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City Cast DC

Happy first day, D.C. Public Schools! But it’s not all name games and first day ‘fits.

DMV public schools are working through a lot of changes as they figure out how to navigate Trump’s takeover, trans bathroom debates, and cell phones. Here are the things we’ll be keeping an eye on as the District heads back to school this week:

Members of D.C.’s Board of Education want to 

 as an added layer of safety against the influx of ICE, National Guard and security checkpoints. Officials and parents worry that kids will be misidentified or profiled when coming to and from school. Time reports 

 among D.C.’s school communities amid the takeover.

it may pull funding from five northern Virginia school districts

 over their refusal to comply with new trans bathroom policies. The schools 

 defending their policies that allow students to use bathrooms based on gender identity, saying they have been closely following the law.

Standardized test scores from last spring show that more D.C. students are 

 than before the pandemic. More than 37 percent of kids are reading proficiently, three points higher than last year. Math scores are also up, with 26 percent of students performing at grade level. D.C.’s education superintendent says that they hope to see more gains through continued teacher training, tutoring, and acceleration programs.

instituting a “bell-to-bell” cell phone ban

 this school year. Middle and high schoolers’ phones will be turned off and stored away for the school day in an attempt to boost students' learning and social well-being. Many of 

 already have phone bans, but some parents are still worried about reaching their kids in an emergency.

Inside The New Policy Changing DC Schools

This year, DMV public schools are working through navigating Trump’s takeover, trans bathroom debates, and cell phones. Here what we're keeping an eye on.

DC Heads Back to School Amid Federal Takeover

What's being decided in DC City Hall and why it matters. We monitor local elections, political news, and DC City Council.

DC Election and City Hall News

Local Civics

The Hill has been turned on its head this week and it has us thinking about simpler times, when our town was just being built.

In the summer of 1800, John Adams had the federal government pack up and move from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. The move was part of 

, a plan to appease pro-slavery states who feared a northern capital would be too sympathetic to abolitionists. (But I mean, 

At the time, there were only about 125 federal employees (compared to almost two million today). However, D.C. wasn’t totally ready for governing yet. The Capitol was still under construction.

Construction on the Capitol began in 1793. It was a time-consuming process as sandstone had to be shipped in from Virginia. It was also hard to convince skilled workers to leave their homes to come to the relative wilderness of Capitol Hill to work on the project.

Enslaved laborers were therefore rented from their owners, and were involved in almost every stage of construction. They quarried the stone used for the floors and columns, sawed it, and became skilled in brick making and laying.

. He figured out how to separate the five-piece plaster model of the Statue of Freedom using a pulley and tackle system that had stumped everyone for weeks.

Construction wasn’t fully complete until 1830, and since then, the Capitol has had several phases of construction, including the dome, to make it look like it does today.

In the summer of 1800, John Adams had the federal government pack up and move from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. However, the swampy city wasn’t totally ready for governing yet. The Capitol was still under construction.

From the Archives: Building a Capital

People, places, and scenes from DC's past.

DC History

Recognize this facade? Nob Hill in Columbia Heights was one of the first openly gay bars in both D.C. and the U.S. It is now home to Wonderland Ballroom.

When Nob Hill opened, D.C. was still very much racially segregated, and it catered mainly to gay Black men who were shut out of queer nightlife. 

 as a private social club, but became a public bar just a few years later and remained in business for over 50 years. It is considered D.C.'s longest-operating gay bar.

The bar hosted everything from male dancers to weekly “Gospel Hours” with the local church. The low-key club 

 “a house party that charged a cover,” and some of the longtime regulars even had their own personal glasses.

 and kicked off a booming gay nightlife scene in D.C., which has only gotten stronger.

 after being charged and fined with several alcohol code violations by the city. Today, the building has been revived as Wonderland Ballroom, an equally divey house party-like bar that has become a D.C. classic for all ages and orientations.

The History of DC’s First Gay Clubs

Avalon Theater in Chevy Chase just turned 100, making it one of the oldest operating movie houses in the region. It’s a modern miracle that it is still running, as most of the original movie theaters in D.C. have been demolished or converted to retail use.

 to screen silent films. At the time, there were 1,200 seats (it now only seats 450) and a giant pipe organ to accompany old movies.

