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Capitol Hill Voices & Memories
We have over 200 interviews from the many voices of Capitol Hill. Use the filters below to refine your search by topic and/or time period.
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21st century
Mary Ellen Abrecht
Mary Ellen Abrecht, a retired D.C. Superior Court judge, moved to Washington in the turbulent 1960s and joined the Metropolitan Police Department.
Gary Abrecht
Gary Abrecht’s interview spans the years 1967 to 2000 and is a warm and poignant recollection of over 30 years working in law enforcement in Washington, DC.
Mildred "Sis" Allen
Mildred Allen, who lived in the same block as Christ Church starting in 1931, was known to all church members and neighbors as "Sis".
Sonda Allen
In this 2009 interview, Colleen Cruikshank talks with Sonda Allen, a gold and silversmith who has sold her own jewelry at Eastern Market since the early 1990s under the trade name Turtle's Webb.
Maureen Shea and Kenn Allen
Maureen Shea and Kenn Allen are active volunteers, involved parishioners of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and Capitol Hill residents for nearly 50 years. In 2023 they received a Capitol Hill Community Foundation Achievement Award for their dedication to the community.
Sharon Ambrose
Former DC Council member Sharon Ambrose, a Chicago native, was born to political life, accompanying her grandfather in door- to-door campaigning during the 1950s.
Tony Ambrosi
Tony Ambrosi was born in 1911 and grew up in Schott’s Place, an Italian enclave in the interior of the block where the Dirksen and Hart Senate Office buildings are now located.
Donnald Anderson
Donnald Anderson's years on Capitol Hill predate his professional career—he began as a Capitol page during high school and graduated from the Capitol Page School.
Ernest Antignani
Ernest Antignani came to Washington in the mid-1950s to attend Georgetown University's Foreign Service school.
Melissa Ashabranner
When Melissa met Hill Rag founder Jean-Keith Fagon, the paper was well established. She joined him and used her MBA skills to manage the business and keep it profitable.
Helen Atkins
Helen Atkins, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Valentine's Day 2008, arrived in Washington with her widowed father during World War I. She moved to Capitol Hill after her 1935 marriage and remained until recent years.
Helene Au
Helene Au was born on Capitol Hill and spent almost all of her 105 years living here. She died on May 18, 2019. Miss Au's paternal grandfather settled on Capitol Hill in 1873 when he immigrated from Germany and took a position with the Marine Band.
Pearl and Joel Bailes
Joel Bailes plays the piano and the fiddle and Pearl the harmonica with the Capitol Hillbillies, the performing group they founded in 1983. Even if you don’t recognize their names, you probably have enjoyed their music on the Hill.
Frances Barnes
Frances Barnes's family stretches back generations in Washington, DC; so far that she isn't exactly sure when they first arrived.
Georgiana Barnes
Georgiana Barnes married and moved to Capitol Hill, or Southeast Washington as it was called then, on Christmas Day 1933.
Linda Barnes
Linda Barnes moved to Washington as a young bride in 1963, and had lived on East Capitol Street for 35 years when she was interviewed in 2002.
Pauline Bates
Pauline Bates was born in Alexandria, VA, in 1913, and spent 63 years of her adult life on Capitol Hill, at 506 Seventh Street SE.
Grover Batts
Grover Batts came to Washington in 1951, after serving in World War II, and went to work at the manuscript division of the Library of Congress, a position he kept until retirement.
Lola Beaver
Lola Beaver's life on Capitol Hill revolved around her Costume Shop at Eighth and A Streets NE, which she opened in 1968, not long after the riots.
Michael Berman
Michael Berman, an artist and Capitol Hill resident, started selling his work at Eastern Market in 1992, when newcomers had to get in line early to get a spot among the Saturday outdoor vendors.
Robert J. Beverly, Sr., and family
Almost every Beverly family story involves their house -- the Big House at 308 Independence Avenue SE, on a lot purchased by their grandmother, daughter of former slaves, in 1886.
Lora Stirling Birch
Roberta Blanchard
Roberta Blanchard opened Fairy Godmother book and toy store on Seventh Street SE in 1984. it's still in operation at the same location over three decades later. Prior to that, she'd had children and became involved in the neighborhood.
