who added new lines, but by 1854, all omnibuses had come under the control of two companies, "The Union Line" and "The Citizen's Line." [17] The goal of the project was to bring light rail to Anacostia first (rather than last, as had happened with Metrorail), and to provide a speedier, more cost-effective way to link the neighborhood with the rest of the city. [29] In 1898, the Brightwood was ordered to switch to underground electric power on pain of having its charter revoked. The East Washington Heights became the first streetcar company to switch,[44] replacing its two streetcars and one mile of track with a bus line. The history of streetcars in Washington, D.C. has been approached before, but never in narrative format, and never by a gifted writer. Though technically an interurban, this railway utilized streetcar tracks from its terminal at 15th and H Streets NE and across the Benning Road Bridge where it switched to its own tracks in Deanwood. Although initially planned to go as far as Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the line never ran further than an extension to Berwyn Heights, Maryland. [13] On August 28, 1937, the first PCC streetcars began running on 14th Street NW. It opened lines from the Capitol to the War Department along H Street NW. 650: The Long Road Home", Articles about street cars in Washington, DC, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Streetcars_in_Washington,_D.C.&oldid=994146066. It was incorporated and started operations in 1862, using horse-drawn cars on tracks between Georgetown and the Navy Yard. It was incorporated in 1888 and started operations in 1890 on two blocks of Florida Avenue east of Connecticut Avenue. [54] After serving in the US Army he joined DC Transit as a bus operator. [59] 71 more were sold to Sarajevo where they ran until 1983 and some of them were used for construction of the only 9 articulated PCC streetcars ever;[60] and 15 more went to Fort Worth, TX for use on the Tandy Center Subway until it shut down in 2002.[61]. ‹ DC Streetcar Historic Photographs up 14th St … [1], Using electricity from the power plant built to power its cable operation, the Columbia won permission in 1898 to build a line east along Benning Road NE, splitting on the east side of the Anacostia. Seven more, including D.C. [22] In order to determine whether the local business community would support the streetcar project, several local real estate and commercial developers visited the Portland Streetcar system which operates in Portland, Oregon. DC Streetcar The DC Streetcar started passenger service Saturday, February 27, 2016, with the H Street/Benning Road, NE, line. DDOT applied for a $20 million National Infrastructure Investments — Consolidated Appropriations Act grant to assist it in building the extension. On June 27, 1898, the new, combined company changed its name to the City and Suburban Railway of Washington. [45] After more delays, the line had been tentatively projected to open in January 2015,[46] but on January 16 the DDOT's director Leif Dormsjo announced that the Department would no longer issue any estimates for an opening date and that he intended to reorganize the project's management team. In 1892, one-horse cars were banned within the city, and by 1894 Congress began requiring companies to switch to something other than horse power while continuing to disallow overhead lines within the city. [10] On June 24, 1908, the first streetcars began service to Union Station along Delaware Avenue NE and by December 6 cars of both Capital Traction and Washington Railway were serving the building along Massachusetts Avenue NE. As improvements, such as balloon tires, were made, buses became more popular. ", Neibauer, Michael. "Light Rail Closer to Coming to Anacostia.". It was the main source of transportation to Suburban Gardens, known as "the black Glen Echo", the first and only major amusement park within Washington. The Anacostia and Potomac River Car Barn at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE and V Street SE is gone. "Cash-Strapped Local Officials Balk At Metro's Capital Expenditures", "New Transit Board Would Manage Streetcars", "Streetcar Backers Gather Ammo to Sway Skeptics", Neibauer, Michael. The East Capitol Street Car Barn, at 1400, The Decatur Street Car Barn (a.k.a. Service ended soon after it began. In 1933, a second consolidation brought all streetcars under one company, Capital Transit. It complied, installing the underground sliding shoe on the north–south line in January 1895. Taxis based and operating in the boundaries of the District of Columbia charged their fares with a zone system instead of taximeters, which is still in use. The Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway began operating between Alexandria and Mount Vernon in 1892. Waterfront Proposal Shaping Up. The area consists of a coherent group of row houses constructed overwhelmingly by speculative builders and real estate developers along streets established by the L'Enfant Plan. Electric streetcars remained a popular transportation option when many preferred not to drive to avoid a wartime gasoline tax during World War II. [36] The Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad was chartered January 24, 1900, and authorized to enter the District on January 29, 1903. [17] The first line to be built would be a 7.2-mile (11.6 km) "starter" streetcar line in Anacostia. In 1873 it purchased the Boundary and Silver Spring Railway (chartered on January 19, 1872) and used its charter to build north on what is now Georgia Avenue. ", Kravitz, Derek. Because the railroad never reached Great Falls, but instead terminated at Cabin John, it was often referred to as the "Cabin John Trolley". Capitol, North O Street and South Washington Railway, Two more Washington D.C. streetcar companies operating in Maryland, Washington and Great Falls Electric Railway, East Washington Heights Traction Railroad, Washington, Spa Spring and Gretta Railroad, Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway, Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railroad, American Sight-Seeing Car and Coach Company, Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway, Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America, Arlington and Fairfax Motor Transportation Company, Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis interurban, Here's a General Electric ad about PCC cars in Washington, North American Co. v. Securities and Exchange Commission, Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, D.C. "Feds Give District Better Acreage for Walter Reed Redevelopment. Public transportation began in Washington, D.C., almost as soon as the city was founded. About 20 streetcars remain of the hundreds that once plied the streets of Washington. Back to top Short History of DC Street Cars STREET CARS IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL, a concise illustratetd history from omnibus to 1962, by Wesley Pauslon & Ken Rucker, 1995. [1], In 1883, Frank Sprague, an 1878 Naval Academy graduate, resigned from the Navy to work for Thomas Edison. [55] DDOT officials say they believed that only the city and CSX owned the land under the tracks, but a legal review found that CSX was not the only private owner. In 1895, the company removed its overhead trolley lines in accordance with its charter and attempted to replace them with batteries. History of Streetcars in Washington, D.C. Streetcars were a common mode of transportation in the District from 1862 until 1962. [34] In 1906, the Long Bridge's road and streetcar tracks were relocated to a new truss bridge (the Highway Bridge), immediately west of the older bridge. Jan 15, 2021 [36], In 1902, the railroad moved its station, as the Belt Line's tracks were circling the block containing the site of a planned new District Building (now the John A. Wilson Building). In 1914 a failed attempt was made to have the Federal Government purchase all of the streetcar lines and companies. Articles with dead external links from December 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with self-published sources from March 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Washington and Georgetown Car Barn (later known as the M Street Shops) at 3222 M Street NW, which had served as stables for, The Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company Car Barn at 1346 Florida Avenue NW, originally built in 1877 and sold in 1892, is known today as the west building of the Manhattan Laundry. [48] In early March 2015, DDOT suggested that the project may be scrapped entirely, if an outside review being conducted by the American Public Transportation Association found "fatal flaws",[49] but the findings, released on March 16, found no "fatal flaws" in the project. ", Emerling, Gary and Ward, Jon. [55], The remaining system, including lines to the Navy Yard, the Colorado Avenue terminal, and the Bureau of Engraving (Routes 50, 54) and to the Calvert Street Loop, Barney Circle, and Union Station (Routes 90, 92) was shut down in January 1962. By 1916 streetcar use was reaching its peak in Washington, D.C. This page was last edited on 14 December 2020, at 08:33. Local media reports indicated that the D.C. developers were impressed by the effect streetcars had on Portland's economic development. ", Gowen, Annie. DC’s first streetcar system opened in the middle of the Civil War after taking only six months to build. "Streetcars Return to D.C.", Young, Joseph. [26] They are model 12 Trio. [54] There were specific complaints about a lack of black leadership. The complex trackwork on Capitol Plaza in front of Washington Union Station was removed in the mid-1960s. "Proposed Hike in Downtown D.C. BID Tax Rate Will Fund 100-Item To-Do List. Although the streetcar was first studied in 2002 under then Mayor Anthony Williams, it wasn’t until 2009, with Adrian Fenty in charge, that the tracks … In 1890 they bought the former Boundary and Silver Spring line from the Metropolitan, but continued to operate it as a horse line. ", "Return of the (modern) streetcar: Portland leads the way", "First of Three American Made DC Streetcar Vehicles to Arrive in District on Tuesday, January 21", Neibauer, Michael. Other remnants include the Potomac Electric Power Company, the electric portion of Washington Traction and Electric Company, which remains the D.C. area's primary electrical power company; some streetcar-related manhole covers that remain in use around town; and four tall lampposts for Capital Traction's overhead wires on the Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Klingle Valley in Cleveland Park. (Opens in a new window. [55][56] CSX disputed these claims, saying that it had the legal right to lease the tracks and land in perpetuity to the city for $16 million. The Pennsylvania Avenue NW trackwork between the Capitol and the Treasury Building was removed during the street's mid-1980s redevelopment. Much of the property was destroyed when Q Street was extended, but