Federal City Private Tours of DC

10/30/2024

One year before WWII began, Orson Wells & his Mercury Theater troop creatively exploited the fear of a nation with his radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, written as a reverse metaphor of Columbus’ arrival in the New World… with radio still in its infancy, reaction to the broadcast has established itself into America’s mythology…

Take a look back at the Orson Welles radio drama “The War of the Worlds,” the most famous broadcast in radio history.

03/04/2024

Just when you think we’re coming apart at the seams; when someone tells you, “We’ve never been more divided, as a country than we are today!” Remember Abraham Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address… yes, we HAVE been more divided, but in every instance, throughout our history, while people were saying, “If ________ is elected, our Grand Experiment is over, that has been said every 4 years, since 1800! So, be of good cheer - we’ve gotten thru it before & we’ll get thru it again…

in 1861 and 1865, Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office. He swore to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." As is customary, Lincoln also gave speeches. In the long list of Lincoln's orations, his inaugural addresses are quite unique, at the beginning and end of the Civil War. Let's compare the two!

The last lines of the First Inaugural:

"I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

The last lines of the Second Inaugural:

"With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ~ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."



Image📸: Alexander Gardner's photograph of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (LOC)

02/25/2024

In 1954, Hugh Beaver, (or ‘St. Hugh of Beaver’ as the Irish call him!☘️) was the managing director of the Guinness Brewery, & began research on a new book of records meant to help settle pub arguments….

02/14/2024

While celebrating Valentine’s Day’s with those you love, remember: there are people around you who have lost in ways we cannot fathom… this is the journal entry from 25 year old Theodore Roosevelt, 140 years ago, today. On this date, both his mother, Mittie & 22 year old wife, Alice Hathaway Lee died hours apart, in the same house - the saddest 8 words in recorded history… TR’s journal is part of the treasure trove that is the Library of Congress in Washington, DC…

Five-star concierge-level service means DC's Best Private Tour! It's not just a tour - it's a memory!

09/07/2023

Local Washington, DC legend, Col. Carl Johnson (Left), the last of the famed Tuskegee Airmen recently passed away in Ashburn, Virginia…

08/24/2023

With the 60th anniversary of JFK’s murder on the horizon and 60 years of the loudest obfuscations around this singular event, Mr. Gregory has written a book from a most unexpected point-of-view: he actually knew & spent time with the Oswalds!
Gregory points out that most of the conspiracies surrounding the events of late November, 1963 are proffered by people who have never read the Warren Report and never offered any proof of conspiracy. Having read the report, myself, Gregory’s The Oswalds rings even more true. The Untold Account of Marina and Lee sheds even more personal light on the mind of the pathetic assassin than the Warren Report did - and the Warren Report (contrary to some) was pretty thorough. The book is so well written, it felt like l had stumbled upon a diary that I shouldn’t be reading - that’s how intimately his account is presented. The “historical entrepreneurs” will be out after Labor Day, peddling the newest or re-hashing the most tired of old conspiracy theories. If you want a balanced account of the man accused of murdering the president (and murdering any sense of trust in the government), take it from someone who was there - take it from someone who knew some key players - The Oswald’s: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Gregory Paul. Entertaining, informative and very well written - in a noisy world, thanks for the gem!

08/19/2023

Why is everything in DC always under construction/ repair? Because history not only must be taught, it must be cared for…

Construction on the Lincoln Memorial continues as the iconic front steps are undergoing a waterproofing process. Temporary walls are up to keep visitors and workers safe and some of the front columns are wrapped to protect them from any potential damage. This is an early phase of the project to create 15,000 square feet of exhibit space and provide a look at the structure’s foundations in a cavernous area known as the undercroft. Learn more about the project at www.nps.gov/nama/learn/news/undercroft.htm

Photo by National Park Service.

04/01/2023

02/02/2023

In 1926, amidst punishing Jim Crow segregation and a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, Dr. Carter G. Woodson established “Negro History Week”…