The theater declared bankruptcy in 2001 and was closed and stripped of its seats and projection equipment. Fearing it would be demolished completely, the neighborhood rallied, formed a nonprofit, and raised restoration funds. The Avalon reopened to great excitement two years later.

These days, the theater screens everything from blockbusters to independent and foreign films that you can’t find elsewhere. It also serves as a community center with youth and family programming, classes, and events.

City Cast DC talked with two of the Avalon’s board members about how the community 

The History of the Avalon Theater 

What is the goal of the Environmental Justice Center?

First and most importantly, it's to center community. When we think of environmental justice, we often go directly to the science, and of course, we believe in the science. But we also believe in the community's ability to solve its own problems. We want to make sure those on the ground who are impacted have an opportunity to look at solutions and see their own power in creating a more equitable and just environment.

Why should folks in D.C. see environmental justice as a pressing issue?

People don't prioritize issues related to the environment until they impact them personally. But we are starting to see more people, especially more communities of color, recognizing it. For example, D.C. has a lot of issues with lead paint and water quality that you're kind of forced to pay attention to. We are hoping people understand that environmental justice is not just about having a wonderful garden, but it's also creating a healthy environment for you.

What types of programming will be at the Environmental Justice Center?

One we are excited about is our Environmental Justice Academy. Local young women and non-binary individuals will spend roughly six months together exploring issues of the environment and specifically around the Anacostia waterway. We are also launching a children's gardening program this year. For eight weeks, kids will learn about how to grow fruits and vegetables in their gardens. And of course, our first physical exhibit, 

celebrating women in environmental justice

3 Questions With: DC’s Environmental Justice Center

What DC celebrities, public figures and key citizens have to say about living here.

3 Questions With DC Public Figures

3 Questions With

, and with a kid in tow, no less. He shared some tips on our podcast City Cast DC for 

 with a young one and where you should start.

 Kids’ patience for walking is limited; biking is fun and lets you explore an entire neighborhood in one day.

 Teach kids the alphabet by venturing across the city. Start from A and go to different neighborhoods that began with that letter. So, A for Anacostia, B for Brookland, C for Congress Heights, etc.

They're everywhere in parks, on buildings, and outside of museums. Take the time to read them because it’s an easy way to learn about the history and context of a place. Especially fun for kids learning to read.

A underrated area to explore with kids, Southwest has great food and architecture peeping. Austin recommends the duck pond, which has rocking chairs and a four-story little free library, for a Sunday afternoon. The nearby Titanic memorial is perfect for watching the sunset over the water.

 This neighborhood has a lot of murals that 

. Austin and his daughter love printing the map and using it as a scavenger hunt.

 Grab a fried chicken sandwich and brown butter chocolate cookie from Open Crumb and walk by the 

, which gives the kiddos a kick. Anacostia Park has an outdoor skating pavilion that has local DJs on the weekend.  You can bring your skates or rent them.

How To Do DC With Kids

Tips and tricks for living your best DC life, by locals, for locals.

DC Life Hacks

The mid-Atlantic provides a perfect climate for tulips, which hit peak bloom in mid-April. Here are some of the best tulip fields in the DMV for frolicking, picking, and picnicking, from closest to farthest.

: Located at the northeast corner of the Tidal Basin, this plot has over 100 varieties of tulips. The best part is you don’t even have to leave the district.

: A day ticket to Dumbarton Oaks is $7 and well worth it this time of year. The tulips are mostly in and around the fountain terrace area.

: Brookside Gardens in Montgomery County is free and makes you feel like you’re in the Netherlands. The impressively arranged plantings make it my personal favorite spring picnic spot.

: This farm an hour south of D.C. holds a spring festival every year, with millions of bulbs imported from Holland planted in color-coordinated stripes. Weekend tickets are $21, and you get to take five stems home ($1 per each extra stem).

: This small six-acre farm outside Baltimore is an hour drive from D.C., but they plant over 80,000 tulip bulbs every year.

The Best Spots To See Tulips 

Find the best of everything that DC has to offer.

