“The proposed district will be a political hive where the drones in society will feed on the honey of the land.” — Thomas Tredwell, 1787. 

Much has happened in the last 230 years to reinforce this idea and we will uncover the stories of those chancers, opportunists and connivers. This tour will include the Capitol, the White House, the oldest houses in the city in southwest DC and the Federal Triangle.

James Greenleaf managed the perfect Ponzi scheme as a land speculator in the initial history of DC. A few of his houses survived but he soon found himself in the Poor House. William Thornton, close friend of the Founding Fathers, had fingers in many pies and managed to convince the President that he should design the Capitol despite having no architectural qualifications. General Hooker came up with a cunning plan during the Civil War to ensure he could easily find his troops when they needed to go to battle. We’ll also hear how Murder Bay became the epicenter of all things illicit in DC.