William Boswell
Bill Boswell’s family lived at 11 D Street SE for 160 years—almost as long as Capitol Hill has been a residential community. As the last Boswell to live there, Bill's interviews cover generations of house, family, and neighborhood history.
Ellen Breen
A fifth generation Washingtonian on one side of her family and daughter of an Irish immigrant on the other, Ellen Cannon Breen lived from age 2 to 17 on Capitol Hill, from 1920 to the mid-1930s.
Bruce Brennan
When asked how he got ‘sucked into’ one of the volunteer tasks he performed during his years on Capitol Hill, Bruce Brennan answered, “I like to be a helper.” Stories about his activities, as told during the interview, support that statement.
Patricia Briel
Patricia Briel, youngest child in a large family, grew up in a house at 315 First Street SE, later torn down and currently the location of the Capitol South Metro station.
Anne Brockett
Anne Brockett, an architectural historian with the DC Historic Preservation Office, discusses the rehabilitation of Eastern Market in this June 2009, interview with Beth Hannold.
Rosetta Brooks
Capitol Hill native Rosetta Brooks has taught ballet to two generations of dancers at St. Mark's Church.
Patty Brosmer
Now President of the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District, Patty Brosmer has been a part of the BID movement since helping to develop the necessary legislation from 1995-1999.
Dudley Brown
A widely respected expert in historic restoration, Dudley Brown had long family connections to Capitol Hill, including his grandmother who ran a boarding house.
Sah Brown
Sah Brown served as the dynamic principal of Capitol Hill’s Eastern High School for six years. In this interview, he describes his nontraditional route to a career in education and talks about Eastern’s distinguished history, vibrant present, and supportive community.
Chuck Burger
In 2009, Chuck Burger discussed his history as an owner of a store across from Eastern Market in the 1980s.
Chuck Burger
In 2010, Chuck Burger received a Community Achievement Award and was interviewed by Stephanie Deutsch in preparation for that.
Chris Calomiris
A grocer at Eastern Market since 1963, Chris Calomiris was for years one of the most familiar faces on Capitol Hill. What's less well known is that Chris was a Capitol Hill native.
Maria Calomiris
Maria Calomiris worked alongside her husband Chris and later their sons at the Calomiris Fruits & Vegetables produce business in Eastern Market's South Hall, starting in the early 1960s.
Leon Calomiris
Leon Calomiris was interviewed by Peter Barker, an American University graduate student researching multi-generational Eastern Market South Hall vendor families.
Francis Campbell
The family of Francis Campbell, a Capitol Hill native, has been here since the 1920s. He was interviewed when he received the 2013 Community Achievement Award.
Emilio Canales
Emilio Canales didn’t know much about meat in 1992, when he bought the Eastern Market South Hall business that became Canales Quality Meats.
Jose Canales
Jose Canales was seeking the American Dream when he left El Salvador. In 1983, he became a South Hall vendor at Eastern Market. His 2009 interview is part of the Project's special focus on the Market.
Mike and Judy Canning
Judy and Mike Canning, winners of the 2009 Community Achievement Award, were interviewed by Stephanie Deutsch in preparation for that event.
Helen Carey
Helen Carey "backed into" the real esate business when she assisted a friend with the renovation of Georgetown alley dwellings and later managed their rental.
Bryan Cassidy
Bryan Cassidy arrived in Washington from Ireland in the mid-1960s, newly wed and seeking employment as an architect.
Sig Cohen
After Sig Cohen moved to Capitol Hill in 1986, his contributions to the neighborhood have included founding the Hill Havurah Jewish Community and participating in the Capitol Hill Group Ministry.
Carl Cole
Carl Cole was born in Southwest Washington but his ties to Capitol Hill are extensive.
Mary Colston
Mary Colston lived in the same two-story rowhouse in the 500 block of Second Street NE from 1947 until 2002.
Patrick Coyne
Patrick Coyne jokingly says he's still teaching five year olds to play soccer 25 years after starting that volunteer coaching task because he "need[s] kids to yell at" and his own don't listen any more.
Paul Cromwell
Paul Cromwell was awarded a CommunityAchievement Award in 2015, based primarily on his contributions to youth and women's soccer teams and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society.
Sally Carlson Crowell
Sally Carlson Crowell, founder of Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, turned her passion for the arts into her livelihood and created a now venerable neighborhood institution.
