The Car Barn is a historic building in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Designed by the American architect Waddy Butler Wood, it was built between 1895 and 1897 by the Capital Traction Company as a union terminal for several Washington and Virginia streetcar lines. The Exorcist steps, later named after their appearance in William Friedkin's 1973 horror film The Exorcist, were built during the initial construction to connect M Street with Prospect Street. Almost immediately after its construction, it was converted to accommodate electric streetcars. The building has undergone several renovations, the most extensive in 1911, when the original Romanesque Revival façade was significantly modified and the interior was almost completely gutted. Changing ownership over time, it maintained its original function of housing streetcars until 1950, when it was redeveloped as office space. Today, it is used as an academic building by Georgetown University.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_Car_Barn

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1854:

U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry (Japanese depiction pictured) and the Tokugawa shogunate signed the Convention of Kanagawa, forcing the opening of Japanese ports to American trade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_Kanagawa

1889:

The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris, becoming a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower

1901:

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Black Sea, the most powerful ever recorded in the area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1901_Black_Sea_earthquake

1942:

Second World War: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas Island without any resistance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Christmas_Island

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

verklempt: 1. (US, colloquial) Overcome with emotion, choked up. 2. (US, colloquial) Flustered, nervous, overwhelmed. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verklempt

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I am a man: little do I last and the night is enormous. But I look up: the stars write. Unknowing I understand: I too am written, and at this very moment someone spells me out.   --Octavio Paz https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Octavio_Paz