All-Encompassing Trip

Hello. My name is Guillermo Esteves. I design & build websites. I live in Washington, DC and work at Vox Media as a front-end developer for The Verge. I also run D.C. Past, a blog of historic photographs of Washington, DC.

19-year-old high school dropout builds 100-million-blog platform, sells it at age 26 for a cool billion. Pretty fucking awesome, if you ask me.

dcpast:

June 16, 1937. “Walk 800 [sic] miles to attend Boy Scout Jamboree. Washington, D.C. June 16. Two Venezuelan Boy Scouts, Rafael Petit, left and Juan Carmona, right, examining their boots after tramping 25 miles a day for two years in order to attend the Boy Scout Jamboree in Washington [they] left [Caracas], January 11, 1935 arriving in Washington today.” Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress.

dcpast:

June 16, 1937. “Walk 800 [sic] miles to attend Boy Scout Jamboree. Washington, D.C. June 16. Two Venezuelan Boy Scouts, Rafael Petit, left and Juan Carmona, right, examining their boots after tramping 25 miles a day for two years in order to attend the Boy Scout Jamboree in Washington [they] left [Caracas], January 11, 1935 arriving in Washington today.” Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress.

Yahoo to hold Monday press event as Tumblr buyout rumors swirl:


  CNBC is reporting that Yahoo will hold a “product-related” news event this Monday in New York City. None other than CEO Marissa Mayer will be speaking at the event. Exactly what Yahoo plans to announce hasn’t yet been disclosed, but news of the event comes in the midst of rumors pointing to an acquisition of Tumblr. The extraordinarily popular microblogging site is based out of Manhattan, so the location would make sense if a deal has indeed been finalized.

Yahoo to hold Monday press event as Tumblr buyout rumors swirl:

CNBC is reporting that Yahoo will hold a “product-related” news event this Monday in New York City. None other than CEO Marissa Mayer will be speaking at the event. Exactly what Yahoo plans to announce hasn’t yet been disclosed, but news of the event comes in the midst of rumors pointing to an acquisition of Tumblr. The extraordinarily popular microblogging site is based out of Manhattan, so the location would make sense if a deal has indeed been finalized.

dcpast:

June 16, 1937. “2 boy scouts walk 800 miles to Washington. Washington, D.C., June 16. A modern odyssey ended today with the arrival in Washington of two Venezuelan Boy Scouts, starting January 11, 1935 from Caracas they tramped 25 miles a day for two years thru jungles and swamps to be here in time for the Boy Scout Jamboree, they were met on the steps of the Capitol by the Minister from Venezuela Dr. Don Diogenes Escalante, and Mrs. Juan Lecuna, wife of the Attache of the Legation, Rafael Angel Petit, and Juan Carmona, on the right.” Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress.

dcpast:

June 16, 1937. “2 boy scouts walk 800 miles to Washington. Washington, D.C., June 16. A modern odyssey ended today with the arrival in Washington of two Venezuelan Boy Scouts, starting January 11, 1935 from Caracas they tramped 25 miles a day for two years thru jungles and swamps to be here in time for the Boy Scout Jamboree, they were met on the steps of the Capitol by the Minister from Venezuela Dr. Don Diogenes Escalante, and Mrs. Juan Lecuna, wife of the Attache of the Legation, Rafael Angel Petit, and Juan Carmona, on the right.” Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress.

thisistheverge:

Body Massage: GI Joe and the invention of the viral video
2003 was an important year for American culture: Baghdad fell, the Human Genome Project was completed, Britney and Madonna French-kissed at the MTV Music Video Awards. And no less significantly, at least as far as internet culture is concerned, it was also the year of the “GI Joe PSAs”: 25 weird, short videos made from re-edited versions of ‘80s GI Joe cartoons. Before YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter were alive to launch a meme in a minute, the GI Joe PSAs went “viral” in a time when that idea didn’t even exist. 

thisistheverge:

Body Massage: GI Joe and the invention of the viral video

2003 was an important year for American culture: Baghdad fell, the Human Genome Project was completed, Britney and Madonna French-kissed at the MTV Music Video Awards. And no less significantly, at least as far as internet culture is concerned, it was also the year of the “GI Joe PSAs”: 25 weird, short videos made from re-edited versions of ‘80s GI Joe cartoons. Before YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter were alive to launch a meme in a minute, the GI Joe PSAs went “viral” in a time when that idea didn’t even exist. 

dcpast:

1993. “View looking to front of statue – U.S. Capitol, Statue of Freedom, Intersection of North, South, & East Capitol Streets & Capitol Mall, Washington, District of Columbia, DC.” Boucher, Jack E., creator. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey. Library of Congress.

