African Americans in Lafayette Square, 1795-1965
The phrase "The Half Had Not Been Told Me" is taken from a Biblical reference Frederick Douglass used to describe...
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This AP story, published in 1946, renewed attention to the persistent threat of demolition of old homes to make way for a large State Department building that would occupy the entire block west of Lafayette Square. After President Roosevelt’s death in April 1945, his designation of Blair House as the nation’s official guest house seemed insufficient to protect it until President John F. and Mrs. Kennedy showed interest in preserving the neighborhood.
The phrase "The Half Had Not Been Told Me" is taken from a Biblical reference Frederick Douglass used to describe...
To imagine what it was like here when the White House was being constructed in the 1790s, erase everything else...
For more than two hundred years, Lafayette Square has been home to a wide variety of historical figures, from diplomats...
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
For more than a century, thousands of Americans have gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House to exercise...
In this special episode of The 1600 Sessions, financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein interviews White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin...
Since the James Madison presidency, St. John’s Church has been an important part of the life of Lafayette Square an...
From the beginning of its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior...
In 1816, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. and his wife Susan moved to the nascent capital city of Washington, D.C. With...
The White House observance of Christmas before the twentieth century was not an official event. First families decorated the house...
Today, the celebration of Halloween conjures images of costumed trick-or-treaters, sweets, and jack-o'-lanterns; but there was a time when All...