Podcast A Discussion with the Voices of Lafayette Park
Thousands of people traverse historic Lafayette Park every day to get a glimpse of the White House. The park, right...
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In 1816, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. and his wife Susan moved to the nascent capital city of Washington, D.C. With the prize money he received from his naval feats, Decatur purchased the entire city block on the northwest corner of today’s Lafayette Square. The Decaturs commissioned Benjamin Henry Latrobe, one of America’s first professional architects, to design and build a house “fit for entertaining.” In 1819, the house was completed—making it the first private residence in the President’s Neighborhood. Since then, the Decatur House and its history have been intertwined with that of the Executive Mansion. Notable White House figures such as Secretary of State Henry Clay, Secretary of State and future President Martin Van Buren, and Vice President George M. Dallas all lived at the Decatur House. Behind the house sits an urban slave quarters, one of the few remaining examples left in Washington, D.C. In 1956, Decatur House was given to the National Trust for Historic Preservation by Marie Beale. The White House Historical Association manages the Decatur House property on behalf of the National Trust, and The David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History is located within the house itself.
A White House Painting in Decatur House Storage
Stephen Decatur in the President's Neighborhood
The Death and Legacy of Stephen Decatur
Thousands of people traverse historic Lafayette Park every day to get a glimpse of the White House. The park, right...
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
For two hundred years, Decatur House has stood as a near neighbor to the White House across Lafayette Square. Stewart...
For more than a century, thousands of Americans have gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House to exercise...
Since the James Madison presidency, St. John’s Church has been an important part of the life of Lafayette Square an...
For more than two hundred years, Lafayette Square has been home to a wide variety of historical figures, from diplomats...
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From the beginning of its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior...