The White House, Lafayette Square and African Americans
To imagine what it was like here when the White House was being constructed in the 1790s, erase everything else...
1946 story about Lafayette Square
- Credit
- Blair House
1946 story about Lafayette Square
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.
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