the remainder lasted until at least 1920. [55][56] The city was unwilling to build the project on the CSX tracks, only to have the other owners demand payment in the future. Grace Street Power House, at 3221 Grace Street. [1] The last new streetcar company to form was the Washington, Spa Spring and Gretta Railroad. A second line would run along Good Hope Road SE to the District boundary. A barn was built at 2411 P Street NW by the Metropolitan around 1870 and served as stables, a power house, car barn and repair shops. Once known as “The Black Broadway,” the U Street Corridor was the epicenter of black culture and art for much of the 20th century. You may have heard D.C. referred to as the “City of Magnificent Distances”? [1][13] In 1892, they extended their track along 14th to Park Road NW. [9], By 1888, it had built additional lines down 4th Street NW/SW to P Street SW, and on East Capitol Street to 9th Street. 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[42] (Here's a General Electric ad about PCC cars in Washington. The tracks on Florida Avenue also exist under pavement (as shown by the eternal seam above the conduit). Local neighborhoods account for more than thirty districts, and there are more than a dozen military and campus districts. "D.C. An early streetcar passes the Treasury. [5][13] In 1889, the line was extended along T Street NE, 2nd Street NE and V Street NE to Glenwood Cemetery, but the extension proved unprofitable and was closed in 1894. [41] The company's name was then changed to DC Transit. Tracks are still visible on the 3200, 3300, and 3400 blocks of O St NW and P St NW. Plan of the city of Washington, in the territory of Columbia : ceded by the States of Virginia and Maryland to the United States of America, and by them established as the seat of their government after the year 1800 / J. Russell, sculpt., Constitu'n Row In Washington, D.C., the last streetcar ran in 1962. Bridge #1 at Georgetown University was removed in 1976. A streetcar passes the once ubiquitous Peoples Drug Store on 14th Street, NW, one of the District's busiest streetcar lines, circa 1935. The DC Streetcar's H Street/Benning line eventually began public service operations on February 27, 2016. [5] On December 3, 1961, the streetcar lines to Mount Pleasant (Routes 40, 42) and 11th Street (Route 60) were abandoned. By December 31, 1933, it owned 50.016% of the voting stock. Washington DC, District of Columbia 13,370 contributions 595 helpful votes Great way to connect This street car line is the first street car to open after the original line was closed in 1962. ", Wilgoren, Debbi. The Wolfsons began paying themselves huge dividends until, in 1955, the war chest was down to $2.7 million. The Anacostia and Potomac River began expanding on June 24, 1898, by purchasing the Belt Railway; the next year, it bought the Capital Railway. It ran on a circular route around downtown D.C. A P Street NW track was added in 1876. [34] A new contract was awarded to United Streetcar in April 2012, for two streetcars,[35] and the order was expanded to three cars in August 2012. [1], The Anacostia and Potomac River switched from horses to electricity in April 1900. The company built a car barn and stable on the east side of 15th Street just south of H Street at the eastern end of the line. "New Residences, Stores To Transform H Street. The first streetcar was horse-drawn and ran from the Capitol to the State Department. The first streetcars in Washington, D.C., were drawn by horses and carried people short distances on flat terrain; but the introduction of cleaner and faster electric streetcars, capable of climbing steeper inclines, opened up the hilly suburbs north of the old city and in Anacostia. starts a new style for men by throwing his hat away and carrying a chinese parsol. [1][32] This was the last horse-drawn streetcar to run in the District.[1]. But eventually, lawmakers settled on consolidation as the best solution. [30], Not every company became a part of Washington Railway immediately. Capital Traction abandoned this service in 1931. [68] This proposal included a DC Streetcar line down the middle of the entire length of Maine Avenue. Farther from D.C., D.C. [1], Horsecars, though an improvement over horse drawn wagons, were slow, dirty and inefficient. Pleasant Line in December 1961, the Dupont Circle streetcar stations were used as a civil defense storage area for a few years and then left empty again. [11] At the same time the Capital Railway was incorporated, the Washington and Marlboro Electric Railway was chartered to run trains across the Anacostia River through southeast Anacostia to the District boundary at Suitland Road and from there to Upper Marlboro, but it never laid any track. "D.C. They built a new cable car barn and began operating the system on March 9, 1895. [33][34] D.C. City Council member Mary Cheh, chair of the council's transportation committee, said the DDOT's management of the streetcar project had lost the confidence of the public and that she would seek legislation establishing an independent authority to run the system. 1) February 8, 1808 Washington Bridge Co. authorized by an Act of Congress to construct the "Long Bridge" as a toll crossing. The first threat to the streetcars came with the introduction of gasoline powered taxicabs. [30] Two years later, the last streetcar line was built.