Patrick Crowley
Patrick Crowley saw the deplorable condition of Congressional Cemetery while walking his Saint Bernard in the 1990s. He joined other dog-walkers to create a volunteer effort to improve the grounds.
Tony Cuozzo
Tony Cuozzo's father was an Italian immigrant who sold fruits and vegetables from a horse-drawn cart in the Southeast part of Capitol Hill.
Steve and Nicky Cymrot
In this 2010 interview, Steve Cymrot says "The Hebrew word for charity is the same as the word for justice," which helps explain Steve's and his wife Nicky's amazing history of service to Capitol Hill for over 40 years.
Nicky Cymrot, RE Hill Center
In 2000, neighbors organized to seek a suitable use for Capitol Hill's delapidated Old Naval Hospital. This interview is an oral record of the 11 year effort that resulted in its conversion to Hill Center.
Leah Daniels
Leah Daniels, founder and owner of gourmet kitchenware store Hills Kitchen, which she opened in 2008, was honored with a joint 2014 Community Achievement Award along with her parents, Maygene and Steve Daniels.
Steve and Maygene Daniels
Steve and Maygene Daniels moved to Capitol Hill as newlyweds in 1972. They raised their children, Eddie and Leah, in the community, quickly becoming involved in schools and community organizations.
Lawrence and Claire Davis
Claire and Larry Davis, Capitol Hill residents since 1969, bought their house for its garden and made extensive use of it through the years.
Don Denton
This interview with longtime Hill realtor Don Denton conducted by former ANC 6B chair Ken Jarboe focuses on the 2002 creation of the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District (BID). Both Denton and Jarboe were instrumental in the effort that led to the successful establishment of the BID.
Vincent DiFrancesco
Vincent DiFrancesco was born at home in 1916 at 137 B Street SE, also his father's shoe repair shop. His 2013 interview is full of stories of the immediate neighborhood.
George Didden, Jr.
George Didden, Jr., had been a member of the Board of National Capital Bank for 50 years when Ruth Ann Overbeck interviewed him in 1990.
Dan Donahue
Dan Donahue's first experience as a vendor outside Eastern Market was selling bulbs for the Capitol Hill Garden Club. Next he sold plants that he raised on a rooftop in Southwest.
Raymond Donohoe
Ray Donohoe was born at old Providence Hospital and spent his early years at 159 Kentucky Avenue where the exploits of the six Donohoe boys often brought visits from the police whenever mischief occurred.
Eleanor Drabo
Since 1991, artist and college history professor Eleanor Drabo has sold jewelry under the name Drabo Gallery at Eastern Market's weekend outdoor operation.
Patricia Taffe Driscoll
In 1960, Pat Taffe Driscoll and her husband Bill moved to the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where they and their three sons had close-up views of a challenging period in the country's history.
Bill Driscoll
Bill Driscoll grew up in New York City but has spent almost all of his adult life on Capitol Hill.
Ralph Dwan
Ralph Dwan was a Catholic priest working for the Washington archdiocese when he first came to the Hill in the mid-1960s.
Karin Edgett
Karin Edgett developed a 2006 branding campaign for Eastern Market and created indoor and outdoor graphic signage that enlivened the temporary market structure after the 2007 fire.
Randy Edwards
Randy Edwards was born and raised on Capitol Hill, but his ties to the neighborhood through subsequent years revolve around his long-time membership in the (Masonic) Naval Lodge on Pennsylvania Avenue SE.
Monte Edwards
When the 1999 Eastern Market legislation mandated creation of the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee, the Stanton Park Neighborhood Association chose Monte Edwards as its representative.
Harold Engle
As a World War II veteran attending graduate school, Harold Engle enjoyed walking the shady streets of Capitol Hill while doing research at the Library of Congress.
Peter Eveleth
Capitol Hill resident Peter Eveleth decided in 1974 that DC's brand new system of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions sounded "very interesting," so he ran for commissioner of ANC 6B06 and was elected.
James C. Finley
For forty-one years, as a labor of love, Jim Finley ran a no-frills boxing gym on the second floor of his auto repair shop on Tenth Street NE.
John Harrison (Harry) Ford
John Ford, born on Capitol Hill in 1924, grew up in a large family at 328 Ninth Street SE and lived and worked most of his life on Capitol Hill.
