The Forrest-Marbury House, located at 3350 M Street NW in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and is not far from the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

. It was the site of a March 29, 1791, meeting between President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and local landowners to discuss the federal government's purchase offer of land needed to build a new capital city for the young United States of America. The meeting was a success, and the land was soon acquired.

History

The Forrest-Marbury house itself dates to 1788 and is one of the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

's most historic sites. It was initially home to Uriah Forrest, an early mayor of Georgetown. The house's next owner was real estate investor

William Marbury William Marbury (November 7, 1762 – March 13, 1835) was an American businessman and one of the " Midnight Judges" appointed by United States President John Adams the day before he left office. He was then the plaintiff in the landmark 1803 Sup ...

, who occupied it in 1800 while he purchased large tracts in the District's

Anacostia Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Southeast (Washington, D.C.), Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Marion Barry Avenue (formerly Good Hope Road) SE and the neighborhood contains commercial and gover ...

section. Marbury's battle with President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

over President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

's federal appointments resulted in the landmark 1803 U. S. Supreme Court case ''

Marbury v. Madison ''Marbury v. Madison'', 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that established the principle of judicial review, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes they find ...

'', written by Chief Justice

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

and decided against Marbury, that first established the right of

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

branch acts of government. The house remained in Marbury's family throughout most of the nineteenth century. In 1884 it was occupied by the Edward Corbett family of Ohio. It was later used as a residence and a commercial property first as Jack's (owned by Jack Wilner) in the late 40's, then had a run as The Apple Pie nightclub decades later. Then in the late 1970s became Desperado's, a rock and roll nightclub into the mid-1980s, before being restored and remodeled in the early 1990s. In 1992 it was offered for lease as part of "Forrest Marbury Court". Since 1992, it has served as the chancery of the Embassy of Ukraine. The house is a townhouse and was built in the federal style.

References

Sources

*Bergheim, Laura, ''The Washington Historical Atlas'', Woodbine House, Rockville, Maryland, 1992, , page 161. *VERIZON, District of Columbia Yellow Pages, June 2007 – 2008, Idearc Media, page 161. {{Ukraine–United States relations Buildings and structures in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Federal architecture in Washington, D.C. Houses completed in 1788 1788 establishments in Maryland Ukraine–United States relations