
r/weta_pbs

Mount Vernon was falling apart. A private group of women bought it, restored it, and changed how America thinks about preservation.
youtube.comOTD in 1918, Griffith Stadium hosts Washington D.C.'s first-ever Sunday baseball game, drawing a record 17,000 fans to watch the Nationals beat Cleveland 1-0.
Read more about the arrival of Sunday baseball in D.C.: https://boundarystones.weta.org/2014/05/19/sunday-baseball-comes-dc-1918
The It's Academic championship episode is now live on YouTube — huge season for DC-area students
After a full season of some seriously sharp students going head-to-head, the championship episode is here. Montgomery Blair (Silver Spring, MD), Poolesville (Poolesville, MD), and St. Albans (Washington, DC) are the three schools that made it to the finale — but honestly, every team that competed this season deserves recognition.
It's Academic has been a DMV institution for decades, and this season reminded us exactly why. Congrats to all involved!
OTD in 1972, former Alabama Governor George Wallace — famous for his "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" speech — was shot in Laurel, Maryland while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president
Dr. Richard Mulvaney administers the trial Polio vaccine to six-year-old Randall Kerr. (Source: March of Dimes)
Learn more about McLean's Polio Pioneers: https://boundarystones.weta.org/2020/10/22/shot-was-felt-around-world-mcleans-polio-pioneers
OTD in 1991, DC Metro stations at Shaw and U Street opened, reconnecting neighborhoods devastated by riots and construction.
Workmen dig Metro Green Line tunnel in 1985. (Credit: Larry Levine, Metro Photograph Collection, DC Public Library)
December 28, 1991 marked an important milestone for the Metro and for Washington. As Metro workers handed out green "Welcome Aboard!" balloons, D.C.'s Congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton addressed a crowd in front of the new Anacostia Metrorail station.
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For those huddled in the freezing temperatures, the day was a long time coming. Though the dashed green line (Metro's designation for a future line) had been included on system maps for years, the project faced countless setbacks due to budgeting, route disputes, and construction methods. But now — finally — the promises were coming true as the Anacostia, Navy Yard and Waterfront stations opened their fare gates.
Read more: https://boundarystones.weta.org/2018/06/19/metro-its-not-easy-being-green
OTD in 1864, the first military burial was conducted at what is now Arlington National Cemetery
We produced a very moving documentary on the history, importance and gravity of Arlington National Cemetery in 2014, which can be viewed here.
District Docs: A new showcase for D.C.-focused documentary films
For those interested in local storytelling, WETA is hosting a new series called District Docs, with new films premiering every Thursday at 8pm on the WETA PBS YouTube channel. This showcase features independent, nonfiction films that explore the characters, communities, and history of the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region.
While many of the featured filmmakers live and work here in the DMV, the series brings together a variety of creators to tell stories centered on our people and neighborhoods. The project is supported by partnerships with DC/DOX, Filmfest DC, and the Community Voice Lab at American University.
And you can start watching now! Our first film went live last night...
Dora Fugh Lee: A Life in Art
Synopsis: A direct descendent of a Chinese imperial family, Dora Fugh Lee would later become a renowned painter and teacher of art in the D.C. area.
Today, her works hang in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian’s National Portraits Gallery, and National Museum of Asian Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the National Cathedral and the University of Virginia.
How to watch the series:
- When: New films premiere every Thursday at 8 p.m.
- Where: youtube.com/wetapbs