Together, the 1824 Blair House and adjoining 1858 Lee House have functioned as part of the official presidential guesthouse complex since 1943, when Eleanor Roosevelt got tired of tripping over dignitaries in the White House. Plaques note that this is where Robert E Lee declined command of the Union Army when the Civil War erupted, and also where a bodyguard was killed while protecting President Truman from a 1950 assassination attempt by pro-independence militants from Puerto Rico.

Transportation

  • metro: Orange, Silver, Blue Line to Farragut West

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Lee House

0.01 MILES

Attached to Blair House as part of the official accommodations for the President's overnight guests, this building was built for Robert E Lee’s cousin in…

2. Renwick Gallery

0.03 MILES

Part of the Smithsonian group, the Renwick Gallery is set in a stately 1859 mansion on the same block of Pennsylvania as the White House. It's emerged as…

3. Decatur House

0.08 MILES

Designed in 1818 by Benjamin Latrobe for naval hero Stephen Decatur and his wife Susan, this brick building holds the honor of being the first and last…

4. Lafayette Square

0.12 MILES

The land north of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave was originally deeded as part of the White House grounds. However, in 1804 President Thomas Jefferson decided to…

5. White House

0.14 MILES

Play image association with the words “Washington, DC,” and chances are the first thing that comes to mind is the White House. The president’s pad is…

6. St John’s Church

0.17 MILES

St John’s isn’t DC’s most imposing church, but it is arguably its most important. That’s because it’s the ‘Church of the Presidents’ – every president…

8. Octagon Museum

0.24 MILES

Designed by William Thornton (the Capitol’s first architect) in 1800 for one of the largest slave-owners in the state of Virginia, this minimally…

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