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Moments that changed Washington On the 25th anniversary of The Washington Post Magazine, we look back at some of the top 25 moments that changed Washington the most.
June 17, 1986
Len Bias wears a Boston Celtics hat after being selected as the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft in New York. Two days later, on June 19, Bias died after a cocaine overdose in a Maryland dormitory room during a party to celebrate his success. Bias's death changed the way the nation perceived cocaine, shattered the Celtics' dream of remaining among the NBA's elite and sent the Maryland athletic program into a tailspin that lasted nearly a decade. When he completed his extraordinary basketball career at the University of Maryland, the only question surrounding Len Bias was whether he would dominate the NBA in the same fashion he ruled the Atlantic Coast Conference. Twenty years later, many still wonder.
AP
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AP
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1987
American politician and Democratic presidential front-runner Gary Hart sits on a dock with Donna Rice on his lap. Faced with reports of womanizing, Hart dared reporters to “follow me around . . . put a tail on me.” Reporters did just that, and Hart was caught with a young woman who spent Friday and Saturday night with him at his home on Capitol Hill while Hart’s wife was out of town. Hart dropped out of the race, and the incident redefined the relationship between the press and public figures.
Getty Images
June 30, 1989
A self-portrait of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe at the Corcoran Gallery. The picture was one of the images in an exhibit featuring Mapplethorpe’s work titled “The Perfect Moment,” which featured homosexual encounters, sadomasochistic scenes and other X-rated imagery. When Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) learned of the exhibit, he recruited more than 100 members of Congress to protest the use of tax dollars to subsidize the exhibition, and the Corcoran’s leaders canceled the showing. The Corcoran was picketed by civil liberties activists, gay leaders and artists and lost a $1.5 million donation. The incident was just one of many battles over what is considered obscene, and who gets to decide.
Carol Guzy
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The Washington Post
Jan. 9, 1990
FBI agent Ron Stern, right, escorts D.C. Mayor Marion Barry to the back door of Barry's Southeast home after his arrest. Barry was arrested after taking two drags on a crack pipe at the Vista Hotel on M Street NW, and a videotape of the incident became a mainstay in showing the District’s racial divide. Barry was convicted of drug possession and served six months in jail, but the incident didn’t end his political career. Shortly after his release from prison, he was back on the D.C. Council and was reelected as mayor two years later. Barry still serves on the D.C. Council today and has a loyal following of supporters.
Bill O’Leary
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The Washington Post
Oct. 12, 1991
Anita Hill testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. Hill accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings of calling her into his office to discuss sex. “He spoke about acts that he had seen in pornographic films involving such matters as women having sex with animals. . . .,” she said. “He talked about pornographic materials depicting individuals with large penises or large breasts involving various sex acts. On several occasions, Thomas told me graphically of his own sexual prowess.” Despite Hill’s testimony, Thomas was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. Hill’s allegations, however, still reverberate today.
Bill Snead
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The Washington Post
Jan. 28, 1992
Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, surrounded by his players, holds the Vince Lombardi trophy during a rally for the Super Bowl champions on the Mall in Washington. The Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl. It was the last time a professional D.C. sports team won a championship.
Doug Mills
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AP
May 20, 1995
Two cyclists leisurely make their way along Pennsylvania Avenue on the first day the street was closed to vehicles in front of the White House. The street was closed to vehicles one month after the truck bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City, where 168 people were killed. The bombing reshaped the District’s security measures: Cars were inspected while being driven into garages and barriers were placed around many buildings.
Tyler Mallory
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For The Washington Post
June 21, 1995
The Woodward & Lothrop store at 11th and G Streets NW closed in 1995, leaving the District with only one department store it could call its own. The District has lost almost all of its locally based retailers.
James M. Thresher
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The Washington Post
Sept. 1, 1995
A sign on the sales floor at Woodward & Lothrop, which closed in 1995.
Larry Morris
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The Washington Post
April 7, 1995
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich addresses a rally on Capitol Hill about the completion of the Republicans’ "Contract With America.” This was the first time Republicans had control of both legislative chambers in 40 years. Gingrich helped lead conservatives to the victory with the “Contract With America,” which promised to balance the budget, cut taxes, reform social programs like welfare and Social Security and impose term limits. Most of the program did not become law, but it reshaped the agenda that to this day dominates the political discourse.
Denis Paquin
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AP
Roger Ailes, newly named chairman and CEO of News Corp.'s FOX News, answers questions at a news conference in 1996 as Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of The News Corporation Limited, looks on. Propelled by Ailes' "fair and balanced" branding, Fox has targeted viewers who believe the other cable-news networks, and maybe even the media overall, display a liberal tilt from which Fox News delivers them with unvarnished truth.
