Built in 1824 for Dr. Joseph Lovell, the first Surgeon General of the United States who organized the Army Corps of Engineers, the Blair House serves as the official guest house of the President of the United States. The house was subsequently purchased in 1836 by Francis Preston Blair, Sr., a member of Andrew Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet" and co-publisher of the Globe, the influential mouthpiece of the administration. Moving for a time in the 1840s to a country house in Maryland, the Blairs rented out the property to a succession of notable tenants, including the first Secretary of the Interior, Thomas Ewing, whose daughter married William Tecumseh Sherman at the house in 1850.
In 1852, the Blairs moved back to the residence and constructed a house next door for Elizabeth Preston Blair, the only daughter of Francis Preston Blair. The two houses began to be used as one, almost as they are today. Montgomery Blair, son of Francis Preston Blair, resided in the house as well and was a trusted advisor to President Lincoln before and during the Civil War. Montgomery Blair was Postmaster General from 1861 to 1864, advised Lincoln on important matters such as the reinforcing of Fort Sumter, and was instrumental in holding Maryland out of the Confederacy. At a conference at the Blair House in 1861, it was decided that Admiral Farragut would command the assault on New Orleans.
After the Civil War, the Blair family's influence began to fade, but the prominence of the family continued to be recognized in Washington society. The house once again took on national significance upon becoming the temporary residence of President Truman from 1948 to 1952, while the White House was under renovation. In recent years, Blair House has served as the residence of many visiting foreign dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II, Nikita Khrushchev, Aung Sang Suu Kyi, and many others.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: October 15, 1966
National Historic Landmark: October 29, 1937
]]>Built in 1836, Ashburton House served as a home for British diplomats. For instance, the residence hosted the ten month American-British negotiations that eventually led to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which resolved the long-standing dispute with Great Britain over major segments of the boundary with Canada and ended the Aroostook War. Diplomatic historian Samuel Bemis called this dispute “one of the gravest and most inveterate diplomatic issues of the United States in the generation following the War of 1812.” In addition, these negotiations saw the United States protect and respect the rights of the United States in international affairs. St. John’s Church acquired the building in 1953 and adapted its interior for use as a parish hall. It is currently used as offices and meeting space for St. John’s Church. The building has been highly renovated, but still includes original details like the marble and wood mantel fireplaces, floor-length marble columns, and lintels above the doors.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: November 7, 1973
National Historic Landmark: November 7, 1973
]]>As a young Polish-Lithuanian military engineer, Kościuszko offered his service in the American Revolution. This memorial to Polish Brigadier General Kościuszko was presented by the Polish Alliance and the Polish American people of the United States. The work of the Polish sculptor Antoni Popiel (1865-1910), this bronze pedestrian statue depicts Kościuszko in the uniform of a general of the Continental Army with a cocked hat, holding a map of his fortifications at Saratoga in his right hand. The sculpture rests atop a square tiered base adorned with bronze sculptures on all four sides. On the north side, there is an eagle perched on top of a globe with an American flag, a sword, and a shield. On the south side, there is a globe showing Poland with an eagle fighting a snake on top. On the east side, a figure group depicts Kościuszko with a drum at his feet and a flag in his left hand. With his right hand, he unties a rope from around the waist of an American soldier, who symbolizes the American army. On the west side, Kościuszko is dressed in a Polish military uniform, lying on the ground and pointing into the distance with his right hand. Assisting him is a Polish soldier dressed in peasant military attire to symbolize the Polish Army. This statue was dedicated in 1910 by President William Howard Taft in Lafayette Park, which is now under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. A copy of the statue was erected in Warsaw, Poland in 2010.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Within Lafayette Square Historic District
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Building, designed by Cass Gilbert in 1925, is an excellent example of Gilbert's work and of the influence of the City Beautiful Movement and the MacMillan Commission Report on DC. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which continues to occupy the building, embodies the institutional role of 20th century government lobbying organizations in Washington.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce exemplifies the institutional role played by voluntary associations in national government in the 20th century. These organizations reach well beyond lobbying to play an important role in coordinating membership participation in government. The associations not only provide a voice for their members, they inform them about common concerns as well. They clarify public policy issues for members, provide technical information to legislators and public officials, and educate the general public. As the role of government increased during the 20th century, the importance and influence of these organizations grew proportionally.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: May 13, 1992
]]>Built between 1836 and 1869, the Treasury Department building is the work of five major American architects—Robert Mills, Thomas U. Walter, Ammi B. Young, Isaiah Rogers, and Alfred B. Mullett. Conceived and built in the Greek Revival style that captured the spirit of the young republic, this building and the Patent Office, undertaken at the same time, are the most outstanding examples of Greek Revival civil architecture in the country. Not only were they the largest non-military buildings undertaken by the federal government in their own time, but they also influenced countless examples of civil architecture across the nation.