DC’s Best

DC's Best

Summer is (almost) here, friends and family are in town, and you want to take them on a National Mall tour that doesn’t totally suck. Luckily, not all Mall days have to include bad food trucks and ouchy feet.

Head to Bistro Du Jour at the Wharf. This Parisian-style café is right on the water and serves some of the crispiest potatoes in town. Don’t miss the Croque Madame and the pastries by Mah-Ze-Dahr. If you’re just looking for coffee, Colada Shop and District Donut are right down the boardwalk.

A ten-minute walk north will land you at the International Spy Museum. Adult tickets are $30, and the interactive exhibits and individualized engagement make it worth it. Two hours here will leave you sufficiently wide-eyed and ready for the next stop.

Pro tip #1: Don’t miss the cyber infinity room on the fourth floor for an IG moment.

Another 10-minute walk lands you at the National Mall. The National Museum of Asian Art is celebrating its centennial with special exhibits and events. Or, my personal favorite, end the day at the Botanical Gardens for a rainforest stroll (because we all need more humidity in our lives).

Pro tip #2: Give your feet a break and use the free 

 which has stops outside the Wharf, the Spy Museum, L’Enfant Metro, and outside the Hirshhorn Museum.

Get To Know: The Spy Museum Neighborhood

Everything to know about DC neighborhoods: Where to go, eat, shop, drink, and more.

DC Neighborhood Guides

Neighborhood Guides

D.C. is the epicenter of spy activity in the U.S., but where

are they doing business, and how are they going about it?

Bob Wallace, who literally wrote the book on spy sites in D.C., took the City Cast DC podcast for a 

walking tour of the city’s most infamous spy sites and stories

 Back in the ‘30s, the Japanese Naval Attaché would throw parties here to cultivate information and potential spies ahead of World War II. Then in the ‘40s, a German defector used the Mayflower as his secret spot to meet the FBI and foil German plots.

 Bob calls this “the epicenter for spying in America.” There are almost a dozen places around the square where spy activity occurred, starting with First Lady Dolley Madison. Bob says she was the “first intelligence officer to do U.S. aerial surveillance” by standing on top of the White House to scan for enemy troops during the War of 1812. Lafayette Square is also where Confederate scout Thomas Conrad disguised himself as a clergyman to survey and attempt to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln.

: Aldrich Ames, a CIA agent who became a double agent for the Soviet Union, left dead drops in a Georgetown mailbox, using chalk markings on it as a signal. The old Georgetown Pharmacy was another popular place for info drops during the ‘50s.

D.C. has a lot more dirt when it comes to spy stories. 

The Best D.C. Spy Stories

D.C. sits on the ancestral lands of the Anacostans (also documented as the Nacotchtank). In the early 1600s, the Nacotchtank tribe had ~

 located on Capitol Hill, with farms where the National Mall is now. Their name came from the Native word “anaquashatanik,” which means “a town of traders.”

The Nacotchtank were forcibly removed as settlers looked for 

 The small population that was left joined Maryand’s Piscataway tribe.

According to officials at the American Indian museum, there are 

 Nacotchtank, however you can still see their legacy around the city.

In the 1660s, the Nacotchtank fled to Anacostine Island, now called Theodore Roosevelt Island. Not long after, the tribe merged with other northern tribes.

– Dozens of Native American artifacts were discovered when digging up the South Lawn for an in-ground pool for President Gerald Ford, proving that D.C. was literally built on Native remains.

 is a great resource for more info on Native American historical areas. Or, listen to today’s 

education

DC Heads Back to School Amid Federal Takeover

From the Archives: Building a Capital

The History of DC’s First Gay Clubs

Latest articles

DC Heads Back to School Amid Federal Takeover

From the Archives: Building a Capital

The History of DC’s First Gay Clubs

The History of the Avalon Theater

3 Questions With: DC’s Environmental Justice Center

How To Do DC With Kids

The Best Spots To See Tulips

Latest articles

The History of the Avalon Theater

3 Questions With: DC’s Environmental Justice Center

How To Do DC With Kids

The Best Spots To See Tulips

Get To Know: The Spy Museum Neighborhood

The Best D.C. Spy Stories

Get To Know Indigenous DC