Violent riots erupted in America’s capital in the hours after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Grieving and angry, rioters smashed windows, looted and burned buildings for several days, and at least 10 people lost their lives as a result of the violence.

With the Washington, D.C. police force overwhelmed by the rioting, the federal government deployed the National Guard to protect government buildings and maintain some semblance of order in the city. Soldiers carrying rifles in the streets of the capital became commonplace as officials struggled to calm angry residents.

It took decades for some predominantly black neighborhoods in the District of Columbia to recover from the destruction.

Today, 50 years later, the landscape of the city has changed with newer, more modern buildings replacing the damaged and burned facilities with little trace remaining from the days of rage following Martin Luther King’s death.

7th and O street NW, 1968. Smoldering ruins remain where a building stood on 7th Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C., April 6, 1968. Numerous fires accompanied the second night of turmoil in the nation's capital following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis, Tenn., April 4. The civil rights leader was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel when he was killed by a rifle bullet on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the killing and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He died in prison in 1998. (AP Photo)

Corner of 7th and O street NW in Washington, Saturday, March 17, 2018. The April 4, 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sparked rioting across neighborhoods in Washington D.C., began at the corner of 14th and U Street NW, and lasted for the next 6 days. In the aftermath these neighborhood's economy was left devastated and it would take another 40+ years for recovering to happen. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Corner of 4th and H street NE in Washington DC in 1968. The National Guard were called out to quell rioting that broke out in Washington following the news of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., April 6, 1968. (AP Photo)

The corner of 4th and H street NE in Washington, Sunday, March 18, 2018. The April 4, 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sparked rioting across neighborhoods in Washington D.C., began at the corner of 14th and U Street NW, and lasted for the next 6 days. In the aftermath these neighborhood's economy was left devastated and it would take another 40+ years for recovering to fully happen. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

14th Street near Irving Street, 1968. Firemen gathered at a fire engine on 14th Street near Irving Street following rioting after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Saturday, April 6, 1968. Firehouses cover the ground. Burned storefronts stand in the background. (Photo/Darell C. Crain/ DC Public Library Specials Collection)

DC USA shopping center near 14th and Irving Street NW, Sunday, March 25, 2018. The April 4, 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sparked rioting across neighborhoods in Washington D.C., began at the corner of 14th and U Street NW, and lasted for the next 6 days. In the aftermath these neighborhood' s economy was left devastated and it would take another 40+ years for recovering to fully happen. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

7th and K street NW, 1968. The National Guard were called out to quell rioting that broke out in Washington following the news of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Saturday, April 6, 1968. (AP Photo)

The corner of 7th and K street NW in Washington, Saturday, March 17, 2018. The April 4, 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sparked rioting across neighborhoods in Washington D.C., began at the corner of 14th and U Street NW, and lasted for the next 6 days. In the aftermath these neighborhood's economy was left devastated and it would take another 40+ years for recovering to fully happen. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Torn-down newsstand on 14th and Kenyon Streets NW following rioting after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Saturday, April 6, 1968. (Photo/Darrell C. Crain/DC Public Library Specials Collections)

DC USA shopping center near 14th and Kenyon Street NW, Sunday, March 25, 2018. The April 4, 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sparked rioting across neighborhoods in Washington D.C., began at the corner of 14th and U Street NW, and lasted for the next 6 days. In the aftermath these neighborhood' s economy was left devastated and it would take another 40+ years for recovering to fully happen. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, left, who heads the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses a capacity crowd from the pulpit at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., March 31, 1968. King spoke from the Cathedral's Canterbury Pulpit and it would be his last Sunday sermon before he was assassinated later that week in Memphis. (AP Photo/John Rous)

Tour group walks past the Canterbury Pulpit at the National Cathedral in Washington, Monday, March 26, 2018. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke from the Cathedral's Canterbury Pulpit on March 31, 1968 and it would be his last Sunday sermon before he was assassinated later that week in Memphis.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Torn-down newsstand on 14th and Kenyon Streets NW following rioting after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Saturday, April 6, 1968. (Photo/Darrell C. Crain/DC Public Library Specials Collections)

The renovation Tivoli Theatre on 14th Street near Kenyon Street NW, Sunday, March 25, 2018. The April 4, 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sparked rioting across neighborhoods in Washington D.C., began at the corner of 14th and U Street NW, and lasted for the next 6 days. In the aftermath these neighborhood' s economy was left devastated and it would take another 40+ years for recovering to fully happen. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Photograph showing a soldier standing guard at 7th and N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., Monday, April 8, 1968, with the ruins of buildings that were destroyed during the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Photo/ Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress)

MLK 50 Washington Unrest

Near the corner of 7th and K street NW in Washington, Saturday, March 17, 2018. The April 4, 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sparked rioting across neighborhoods in Washington D.C., began at the corner of 14th and U Street NW, and lasted for the next 6 days. In the aftermath these neighborhood's economy was left devastated and it would take another 40+ years for recovering to fully happen. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)