During the crowded lunch hour between 1 and 1:30 o'clock today, the oil burner in the basement of McCrory's Five and Ten Cent Store exploded, threw parts of the machinery to the opposite side of the street and making a great hole in the center of the building. The four alarm fire was turned in and every ambulance in the city put into action. Up to 5 p.m., the casualty list showed 2 dead, 3 dying, and 30 injured.

Aftermath of the McCrory disaster, a virtually forgotten chapter in the history of Washington, D.C.: At 1:32 p.m. on Nov. 21, 1929, a boiler in the basement of the McCrory five-and-dime store at 416 Seventh Street NW exploded, demolishing the ground floor and igniting a fire in a deafening blast whose final toll was six dead and dozens injured. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

1935. "School in Red House, West Virginia." Epimetheus sat down sullenly and learned about relative pronouns. Medium-format nitrate negative by Elmer Johnson for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

1935. "Miner's house at Scott's Run, West Virginia. Note sewerage system." Photo by Elmer Johnson for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

UPDATE: The photo now has a caption.

October 1, 1929. The new crack train from Washington to Boston was inspected today by members of the Massachusetts State Society. Harry Carr of the Pennsylvania R.R. was host. Left to right: Wm. T. Simpson, Treasurer; Frank E. Hicks, Vice Pres.; Mrs. Proctor L. Daugherty; Geo. R. Farnum, Pres. and Assistant Attorney General of the United States; Geo. A. Hornan, Secretary; and Chas. A. Bauman.

Circa 1929 at Washington's Union Station, it's the Senator. Which senator, maybe someone out there knows. Unlabeled Harris & Ewing glass plate. View full size.

UPDATE: Our subject is Dr. James Harris Rogers (1856-1929) of Hyattsville, Md., inventor of the "loop aerial" and holder of numerous patents in telegraphy, telephony and radio:

August 16, 1929. A Veteran Inventor. About 6 miles from Washington, on the edge of the little hamlet of Hyattsville, Md., may be found Dr. James Harris Rogers, wizard inventor, now 80 years old, retired from his work but still erect and energetic. It was Dr. Rogers who during the war proved that water as well as earth and air is a medium for the transmission of electro-magnetic waves. Through the "well" located on his property, high officials heard German official reports.

Radio apparatus and unidentified operator circa 1930 in this unlabeled Harris & Ewing plate. Who can help us fill in the blanks? View full size.

Circa 1898. "Boys of the 71st N.Y. at Montauk Point after returning from Cuba." Young veterans of the Spanish-American War. Next stop: The Klondike! 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

November 19, 1917. New York. "Frances White." A singer of brief renown (for "The Spelling Song"), Frances, seen here at age 19, was half of the vaudeville team Rock & White. Bain News Service glass negative. View full size.

Hampton Roads, Virginia, circa 1900. "Going to the landing stage. Hotel Chamberlin in background." Although the harbor might not be mined, the street is. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "House at 604 H Street N.W., at which plot to assassinate Lincoln was hatched." National Photo Co. View full size.

Circa 1922, the Fiske Reading Machine in the hand of its inventor, Rear Admiral Bradley Fiske. Where's the Home button on this thing? View full size.

July 2, 1948. "Schrafft's, Esso Building, Rockefeller Center. Dumbwaiter." How lunch gets launched. Gottscho-Schleisner photo. View full size.

Circa 1905. "An old sea dog." All that salt water can be hard on the hands! 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "Sibley Hospital babies." Now what did we do with that box of cigars? National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.

"Easter 1952" is the label on this 35mm Kodachrome slide from Michigan by way of eBay. Our young man, last seen the previous Christmas, seems to have gotten an Easter pail rather than the traditional basket. View full size.

Winsome tots in Easter togs on the White House grounds in 1922. Does it get any cuter than this? We shall see. Now get to work on those eggs. View full size.