Where in Washington? Nowhere, it turns out

For reasons that will become obvious below, this isn't quite the return of "Where in Washington?" But I thought you might get a kick out of this postcard anyway:

The caption on the back reads:
THE WASHINGTON AUDITORIUM 19th and E and New York Avenue, N.W., is a modern massive fireproof structure covering almost a whole square in area and is used for conventions, lectures, recitals and exhibition purposes. The Auditorium has a seating capacity of 6,000 and cost $850,000. It makes a welcome addition to the many notable public buildings erected in the Nation's Capital in the last decade.

If you're telling yourself, "Wait a minute. I go by 19th and E all the time and I've never seen that building," you're not wrong. The Washington Auditorium apparently didn't attract enough business to survive. It opened in the 1920s and closed a decade later. It was used as government offices until being torn down in the 1960s.

It's a mildly interesting building but I love the postcard, found by my daughter in Evanston, Ill., at a used book shop called Bookman's Alley. Oddly, the postcard doesn't have the little American flag I've noticed on most old views of buildings. But I love the woman in the yellow dress on the corner. Even better is what's floating above the skies of Washington: an airship! Oh, for the lazy days of dirigible travel.