From the Architect of the Capitol:


  While the statue had been cleaned in place over the years, in 1991 it was determined that to fully restore the statue, it would have to come down. On May 9, 1993, Freedom was lifted from its pedestal and lowered onto the east front plaza. The conservation effort included removing corrosion and caulk and stripping the interior paint. Repairs included 750 bronze plugs and patches. Chemicals were applied to restore the patina, and the bronze was given protective coatings. The cast iron pedestal was cleaned, repaired, and painted in place atop the dome. The statue was lifted back in place by helicopter in September 1993, the bicentennial of the laying of the first cornerstone of the Capitol.


This is such an amazing photo. It might be my favorite one in all of DC Past so far.

dcpast:

1993. “View looking to front of statue – U.S. Capitol, Statue of Freedom, Intersection of North, South, & East Capitol Streets & Capitol Mall, Washington, District of Columbia, DC.” Boucher, Jack E., creator. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey. Library of Congress.

From the Architect of the Capitol:

While the statue had been cleaned in place over the years, in 1991 it was determined that to fully restore the statue, it would have to come down. On May 9, 1993, Freedom was lifted from its pedestal and lowered onto the east front plaza. The conservation effort included removing corrosion and caulk and stripping the interior paint. Repairs included 750 bronze plugs and patches. Chemicals were applied to restore the patina, and the bronze was given protective coatings. The cast iron pedestal was cleaned, repaired, and painted in place atop the dome. The statue was lifted back in place by helicopter in September 1993, the bicentennial of the laying of the first cornerstone of the Capitol.

This is such an amazing photo. It might be my favorite one in all of DC Past so far.

dcpast:

May 9, 1993. “View of Statue of Freedom airlifted off of the dome – U.S. Capitol, Statue of Freedom, Intersection of North, South, & East Capitol Streets & Capitol Mall, Washington, District of Columbia, DC.” Boucher, Jack E., creator. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey. Library of Congress.

From the Architect of the Capitol:


  While the statue had been cleaned in place over the years, in 1991 it was determined that to fully restore the statue, it would have to come down. On May 9, 1993, Freedom was lifted from its pedestal and lowered onto the east front plaza. The conservation effort included removing corrosion and caulk and stripping the interior paint. Repairs included 750 bronze plugs and patches. Chemicals were applied to restore the patina, and the bronze was given protective coatings. The cast iron pedestal was cleaned, repaired, and painted in place atop the dome. The statue was lifted back in place by helicopter in September 1993, the bicentennial of the laying of the first cornerstone of the Capitol.

dcpast:

May 9, 1993. “View of Statue of Freedom airlifted off of the dome – U.S. Capitol, Statue of Freedom, Intersection of North, South, & East Capitol Streets & Capitol Mall, Washington, District of Columbia, DC.” Boucher, Jack E., creator. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey. Library of Congress.

From the Architect of the Capitol:

While the statue had been cleaned in place over the years, in 1991 it was determined that to fully restore the statue, it would have to come down. On May 9, 1993, Freedom was lifted from its pedestal and lowered onto the east front plaza. The conservation effort included removing corrosion and caulk and stripping the interior paint. Repairs included 750 bronze plugs and patches. Chemicals were applied to restore the patina, and the bronze was given protective coatings. The cast iron pedestal was cleaned, repaired, and painted in place atop the dome. The statue was lifted back in place by helicopter in September 1993, the bicentennial of the laying of the first cornerstone of the Capitol.

dcpast:

1993. “View of Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol Dome but under scaffolding – U.S. Capitol, Statue of Freedom, Intersection of North, South, & East Capitol Streets & Capitol Mall, Washington, District of Columbia, DC.” Boucher, Jack E., creator. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey. Library of Congress.

dcpast:

1993. “View of Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol Dome but under scaffolding – U.S. Capitol, Statue of Freedom, Intersection of North, South, & East Capitol Streets & Capitol Mall, Washington, District of Columbia, DC.” Boucher, Jack E., creator. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey. Library of Congress.