From 1800, the Treasury Department was housed in the first of George Hadfield’s three brick Executive Offices, built between 1798 and 1799 on the site of the present north wing. The Treasury Office caught fire in 1801, 1814, and 1833, and it was not reconstructed after the third conflagration. Robert Mills, who had been in the capital since 1830, was asked to assess the fire, and by 1836, his plans for a new Treasury building were accepted by Andrew Jackson. Undoubtedly, a major reason for Mills’s selection was his interest in fireproof construction, demonstrated by his Fireproof Building (1822-27) in Charleston, South Carolina. Mills had also studied with both Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Latrobe.
Mills’s design for the Treasury called for an E-shaped building opening west toward the White House, with a long classical facade on 15th Street, but only the east front and center wing were built under his supervision, from 1836 to 1842. The unusual vaulted structural system of the building and its monumental scale aroused suspicion in Congress, as well as some sharp professional jealousies among rival architects. In 1838, a bill was introduced in Congress to authorize the demolition of the half-completed structure. The architect presenting the case for demolition was Thomas U. Walter, Philadelphia’s leading Greek Revival practitioner. Walter was appointed Architect of the Capitol in 1851, and he was authorized to prepare plans for extending the Treasury in 1855. His concept, which was carried through as others executed the work, established the ultimate rectangular layout, double courtyards, and portico facades.
The south wing was built from 1855 to 1861 under the supervision of Ammi B. Young, appointed Supervising Architect of the Treasury in 1852. While Mills had been forced to use Aquia Creek sandstone, the extension was carried out in granite. The columns were monoliths, whereas Mills’ had been built up in drums. Young was abruptly dismissed by Secretary Salmon P. Chase in 1862 and replaced by Isaiah Rogers, who remained in the job until 1865, supervising completion of the west wing (1855-64), addition of an attic floor on all the wings (1863-65), and preliminary planning for the north wing. Upon his resignation, Rogers was succeeded by his former subordinate Alfred B. Mullett, who completed the north wing between 1867 and 1869. This wing contains the elaborately decorated marble Banking Room, which was the setting for Ulysses Grant’s first inaugural ball in 1869.
The Mills interiors are minimally decorated, their architectural character resulting from the masonry barrel-vaulted corridors, flanked by groin-vaulted offices. The elegantly curved, cantilevered marble staircases are a signature of his work. In contrast, the interiors of the three later wings rely much more on interior decoration for their architectural character. Their structural system, influenced by the emergent cast iron technology, is one of shallow brick vaults supported on cast iron beams, producing rectilinear volumes and a much less sculptural appearance. In these wings, Young, Rogers, and Mullett made extensive and imaginative use cast iron of and cast plaster decoration, including cast iron pilasters and friezes in the main corridors. Mullett’s Cash Room is the most lavish space in the building, displaying seven varieties of marble in the paneled walls, and richly sculptural bronze railings for the balcony.
By the late 1890s, the need for additional office space led to the insertion of a large truss-roofed drafting room in the south courtyard, for use by the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. The poor quality of the building’s original Aquia Creek sandstone led to the rebuilding of Mills’ colonnade. Architects York and Sawyer added an attic story to the building between 1909 and 1910 and made other alterations through 1923. The north entrance statue of Alexander Hamilton, by James Earle Fraser on a base by Henry Bacon, was also installed in 1923.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: November 11, 1971
National Historic Landmark: November 11, 1971
Within Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, Financial Historic District, and Lafayette Square Historic District
This site is included in the Women's Suffrage in Washington DC tour for its role as a staging area for allegorical performances at the end of the 1913 Women's Suffrage Parade.
]]>Like many buildings constructed during and after World War I, the Treasury Annex added more space for the federal department to conduct its business. Built in 1918 on Lafayette Square and designed by well-known architect Cass Gilbert – who later designed the U.S. Supreme Court Building – this structure was placed near the White House and the Treasury Department’s main building. However, the annex was preceded by another important financial institution, one that would inspire its updated name in 2016.
Designed to match the Treasury Department’s main building, the annex was inspired by classical Greek architecture, with minimal ornamentation for both budgetary and aesthetic purposes. Additionally, the building was constructed on the site of the former Freedman’s Bank Building, formally known as the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company. The company was created by the federal government in 1865 to help newly emancipated African Americans reach financial stability and independence. Despite these goals, the bank closed only nine years later due to the Panic of 1873. The bank building was demolished in 1899.
With the Treasury Annex taking the place of the Freedman’s Bank Building, the annex extended the available space of the Department of the Treasury. The building contains six floors with a basement, as well as a large skylight to allow for natural light to shine through. The annex was also connected to the main building by an underground tunnel, increasing its functionality for employees.
