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Spring 1942. "Girl having her tire changed in Southeast Washington." Photograph by Marjory Collins, Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Like most cities DC has bad areas and good areas. In DC these are tiny and largely isolated to small pockets. During the real estate boom and over past 20 years the city has seen huge changes. Despite the previous comment I would strongly encourage people to visit neighborhoods in Southeast. If you are a lover of history there is much to see. Eastern Market and Barracks Row are in Southeast and have much to offer. Even old Anacostia has seen a revival and is gaining a Heritage Trial walking tour. As in most major metropolis's one must only exercise common sense when walking anywhere in the any city. Visit Cultural Toursim DC for info on the walking tours.
If you stop in that area today you're going to lose your car. Keep driving! Even on four flats, keep driving. You can stop when you get to Northwest or back into Maryland!
Other than Pasco I'd suspect it could also be Pullman (where Washington State University was/is), Walla Walla, or perhaps Clarkston. Yakima is more south-central Washington.
[As noted below, this is one of hundreds of photos taken in Washington, D.C., by Marjory Collins. The car has a District of Columbia license plate. "Southeast" means the city's southeast quadrant. - Dave]
I wish I could figure out where in southeastern Washington, where I live, that this picture was taken. Not that many towns of any size in 1941, so it's probably Yakima or Pasco.
[It was taken in Washington, D.C., not Washington State. One of hundreds of photographs Marjory Collins took in 1941 in the District of Columbia. - Dave]
That young girl is driving a car with no power steering, no power brakes and with an unsynchronized 3 speed manual transmission.
Many women today would have a hard time depressing the clutch on that car, never mind driving it.
She probably could have changed the tire herself.
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