This building used to house Frager’s Hardware, a Capitol Hill fixture for 93 years. Its aisles were crammed with everything imaginable, but unfortunately it was totally destroyed in a fire in 2013, apparently caused by an employee who dropped a cigarette into a bucket in an alley by the store. Since Capitol Hill is a historic preservation district, the façade is being preserved for some enormous new building being put in its place. Frager’s has been operating out of a nearby location but was recently purchased by Ace Hardware, such a sad ending to this store, highly valued by residents on the Hill.

More, please, again, posted earlier: