The regional files / Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.The District, in detail.

A city’s stories reach beyond its monuments.

The District Files brings J.R. Stranahan’s regional approach to the nation’s capital. Explore the book and a short companion article grounded in the public record, with sources for further reading.

Explore The District Files

Panoramic historic postcard looking west along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, with a streetcar, pedestrians, trees and commercial buildings. — Pennsylvania Avenue looking west from the Capitol, in a postcard copyrighted by the Rotograph Company in 1905. Library of CongressView archive record ↗

01 Regional bookOne District. Many histories.

The Washington, D.C. bookshelf

Inside the District Files.

A regional book, rooted in the District.

Washington, D.C.

The District Files

Eighteen Washington cases, including Lincoln's assassination, the Blair House attack, the 1954 House shooting, Chandra Levy, and Watergate, gathered in one standalone District volume.

See book & cases

Kindle on Amazon (paid link)

Companion articles

A closer look at the record.

Short, original reads.
Sources you can follow.

Place & archive

Historical context · Library of Congress ↗

Tenth Street NW, Washington, D.C.2 min read

Petersen House: Lincoln's death room, a different bed

The bed displayed in Petersen House is a period furnishing; the original is in Chicago. The room preserves more than one kind of history.

Read the article

Our approach

The people come first.
The record guides the story.

These are real lives, not just familiar headlines. Our original articles distinguish what the evidence establishes from what remains uncertain, and show where the information comes from.

Read our editorial approach