Blair House

Blair House

Infobox_nrhp | name =Blair House
nrhp_type =nhl



caption =Blair House is the official state guest house for the President of the United States.
location= 1651 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C.
area =
built =1826
architect= Unknown
designated=October 26, 1973
added = October 15, 1966
governing_body = U.S. Department of State
refnum=66000963 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2006-03-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Blair House is the official state guest house for the President of the United States. It is located at 1651-1653 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., opposite the Old Executive Office Building of the White House, off the corner of Lafayette Park. The main house was built in 1824 of buff colored limestone and is a late example of the Federal Style. The house was built as a private home for Joseph Lovell, first Surgeon General of the United States. In 1836 it was acquired by Francis Preston Blair, a newspaper publisher and influential advisor to President Andrew Jackson. It would remain in his family for the following century. In 1859, Blair built a house for his daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth Blair Lee and Captain Samuel Phillips Lee, at 1653 Pennsylvania Avenue, next door to Blair House at 1651 Pennsylvania Avenue. Captain Lee (later an admiral) was a grandson of Richard Henry Lee and third cousin of Robert E. Lee. The houses have since been combined, and the complex is sometimes referred to as the Blair-Lee House, though Blair House is the official name today.

In 1942 the house was purchased by the U.S. government and has since been the official residence for guests of the U.S. president. Blair House is primarily used to house foreign heads of state visiting the president, but it has also been used for domestic guests. Several presidents-elect of the United States have spent the night before their inauguration in the house. President George W. Bush arranged for former First Lady Nancy Reagan to stay at the house in 2004 and receive guests there following the state funeral for her husband, former president Ronald Reagan; the same was done for former First Lady Betty Ford in 2006 following the state funeral of her husband, former president Gerald Ford.

During much of the presidency of Harry Truman, it served as the residence of the President of the United States, while the interior of the White House, which had been found to have serious structural faults, was completely gutted and rebuilt. On November 1, 1950 Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempted to assassinate President Truman in Blair House. The assassination was foiled in part by White House policeman Leslie Coffelt, who killed Torresola but was himself killed. A plaque at Blair House commemorates Coffelt's heroism and sacrifice.

Blair House is now a complex of four connected townhouses, including the original Blair House. During the 1980s, Blair House underwent significant restorations, with a new wing added to the north. An adjacent townhouse, Trowbridge House, is being renovated to serve as an official guest residence for former U.S. presidents while in the capital. The combined square footage of the four adjacent townhouses exceeds 70,000 feet, making it larger than the White House.

The Chief of Protocol of the United States is responsible for the operation of Blair House.

References

External links

* [http://www.blairhouse.org/ Blair House Official Website]
* National Park Service: [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc25.htm Blair House]
* WETA ExploreDC.com: [http://www.exploredc.org/index.php?id=139 Blair House]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Blair House — Blair House. Blair House est situé su …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Blair House — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Blair House es la residencia oficial para los invitados del presidente de los Estados Unidos. La Blair House (o Casa Blair) es la residencia oficial para los invitados del presidente de los Estados Unidos. Se… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Blair House — Das Blair House in Washington, D.C. (Adresse: 1651 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) dient als das offizielle Gästehaus des US Präsidenten. Geschichte Erbaut wurde das Gebäude 1824 im Federal Style. 1942 wurde es von der US Regierung gekauft. Seitdem dient …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Blair House Suites — (Лас Вегас,США) Категория отеля: 3 звездочный отель Адрес: 344 East Desert Inn Ro …   Каталог отелей

  • Blair-House-Abkommen — Das Blair House Abkommen ist ein 1992 im Rahmen der Uruguay Runde geschlossenes Abkommen zwischen der Europäischen Gemeinschaft und den Vereinigten Staaten bezüglich einer Obergrenze für die Produktion von Nebenerzeugnissen beim Anbau… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Blair House (Montgomery, Ohio) — Infobox nrhp name = Blair House caption = location = Montgomery, Ohio architect = James Madison Blair cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007 06 30|work=National Register of Historic… …   Wikipedia

  • Blair House (disambiguation) — National Historic Places= *Blair House in Washington, D.C. is the official state guest house for the President of the United States. *Blair House in Montgomery, Ohio …   Wikipedia

  • Combellack-Blair House — U.S. National Register of Historic Places …   Wikipedia

  • Blair House Agreement —   A compromise settlement between the USA and the EC in 1993 on an agricultural trade structure to rescue the possible collapse of the Uruguay Round of talks within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) …   Glossary of the European Union and European Communities

  • Blair (disambiguation) — Blair is both a surname and given name. Blair may also refer to:PlacesIn the Andaman and Nicobar Islands * Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar IslandsIn Australia: * Division of Blair, an electoral district in the Australian House… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”