John and Cynde Foster
Cynde Tiches Foster's father bought Jimmy T's Place at Fifth and East Capitol Streets SE in 1969, so she began working there while in high school. She and John, a regular customer, met at the restaurant in the early 80s and married in 1991.
David Fowler
David Fowler's family has farmed and sold produce at Eastern Market since 1873, and before that at the city's Center Market. They were at the market the Saturday after the 2007 fire, not missing a week.
Greg Frane
Greg Frane was one of four men awarded the Capitol Hill Community Foundation's Spark Award in 2016.Through more than 30 years, Greg's roles evolved as did that of SOTH, now known as Sports on the Hill.
Adiante Franszoon
In this April 2009, interview, Adiante Franszoon told Vera Oye’ Yaa-Anna about his 18 years as a vendor at Eastern Market.
John Franzén
John Franzén lived on Capitol Hill for "more than two decades before getting involved in the neighborhood." He more than made up for that over the next two decades as he became a vital contributor to Hill organizations.
Isaac Fulwood, Jr.
Isaac Fulwood, Jr. served Washington, DC, as Police Chief from 1989 to 1992, but long before that, his character was formed by the neighborhood near Kentucky Avenue SE that fostered a sense of community during his childhood.
Brian Furness
Brian Furness was interviewed by Mary Weirich in May 2005, just before he and his wife moved from Capitol Hill to New Orleans. By that time, he had been a Capitol Hill resident for over 35 years, in between State Department foreign postings.
Larry Gallo
After moving to Capitol Hill in 1974 as a government worker, Larry Gallo interned with a silversmith and began exhibiting his own hand-crafted jewelry among the Arts and Crafts vendors at Eastern Market in 1992.
Dorothy Garris
Dorothy Garris’s life on Capitol Hill involves her family, her teaching career, and the New United Baptist Church, founded by her late husband, the Reverend Grant Garris.
Pauline Getek
Pauline Getek grew up on a farm near Fredericksburg, VA, and attended a one room school. She worked in the Alexandria Torpedo Factory during World War II, when the product being made was torpedos, not art.
Bill Glasgow
Bill Glasgow, owner of Union Meat Company in Eastern Market's South Hall, is a member of one of the longest active vendor families -- his father and uncle started the company in 1946.
Bill Glasgow
In this interview, Bill Glasgow elaborates on his assessment of the "turning points for Eastern Market" throughout its history.
Bette and Peter Glickert
When Bette and Peter Glickert married in 1959, they bought the end house of Philadelphia Row. At the time, the house, now a familiar beauty, had been condemned.
Ken Golding
At the time of this interview, Ken Golding was president of Market Row Association, representing the interests of merchants and owners of the "bricks and mortar" businesses surrounding Eastern Market.
Hal Gordon
Working through Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian's Church, Hal Gordon and his wife Janice founded the Community Action Group to "[address] the social ills that were retarding the personal development and struggle of poor people."
Walter Graham
Walter Graham grew up in the 1200 block of G Street SE from the 1920s to 1940s. In this interview with Ida Prosky, he remembers details of life on Capitol Hill before and during World War II.
Luis Granados
Luis Granados began volunteering with Sports on the Hill in 1994 when his son was six years old.
Josephine Green
One of five children, Josephine Green was born near the Navy Yard in 1931. After working at the General Accounting Office and the Geological Survey, she bought her own home near D and 11th Streets NE in the 1970s.
Neal and Janice Gregory
Neal Gregory arrived in DC in 1963, and in 1970 Janice Maxwell came to work for Texas Congressman Jake Pickle. They met when Neal came to Pickle's office to interview him, and they married the next year.
William Griffiths
William (Bill) Griffiths was instrumental in helping his friend John Harrod begin Eastern Market’s Saturday morning craft markets in 1980. In 2004 they teamed to sponsor the weekly tango lessons in the Market’s North Hall that continue to this day.
Emily Guthrie
Emily Guthrie, who became executive director of the Capitol Hill Group Ministry in 2002, has noted that its membership has expanded beyond Christian churches and is now truly interfaith.
Marie Sansalone Guy
Marie Guy remembers many details of growing up during the 1930s and 40s behind the Sansalone family grocery store, now the site of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Clifford Hackett
Cliff Hackett and his wife arrived in Washington in 1964 looking for housing for their family of six children; they'd already decided to live in the city and not commute.
