Jackson Place is a Washington, D.C. street located across from the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

and forming the western border of Lafayette Square between

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C. that connects the United States Capitol with the White House and then crosses northwest Washington, D.C. to Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown. Traveling through So ...

and H Street, NW, beginning just south of Connecticut Avenue. Facing the street are mostly 19th century town homes which are now generally used for government offices or other official functions.

History

The block is situated on land once owned by the Decatur family, until 1869 when they sold it to Lorenzo Sherwood, who in turn sold the land to John Knower. In 1957, the

Federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

acquired the townhouses on Jackson Place. The government had plans to demolish the buildings to make way for construction of a new Federal office building on the land. In 1962, First Lady

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

intervened and the project was canceled.

Buildings

The block is lined by several

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...

s constructed in the late 19th century.

Peter Parker House

The Peter Parker House (700 Jackson Place), at the corner with Pennsylvania Avenue, was built in 1860. Physician Peter Parker was an early resident. It housed the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...

for several decades, up until the late 1960s. In the 1980s, it was combined with Blair House.

704 Jackson Place

704 Jackson Place was combined with Blair House in the 1980s.

Trowbridge House

708 Jackson Place was built in 1859 for William P. Trowbridge. It has been used as federal office space since the early 1900s. It is being added to the Blair House complex. In about 1951 it became the meeting place for the

Psychological Strategy Board The Psychological Strategy Board (PSB) was a committee of the United States executive formed to coordinate and plan for psychological operations. It was formed on April 4, 1951, during the Truman administration. The board was composed of the Un ...

712 Jackson Place

712 Jackson Place was built in 1869 for Admiral James Blair, but was soon sold to Henry Rathbone. Rathbone is known for accompanying President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

to Ford's Theatre on the night of the assassination. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the building was home to the Committee for Public Information, and for a brief time it housed the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. It is currently home to the White House Fellows program and the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.

716 Jackson Place

The building at 716 Jackson Place is owned by the U.S. Government and is reserved for the exclusive use by former Presidents when they are in town. Purchased in the late 1950s, it became the "Presidential Townhouse" in 1969 by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. The furnishings were very sparse until it was refurbished using private funds by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. The five-story building includes two dining rooms, multiple bedrooms, and space for a

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

detail in the basement.

718 Jackson Place

718 Jackson Place NW,

Washington, D.C. 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. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, was the fourth and final headquarters for the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of Labor unions in the United States, unions that organized workers in industrial unionism, industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in ...

(CIO), which merged with the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

(AFL) in 1955 to form the

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

, after originally breaking out of the AFL in 1935. As of 2008, the federal government owns this building and houses small units attached to the

Executive Office of the President The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...

.Pesotta, Rose. ''Bread Upon the Waters''. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1984.
"183 - Letter to the President, CIO, on the Flood Control Problem in the Missouri River Basin."
August 6, 1951. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. ''The American Presidency Project'' nline Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database).

722 Jackson Place

The building at 722 Jackson Place was once the headquarters of the National Woman's Party (NWP) during the time of the Silent Sentinels, the first ever strategic protest of the White House, which lasted over two years asking for women's suffrage. It was the longtime home of the

Council on Environmental Quality The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is a division of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Executive Office of the President that coordinates federal Natural environment, environmental efforts in the United States ...

726 Jackson Place

726 Jackson Place was used as temporary White House Press Briefing Room from August 2006 to July 2007 during renovations to the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.

730 Jackson Place

730 Jackson Place serves as federal offices. Current tenants include the

734 Jackson Place

734 Jackson Place, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, served as the headquarters of the

American Peace Society The American Peace Society was a pacifist group founded upon the initiative of William Ladd, in New York City, May 8, 1828. It was formed by the merging of many state and local societies, from New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, ...

between 1911 and 1946. In the 1970s it was combined with an adjacent building to house the offices of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.

