Market day in Haymarket Square in Washington, D.C., 1865

chubachus

First Sergeant
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Location
Virginia
haymarket%2Bsquare%2Bwashington%2Bdc%2B1865.jpg


My guess is that this was taken on a market day and I was wondering if anyone recognized any military wagons in it? The wagon in the foreground on the left looks a bit like an ambulance wagon but I am not completely sure. The Smithsonian Castle is visible in the background on the right. The square was eventually demolished and is the site of the Department of Justice today.

Source.
 
This is an older thread, sorry to have missed it FOUR years ago! Took awhile. Boy are we fortunate a photographer documented 1865 DC. Grgrgrandparent's neighborhood was torn down too, right across from the Capitol. We'd have almost nothing to see of the old neighborhoods and businesses without these.

It's tough to ID a lot of these wagons. Canvas sides are mostly unmarked ( the ones we can see ). Would all army wagons have been marked?
 
Private venture wagons were contracted by the Army as well, so while we may want to distinguish what an "Army wagon" was, not many folks at the time would have. An Army wagon for July could be a dry goods wagon in October. Having said that, there were wagons of specific Army contract construction and use, in which case perhaps a maven of historic transport can call them out for us here.
 
My office is only a couple of blocks east of the Smithsonian Castle.

Looking out my office window today, it's hard to imagine that back during the Civil War, Washington, DC was mostly titled in private hands, covered with trees, and had a canal running under what is now Constitution Ave.

It's a shame in a way.

As recently as the 1960's Washington, DC had a village feel to it. You can glean it from reading old newspapers from back then.
They always carried the "Engagement & Marriage Announcements" of just regular folks from the local area.
 
Both Amtrak and CSX freight trains use those same rail road tracks to the left side of the photo.

Post 9/11 the security agencies wanted to close the tracks down, believing they posed a potential security vulnerability that could be exploited by terrorists.

Re-routing them around the city proved to be too expensive an option to consider.

That would also put and end to commuter rail service to DC which would have created another whole host of traffic problems.
 
I am having difficulty in lining up the original photo with the one I added. It appears an avenue with buildings is running adjacent to the warehousing complex, and I don't see it on the bird's-eye view. @JPK Huson 1863 points to it as an 1865 photo, so two years growth has occurred from the latter photo to the OP. Looks like a traffic jam just waiting to begin.
Lubliner.
 
I am having difficulty in lining up the original photo with the one I added. It appears an avenue with buildings is running adjacent to the warehousing complex, and I don't see it on the bird's-eye view. @JPK Huson 1863 points to it as an 1865 photo, so two years growth has occurred from the latter photo to the OP. Looks like a traffic jam just waiting to begin.
Lubliner.


Since it's D.C. that traffic jam is probably still there. :angel:
 
Okay, I got it resized. This was taken west-south-west and a bird's-eye view.
Lubliner.


Yes, fyi there are some massive images on LoC! I always resize images for this site anyway or just use the snipping tool to create one already at 100%.

Don't get me started on these DC city scapes. There are several more and fair warning, you can get lost in them.
 
I understood they built a bypass to get around it. Can you get a proper fix on where the OP's photo was taken in relation to the bird's-eye view. I can't put my head into the proper angle without getting a crick. Thanks,
Lubliner


Ah ha! You just knew it was still there! Hope they fed horses.

If no one else gets there first I'll have a shot at bird's eyeing it- you can find most of DC in that series- found Ford's Theater's roof, my grgrgrandparents house, one infamous hotel, a hearse, some gossiping women on street corner, a livery stable and around 100 cows.
 
Yes, fyi there are some massive images on LoC! I always resize images for this site anyway or just use the snipping tool to create one already at 100%.

Don't get me started on these DC city scapes. There are several more and fair warning, you can get lost in them.
No wonder, the marketplace looks like the horse stalls, and the horse stalls looks like the hospitals. Your blow-ups amaze me, and your eagle eye. I wish you would get started!
Lubliner.
 
Ah ha! You just knew it was still there! Hope they fed horses.

If no one else gets there first I'll have a shot at bird's eyeing it- you can find most of DC in that series- found Ford's Theater's roof, my grgrgrandparents house, one infamous hotel, a hearse, some gossiping women on street corner, a livery stable and around 100 cows.
What is the marble building at the base angle of the hypotenuse? Do you know.
 
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