Blair House

Italy

The Blair House was built in 1824 for Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Lowell, and sold in 1837 to real estate mogul, Francis Preston Blair and inherited by Montgomery Blair. The adjacent house was owned by the Robert E. Lee family. The U.S. government bought the Blair House in 1942, and has since used it

as the official guest house for state visitors, at the insistence of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who was tired of running into Winston Churchill and other visitors roaming around the White House in the middle of the night. Today, the Blair house not only consists of the original townhouse, but includes the Lee House and two other adjacent townhouses. The total space of 70,000 sq ft exceeds that of the White House.

Listen to the audio guide for Blair House Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off

Nearby

Renwick Gallery musei
Major General Comte Jean de Rochambeau sculpture · 0.1 km away
Decatur House musei · 0.1 km away
Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben sculpture · 0.1 km away
Eisenhower Executive Office Building beni_culturali · 0.2 km away
Lafayette Square square · 0.2 km away
Jackson Magnolia tree · 0.2 km away
White House Library library · 0.2 km away