Existing comment:
Decatur House
The Decatur House was designed by Benjamin Latrobe who had also worked on a number of other structures (like the Capitol) in Washington DC. It was completed in 1818.
The house was built for Commodore Stephen Decatur and his bride Susan. Decatur had made a name for himself in battling the British Navy and the Barbary Coast pirates. In 1820, Decatur was mortally wounded in a duel by an aggrieved naval officer, Commodore James Barron, who had been passed over for a post because of opposition from a number of commanders including Decatur.
Others who lived in the house afterward included US President Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay.
The Decatur House borders Lafayette Square and the statue in front of the house is General Frederick Von Steuben, a Prussian Baron who molded American troops at Valley Forge.
Another copy of the map of the area (see the discussion of Lafayette Square for more details):
(A) ----+-------+--------+------ (I) | (a) (b)| | (c) | (B)(C)..| (d) (e)| (D) (E) ----+----------------+------ Pennsylvania Ave (F) (G) (H)
(a) = General Frederick Von Steuben (b) = Thadeus Kosciuszko (c) = Andrew Jackson (d) = Comte Jean de Rochambeau (e) = Marquis de Lafayette
(A) = St John's Church (B) = Renwick Gallery (art gallery) (C) = Blair House (D) = US Treasury Annex (E) = Riggs National Bank (F) = Old Executive Office Building (G) = White House (H) = Department of Treasury building (I) = Decatur House |