The Old Greyhound Terminal in Washington, D.C. (1940-1980s)

The Old Greyhound Terminal was a bus terminal serving Greyhound Lines located at 1100 New York Avenue NW in Northwest, Washington, D.C. It operated from 1940 to the 1980s and was used extensively during World War II to transport servicemen. The building was saved through the intervention of preservationists, and most of it was incorporated into a new high-rise office building in 1991.

The new terminal was announced in December 1938 and built on the site previously occupied by the Annapolis Railway, which had closed down in 1935. Wischmeyer, Arrasmith & Elswick of Louisville, KY and Frances P. Sullivan of Washington, D.C. were the architects. The old terminal was leased to Arthur G. Dezendorf in August 1939, and portions of the building would be rented out and possibly a bowling alley and a large parking garage. The grand opening of the new terminal was attended from 4pm to 9pm on March 25, 1940.

It was built of steel and cement, and its facade was lined with Indiana limestone. The main entrance was on New York Avenue NW, and the main waiting room, finished in walnut with a checkerboard terrazzo floor, had eight ticket windows. Twenty-four photo murals showcased scenic places in the United States, and the domed ceiling was finished in coral buff green and tan. Highway Tours Inc, baggage checkrooms, parcel checking facilities, telephone booths, an information desk, a restaurant, and a large drug store were on the 12th Street NW side of the building.

Thirteen covered docks were used for loading and unloading of arriving and departing buses. Restrooms for men and women were in the basement. The first bus entered the terminal at 12:01 on March 26, 1940, and all buses from the Greyhound Lines, Peninsula Bus Company, and the Blue Ridge Bus Company would arrive and depart from this terminal. Buses entered the terminal from 11th Street NW and exited on 12th Street NW. The station saw heavy use with servicemen and civilians moving all over the country for the war effort in World War II.

Greyhound Lines played an important role in the war effort due to rationing of gas and rubber and advertised it. An altercation involving two men took place in the waiting room of the terminal on July 31, 1945, when John Velardi, 39, from Newark, NJ shot another man identified as Carl Steele, 29, from Washington, DC and then shot himself. The terminal was the departure point for the Freedom Ride 1961, sponsored by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). The 1961 trip was inspired by the Journey of Reconciliation undertaken in 1947 by eight black men and eight white men.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons