Washington, D.C., is home to one of the oldest continuously running mini-golf courses in the U.S. The sport became popular in the early 1900s, when there were more than 25,000 courses nationwide.
But during the Great Depression, miniature golf was wildly popular across the country, including in Washington, D.C. In 1928 there were only a handful of courses in the U.S. Two years later, there were more than 25,000 nationwide, and upwards of 30 in the nation's capital alone.
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In Washington, D.C., people built mini-golf courses on rooftops, in vacant lots, and, eventually, on government land. An 18-hole mini golf course on the federally-managed East Potomac Park opened on May 9, 1931. It featured long, leisurely fairways, stone barriers, and a few flourishes, including miniature reconstructions of the White House, Capitol Building and Mt. Vernon.