In 2016, in order to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company, the Department of the Treasury renamed the building after the site’s earlier occupant. Citing an interest in preserving the heritage of the site, the agency also unveiled educational plaques detailing the history of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company. The building is still owned and used by the Department of the Treasury.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
]]>Built in 1828, this home served as Benjamin Ogle Tayloe's residence and a social, intellectual, and cultural center for the political elite. Described as a "salon" for scholarly discourse and a space for high-society gatherings, the Federal style home exemplified early Washingtonian power.
As a member of one of Washington's wealthiest slaveholding families, Benjamin Ogle Tayloe almost certainly utilized enslaved labor in the construction and management of the home. Much of his personal wealth stemmed from the inheritance and control of cotton plantations run through enslaved labor in Virginia and Alabama.
Following Tayloe's death and subsequent shifts of home ownership, the space was sold to Senator J. Donald Cameron (R-PA). The home continued to play host to a variety of political icons and offered a convenient space for important diplomatic meetings. It was referred to as the "Little White House" during the time of Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, who often had breakfast in the home over complex discussions of contemporary issues. An addition, designed by the architectural firm of Hornblower & Marshall, was completed in 1893.
From 1915 to 1917, the home served as the headquarters of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (National Woman's Party), led by activist Alice Paul. During these years — shortly before the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 — marches and demonstrations, including picketing at the nearby White House by the "silent sentinels," were planned and led by the organization. Infamously, many women's suffrage activists were arrested and sent to the Occoquan workhouse in Lorton, Virginia, where they were subjected to brutal treatment.
From 1917 to 1952, the Cosmos Club would occupy the home. The building then served briefly as NASA's headquarters during the space agency's early years. The building avoided demolition in the 1960s, thanks to support for preservation from Jackie Kennedy — an early advocate in the historic preservation movement. The building is a notable landmark of Lafayette Square and is sometimes referred to as the "Cameron" or "Tayloe-Cameron House." Today, the space is a part of the National Courts Building Complex.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: November 2, 2023
Within Lafayette Square Historic District
This site is included in the Capital City Slavery Tour as a site of enslavement for five to seven individuals and likely construction through enslaved labor. For further information on slavery in the District, view DC Preservation League's Capital City Slavery Digital Exhibit.
]]>This monument commemorates Prussian-born Baron Frederick Wilhelm von Steuben, Major General of the Continental Army and the man most responsible for the training of American troops during the Revolutionary War. Sculpted by Albert Jaegers, the monument was dedicated at a ceremony that featured President William Howard Taft.
The 11-foot-tall bronze portrait statue portrays von Steuben as he inspected American troop maneuvers at Valley Forge in 1778. He is clothed in the uniform of a Major General of the Continental Army with a cocked hat and heavy cloak draped around his shoulders. On the northeast face of the pedestal, a seated warrior teaches a youth to handle a sword, symbolizing von Steuben's contribution to the American fight for independence. On the southwest face, a woman assisted by a child grafts his foreign stock onto the tree of American life as she recounts his heroic deeds. On the southeast face, a bronze relief portrait medallion honors von Steuben's aides-de-camo, Colonel William North and Major Benjamin Walker.
This monument was established by an act of Congress and dedicated on December 7, 1910. Now owned by the National Park Service, it is located at the northwest corner of Lafayette Square.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Within Lafayette Square Historic District
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>The State, War and Navy Building was built just west of the White House, between 1871 and 1888, to designs by architect Alfred B. Mullett. Like the Greek Revival style Treasury Department Building to the east, on the other side of the White House, the Second Empire/French Renaissance style State, War, and Navy Building is a monumental, isolated rectangle with a transecting wing and two interior courts.
The building is six stories high, with purple-grey Virginia granite walls and slate mansard roofs. Its colossal size and almost unbelievable variety and richness of detail represent the quintessence of vigorous, superscaled late 19th-century architecture.
This building was constructed to create a new permanent home for the overcrowded State, War, and Navy departments. Four future presidents had offices in the building: Theodore Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, William Howard Taft as Secretary of State, Franklin D. Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and Lyndon B. Johnson as Vice President. 13 Secretaries of the Navy, 21 Secretaries of War, and 25 Secretaries of State had offices in the building. It is now principally occupied by the ever-expanding White House staff, and known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building or Old Executive Office Building.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: June 4, 1969
National Historic Landmark: November 11, 1971
]]>Due to its close proximity to the White House, Saint John’s Church is known as the “Church of the Presidents”; accordingly, every President since James Madison has attended at least one service here. A prayer book in one of the pews contains the signatures of every president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but excluding Richard Nixon, commemorating the inauguration services they attended at Saint John’s.
Architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820) designed Saint John’s Church, in addition to other noted buildings in the neighborhood. The church was completed in 1816 and serves as a notable example of late Federal architecture, with Greek Revival elements. Many additions and alterations have been made to the church over the last two centuries, but it remains in fine condition today. The church still serves as an active parish.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: October 15, 1966
National Historic Landmark: December 19, 1960
Within Lafayette Square Historic District and Sixteenth Street Historic District
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