Existing comment:
Civil War to Civil Rights
Downtown Heritage Trail
e.1 Chief Justice John Marshall
A bronze likeness of Chief Justice John Marshall, visible on your way to the next Heritage Trail sign, keeps watch over John Marshall Park to your right. Marshall is remembered for molding the U.S. Supreme Court into today's authoritative body. Appointed by President John Adams, Marshall served a record 34 years until his death in 1835. He participated in more than 1,000 decisions, including the 1803 Marbury v. Madison, which defined the court's authority to declare "unconstitutional" laws passed by Congress.
John Marshall Park replaced John Marshall Place (originally 4½ Street), a few blocks of small shops and law offices that once linked Washington's first City Hall/Courthouse with Pennsylvania Avenue.
The monumental buildings and sweeping views here along Pennsylvania Avenue are the result of city planner Peter C. (a.k.a. Pierre) L'Enfant's grand 1791 vision for the Nation's Capital. But in the early 1800s, when Congress met only a few months annually, this stretch of Washington's main street was known as "Hash Row," lined with boarding houses and hotels serving members of Congress and individuals doing business with the Federal Government. Guests at Elizabeth Peyton's boarding house on this spot included Chief Justice Marshall and Senator Henry Clay.
A number of photographers recorded city business and ceremonial life here as well. C.M. Bell's studio of the late 1800s rivaled Mathew Brady's for portraits of Washington notables and distinguished visitors. Bell became known especially for photographing hundreds of American Indians in town for treaty negotiations.
To reach Sign e.2 at the corner of Sixth Street and Indiana Avenue, please proceed north along the John Marshall Park walkway past the statue of Marshall by William Wetmore Story,then turn left on C Street and right on Sixth. |