Did you know: Bo Diddley lived in three different places in DC from 1957 or 1958 until somewhere around 1966? He had a recording studio in two of them: 2614 Rhode Island Ave., NE, and 812 Rittenhouse St., NW. He also had an apartment in Mount Pleasant at 1724 Newton St., NW. He was born Ellas Bates in Mississippi and raised in Chicago.
Check out Washington Post columnist John Kelly’s January 31st writing “Remembering innovative guitarist Bo Diddley’s time in Washington”, on which this summary was based.
(Contributor: Mary Bates-Washington)
Thanks for this information, Mary Alice. I’ll look for other posts throughout the month of February. Love, Marie Louise
I lived at 812 Rittenhouse St. NW Washington, DC 20011 from 1974 until 1979. I was told at a very young age that this was one of the homes that Bo Diddley lived. My adoptive Parents were originally applying for the historic landmark designation at this address. They were Walter C Butler and Barbara L Butler. We moved to Tucson, AZ in July of 1979 after the house was sold.