Sidney M. Hais
Sidney Hais was born at home in 1914 above his father’s market at Seventh and C NE and remained active on the Hill until the 1980s when he ended his real estate investment activities in the neighborhood.
Stephen Hall
From his first visit to Washington as a child in 1944, (Joseph) Stephen Hall found the city a “ great wonderment.” In these two interviews, Dr. Hall recounts his years in the area since 1958.
Rosetta Hall Hamm
When Rosetta Hall Hamm was born, her family was living near South Capitol and D Streets SE. They later moved to E Street SE, so Rosetta has spent almost her entire life on the Hill.
Carol Harris
Carol Mills Harris recalls Capitol Hill as her childhood home from 1933-1944, when all the Mall and the cultural events there were her classroom and playground.
Charles Harris and Mary Freeman
Siblings Charles Harris and Mary Winifred "Winnie" Harris Freeman were born and grew up in a house on Ninth Street SE that had been in their family for nearly 100 years at the time of their August 2005, interview with Mary Ann Wyrsch.
Anne Brockett
Anne Brockett, an architectural historian with the DC Historic Preservation Office, discusses the rehabilitation of Eastern Market in this June 2009, interview with Beth Hannold.
Patty Brosmer
Now President of the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District, Patty Brosmer has been a part of the BID movement since helping to develop the necessary legislation from 1995-1999.
Sah Brown
Sah Brown served as the dynamic principal of Capitol Hill’s Eastern High School for six years. In this interview, he describes his nontraditional route to a career in education and talks about Eastern’s distinguished history, vibrant present, and supportive community.
Nicky Cymrot, RE Hill Center
In 2000, neighbors organized to seek a suitable use for Capitol Hill's delapidated Old Naval Hospital. This interview is an oral record of the 11 year effort that resulted in its conversion to Hill Center.
Don Denton
This interview with longtime Hill realtor Don Denton conducted by former ANC 6B chair Ken Jarboe focuses on the 2002 creation of the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District (BID). Both Denton and Jarboe were instrumental in the effort that led to the successful establishment of the BID.
Martha Huizenga
Martha Huizenga was awarded a Community Achievement Award in 2012, acknowledging her years of service as an officer and Board member of CHAMPS, the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, and the Capitol Hill Group Ministry.
Ken Jarboe
Ken Jarboe served 12 years as an elected Commissioner for ANC 6B and was Chair during 2001 and 2002.
Joanne Jung
Joanne Jung and her husband owned Paik Produce at Eastern Market beginning in 2006.
Michael and Joan Kim
Michael and Joan Kim, owners of Grubb’s Pharmacy, received a Capitol Hill Community Foundation Achievement Award in 2022 for community contributions that became vividly evident during the Covid pandemic.
Scott Kratz
Scott Kratz is a civic leader, Director, 11th Street Bridge Park, and Vice President, Building Bridges Across the River.
Barry Margeson
Barry Margeson began managing Eastern Market for the DC Department of Real Estate Services on January 1, 2009, and oversaw the June 2009 move from the temporary building to the restored 1893 building.
Bill McLeod
Bill McLeod, was Executive Director of Barracks Row Main Street from August 2002 to December 2006, during the period in which the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District was being formed.
Kathleen Penney
It's not often that a government functionary describes a meeting regarding a major project as "one of the most fun afternoons we had," but Kathleen Penney's June 2009 interview includes that quote.
James Perry
James Perry is the band director of the Eastern High School Marching Band, AKA the “Blue and White Marching Machine” and “The Pride of Capitol Hill.”
Susan Perry
Susan Perry is a long-time Hill resident who joined the early efforts to establish the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District, using her extensive background in public transportation issues to the benefit of her neighborhood.
Bill Press
A resident of the Hill since 1996, political commentator Bill Press was a 2023 Capitol Hill Community Foundation honoree for his Hill Center “Talk of the Hill” series.
Bill Rouchell
Bill Rouchell, owner of Maison Orleans Bed and Breakfast, was president of the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals (CHAMPS) from 2000-2002 when a Capitol Hill Business Improvement District was first considered.
Michael and Becky Skinner
Becky and Michael Skinner’s impact on Capitol Hill can be felt from many a youth playing field to the founding of the Two Rivers Charter School to the origination of the Pendragwn Youth Film Festival.