Existing comment:
Connecting Washington:
On the eve of the Civil War, public transportation consisted of horse-drawn wagons called "omnibuses" -- dusty, dangerous, and inconvenient contraptions ill-suited to the growing capital city.
On May 17, 1862, Congress granted the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company a charter to operate the first horse-drawn streetcar line. Rails were laid down Pennsylvania Avenue and service between the State Department and the Capital started in July. By October a streetcar line was running from Georgetown to the Navy Yard. Its route started at M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, along M Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, up to the Capitol, and then south along 8th Street to the Navy Yard. By 1864, the company reported a healthy profit and an estimated 7.5 million passengers transported that year. Washingtonians could now travel throughout their city with ease, connecting far-flung neighborhoods with government offices and businesses. |