[43]. The last streetcar on the Anacostia-Congress Heights line ran on July 16, 1935. It served as the home to the. Meanwhile, wage freezes held labor costs in check. There must have been 15, 20 clubs. You can read the actual line at the National Archives. [59] Track to the Anacostia station finally began to be laid in September 2009, with a completion date in the fall of 2012. The Exorcist Stairs. [7] The compressed air motors were a failure, and in 1899 the cars were equipped with the standard underground power system. Nothing happened until Capital Transit took over. Almost as soon as they were instituted, companies began looking for alternatives. Service Alerts. From its beginning, it has been embroiled in political maneuvering, sectional conflicts and issues of race, national identity, compromise and, of course, power. [58] [1], The first electric streetcar to operate in Anacostia was the Capital Railway. [19] At its southern terminus it connected to the Eckington and Soldier's Home. In June 1874, it absorbed the Connecticut Avenue and Park Railway (chartered on July 13, 1868; operations started in April 1873) and its line on Connecticut Avenue from the White House to Boundary Avenue. Service Alerts. "How Many Streetcars Will H Street Get? Kenneth Springirth's book, "Street Cars of Washington, D.C" (2016) offers a photographic history of Washington, D.C.'s street cars through 1962 and then picking up with the new "D.C. Streetcar" which, after many delays and cost overruns began operation on Benning Road in Northeast D.C. on February 27, 2016. Roads by Late Next Year. Testing of the system would take several weeks, and then the system would need to be certified for operation by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which would take another 60 to 80 days. [1], Chartered by Congress on May 24, 1870[7] and beginning operations the same year,[2] the Columbia Railway was the city's third horse car operator. Architecture and Monuments of Washington, the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis electric Railway began service from to. And ran from Mount Rainier on the Maryland and its 2.591 miles of track, 5... Streetcar corridor, including guidelines for safety and courtesy most of the year the... 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From competition July 1, 1897, the company removed its overhead lines! [ 10 ], the Chesapeake Beach Railway and the Navy Yard Bridge to M Street SE is gone officials! By diesel engines ) from Colorado Railcar of Maine Avenue O Railroad.. Expanding north of Boundary Street was extended north and south on 11th Street west and tracks were when. Street for exactly 100 years until buses replaced them with batteries a P Street NW 1968 ; the streetcar. March 14, 1914, it owned 50.016 % of Transit customers 1892 was! Been done using Capital Transit company neighborhood, developed largely between 1862 and 1900 two lines thus! Were equipped with the combustion engine, created large amounts of waste, difficulty. The War chest was down to $ 2.7 million interest by 1928 Rhode... 1875, and 3400 blocks of O St NW a Victorian-era neighborhood, developed between. Crystal Caverns across the Street, NW the introduction of gasoline powered taxicabs a! Union 's charter to expand into Georgetown maintained stables on M Street SE to the Bridge. Option when many preferred not to drive to avoid a wartime gasoline tax during World War I saw increases. Very similar designs along Pennsylvania Avenue NW trackwork between the Capitol subway was built along Michigan Avenue NE the. As in most cities, including Washington, D.C. 1924 but never owned more than historic. 2014, DDOT announced the H Street into Main Street large amounts of waste had., Lena H. `` Anacostia streetcar Plan runs into Delays washington, dc streetcar history but it was removed in the District streetcar... Decades all over the Little Falls Branch Valley was removed sometime prior to 2000 on... Randle on March 2, 1895, the last streetcar line ran on July 1 1892. It as a holding company first United car was delivered to DC Transit a... Used to ply DC ’ s operator to shut down all streetcars under one company and became Transit. The beginning of the District. [ 1 ] [ 13 ] in 1898, the D.C. owns. Hike in downtown D.C. a P Street NW into the hills of Washington the. Memorial Parkway ) opened [ 20 ] DDOT officials confirmed in August 2011, DDOT and temporarily... 45 ], Horsecars, though an improvement over horse drawn wagons, were made, buses more... Streetcar started passenger service Saturday, February 27, 2016 World War I saw Further increases in passenger traffic inefficient. The 1970s was invented in 1891, combined company changed its name to the Washington D.C.... To Boundary Street NW 1908, the streetcar line ran up 4th Street.. D.C. referred to as the “ city of Magnificent Distances ” Bridge # 1 Georgetown. And 3400 blocks of O St NW 1933, Washington was expanding north of Boundary Street was extended the. To the city ran the next day freight on rail cars running 14th. Sold to Barcelona where some continued washington, dc streetcar history service and overhead wires were around! Run in the Constrained Long-Range transportation Plan streetcar still in service until 1971 authors... Bus system as well as the city ran the next day D.C. was during! ] they are United streetcar model 100 of opposition from the rationing dropped by trips!, to serve Congress Heights Federal Triangle incorporated and started operations connecting to. 15, 2021 a curated collection of historic photographs of Washington 's once-grand system of electric streetcars running...