736 Jackson Place

736 Jackson Place was originally built around 1870 for Cornelia Knower Marcy, the widow of Secretary of War William Learned Marcy. In the 1880s,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Representative John Newberry and Senator James Blaine lived in the house. In 1887, Representative William Scott bought the house. The house was remodeled in 1895 by Carrere and Hastings. The townhouse served as temporary quarters for President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and his staff, while the White House underwent renovations from June 25 to November 6, 1902. Known then as No. 22 Jackson Place, Roosevelt only stayed there briefly, before heading off to Oyster Bay, New York. On October 3, 1902, Roosevelt held a meeting in the house to deal with the

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...

coal strike occurring in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The townhouse was bought in 1919 by the Women's City Club of Washington, which remained there until 1944. The house was then sold to the National Lutheran Council and the United Lutheran Church in America. Today it is nominally the headquarters of the United States DOGE Service, formerly the United States Digital Service.

740–744 Jackson Place

740–744 Jackson Place is home to the White House Historical Association.

Decatur House

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was a British-American Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architect who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in ...

designed the Decatur House, located at 748 Jackson Place. Completed in 1818 for naval hero

Stephen Decatur Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy officer. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County. His father, Ste ...

and his wife, Susan, its distinguished neo-classical architecture and prominent location across from the

made Decatur House one of the capital's most desirable addresses and home of many of the nation's most prominent figures. Later residents included

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

, and Judah P. Benjamin. The Decatur House is now owned by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

and used as a museum by the White House Historical Association.

Ewell House

The Ewell House, since demolished, was built on Jackson Place in 1819 for Dr. Thomas Ewell, who was a physician in the city, and author of a popular medical book, ''The History of the Medical Society''. For health reasons Ewell left Jackson Place and returned to a farm in

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

, and subsequently leased the house. Various government officials lived in the house, including Smith Thompson (Secretary of Navy in the Monroe administration, and later Associate Justice of the Supreme Court), Samuel Southard, John Berrien (Attorney General), and Levi Woodbury (Secretary of Navy, Secretary of Treasury, and later Associate Justice of the Supreme Court), Charles Richard Vaughan (Minister of Great Britain),

John C. Spencer John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788 – May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President of the United States, President John Tyler. After graduating from Union Co ...

(Secretary of War), William C. Rives (father of novelist Amélie Rives Troubetzkoy), Vice President

Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. ( ; March 23, 1823January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th Speaker of the United Sta ...

, and General Daniel Edgar Sickles.

Gallery

File:700-704 Jackson Place.jpg, Peter Parker House, 700 Jackson Place, and adjoining 704 Jackson Place File:708 Jackson Place.jpg, Trowbridge House, 708 Jackson Place File:712 Jackson Place.jpg, White House Fellows and the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, 712 Jackson Place File:716 Jackson Place.jpg, Presidential Townhouse, 716 Jackson Place File:718 Jackson Place.jpg, Original building demolished and replaced with historically accurate design in the 1960s, 718 Jackson Place File:722 Jackson Place.jpg, Original building demolished and replaced with historically accurate design in the 1960s, 722 Jackson Place File:726 Jackson Place.jpg, The

White House Conference Center The White House Conference Center is an annex building of the White House in Washington, D.C. The Colonial Revival building is located across Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C. that c ...

was built in the 1960s and replaced a demolished building, 722 Jackson Place File:730 Jackson Place.jpg,

offices, 730 Jackson Place File:734 Jackson Place.jpg, American Peace Society house, 734 Jackson Place File:736 Jackson Place.jpg, United States Digital Service offices, 736 Jackson Place File:740 Jackson Place.jpg, White House Historical Association offices built in the 1960s and replaced a demolished building, 740 Jackson Place File:744 Jackson Place.jpg, White House Historical Association offices built in the 1960s and replaced a demolished building, 744 Jackson Place File:Decatur House north side.jpg, Decatur House, 748 Jackson Place

References

External links

Decatur House: A Home of the Rich and Powerful
- National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan {{Streets in Washington, DC Streets in Washington, D.C.