RICHARD DREW
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AP
Feb. 6, 2001
Washington Wizards’ majority owner Abe Pollin smiles during an interview with The Post. Pollin financed the creation of the MCI Center — now the Verizon Center — in Chinatown, helping revitalize the then-dormant area. Chinatown is now a vibrant part of the city, complete with boutique hotels, theaters, apartments, restaurants and plenty of people to help fill them.
Lucian Perkins
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The Washington Post
Nov. 15, 2011
Barricades are seen blocking Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Treasury building next to the White House. The street in front of the building was closed to vehicular traffic in 1995, following the Oklahoma City bombing.
Matt McClain
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For The Washington Post
AOL Time Warner headquarters in Ashburn, Va., a leader in the tech boom that pumped money into the local economy starting in the late 1990s.
KENNETH LAMBERT
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AP
Dec. 1, 2000
A clash took place outside the Supreme Court between supporters of then-Vice President Al Gore and George W. Bush, who were caught up in a recount to determine who would become the next president of the United States. Proceedings were taking place inside the court whether to affirm a Florida Supreme Court ruling over manual hand recounts. The court voted 5 to 4 to select Bush as president, ending the drawn-out election that was the closest presidential election in a century.
Michael Robinson-Chavez
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The Washington Post
An aerial view of the Pentagon crash site March 12, 2002, on the west side of the Pentagon in Washington. Hijackers slammed American Airlines Flight 77 into the building on Sept.11, 2001, killing 125 people in the Pentagon and 64 on the plane, including the hijackers.
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AP
In this Tuesday, March 9, 2004 file photo, convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad, center, addresses the court along with his attorney's Peter Greenspun, left, and Jonathan Shapiro prior to being sentenced to death for the shooting of Dean Meyers at the Prince William County Circuit Court in Manassas, Va.
Steve Helber
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AP
May 29, 2004
After the dedication of the World War II memorial, veterans of the war, their families and friends visit the memorial. Critics dismissed the architecture of the memorial, located in the center of the National Mall. However, surviving World War II veterans still gather there and shed tears as they walk their relatives through the space.
Lucian Perkins
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The Washington Post
July 20, 2005
Washington Nationals' Carlos Baerga scores past Colorado Rockies’ catcher J.D. Closser in the third inning of a game in Washington. Following a 33-year absence, Washington once again had a baseball team, after Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig approved the Montreal Expos’ franchise to move to the District.
Haraz Ghanbari
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AP
June 22, 2006
Four-year-olds Anthony Aviles, far left, Willie Gomez, Josue Campos Reyes, Christian Carlo, Jaime Cupido and Daniel Guevera line up and wait before heading into their graduation ceremony for the Pre-K Class of 2006 at CentroNia, a bilingual school in the District. The doubling of Prince William County’s Hispanic population between 2000 and 2005 led the county to pass the toughest anti-illegal immigrant law in the country, authorizing police to check the immigration status of the people they stopped on suspicion of committing a crime. The crackdown sparked protests by Latinos, many of whom left the county. Studies show that the law pushed Latinos into neighboring jurisdictions, and residents said they were pleased with the impact of the law.
Lucian Perkins
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The Washington Post
June 11, 2007
A portrait of former D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee, who approved the firing of many teachers, hiring of new ones, renovations at schools throughout all of the District’s wards, and did so all without thinking of the political ramifications. Rhee’s work is often credited for former mayor Adrian Fenty’s loss to current Mayor Vincent Gray.
Preston Keres
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The Washington Post
March 30, 2008
Alex Bogenn, foreground, of Long and Foster Realtors, leads a tour in Prince William County as lenders, realtors and home inspectors take a group of people on a bus tour of foreclosed homes for people interested in taking advantage of the soft market. Unemployment in the region spiked because of the economic downturn, and foreclosures popped up all over the region.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
May 1, 2008
Residents of Prince William County protest a law that targeted illegal immigrants in the county.
Jorge Tello
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El Tiempo Latino
Jan. 20, 2009
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive at the neighborhood ball and have their first official dance as the first couple. Obama’s election as the country’s first black president sparked celebrations from people of all walks of life on streets throughout the District, and throngs of people flooded the city for Obama’s inauguration.
Richard A. Lipski
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The Washington Post
Nov. 15, 2011
Shoes are seen at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The museum was opened in 1993 and was praised by many. Its opening created a trend that changed the landscape of the National Mall, in which federal land was given to different racial and ethnic groups to help tell their stories.
Matt McClain
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For The Washington Post
Oct. 19, 2011
A protester braved a potentially dangerous climb to place a banner and a mask on the statue of Gen. McPherson in McPherson Square, where the Occupy D.C. protest is being held. Americans took to the streets and parks of many cities across the country to protest corporate greed and unemployment.
Michael S. Williamson
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The Washington Post
FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES
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Dozens of bodybuilders came out to Silver Spring to compete in the 2013 Musclemania Capital Tournament of Champions.
Animal views
Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.
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