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The White House is, undoubtedly, the most famous home of Washington but the Old Stone House in DC comes a close second as the oldest surviving building. Built by carpenter Christopher Layman in 1765 using local bluestone, it is located on a street of swanky boutiques and upmarket restaurants in Georgetown. The house is surrounded by unverifiable tales as George Washington’s headquarters. There are as many books dedicated to proving this tale, as there are an equal number to falsify the claim. After much discussion, it was decided that the President did visit Georgetown with city planner Pierre L’Enfant in 1791 but no connection was established with the Old Stone House. The Parks Department took it over in 1940 as a surviving example of American vernacular architecture. It is possible that Layman may have had a vegetable garden, fruit trees and pigs in his sloping backyard; now replaced by an English garden, sweet-smelling seasonal flowers, roses, lilies, phlox and dogwood.
The other, Decatur House, adjacent to the White House in Lafayette Square, is replete, both with history and character. Home to naval hero Commodore Stephen Decatur of the Barbary Wars and War of 1812 fame, the Commodore moved here with wife Susan intending to hobnob with the Capital’s elite. Built in 1818, Decatur House is one of three surviving homes in the country designed by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The couple’s enjoyment of their new home, however, was short-lived. Old friendships turned sour soon after leading to a duel between Decatur and Commodore James Barron. It was not uncommon in the navy those days to settle scores in good ol’ fashioned gentlemanly ways. The rest, as the cliché goes, is history. Decatur bled to death within a few hours of the duel and Barron survived. Susan moved out and rented the house. Its location ensured a series of prominent tenants: vice-presidents, members of Congress, foreign and American dignitaries including Secretary Of State Henry Clay and his many slaves and servants. One of the slaves created history when she filed a suit demanding freedom for herself and her children from his enslavement. Many rejections and 11 years later, Charlotte Dupuy won her case. Curiously, despite his moderate stance on slavery, Clay ensured she was jailed when she chose not to leave Washington at the end of his tenure, separating her from her husband and children. It took Michelle Obama to honour Charlotte’s grit by visiting her quarters this summer. Two centuries apart; two Americas! Cherry tree friendship On the banks of the
Tidal Basin of the Potomac River, a century-old gift stands testimony
to the rocky relationship between America and Japan, yet signifies
hope, peace and endurance. In 1912 Tokyo’s Mayor Yukio Ozaki
presented 3,000 cherry trees to the city as a mark of their continuing
alliance. He was assisted by eminence of both nations; notably Dr
Takamine — credited with discovering adrenaline, and Eliza Scidmore
– first woman board member of the National Geographic Society. The
first two saplings were planted by First Lady Helen Taft, and
Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, respectively.
Interestingly, it is said four of those trees were eventually chopped
down in 1941 in retaliation to the Pearl Harbour attack. Then again,
in 1981, to mark yet another shift in relations, Japan magnanimously
accepted cherry tree cuttings from America to replenish those
destroyed in a devastating flood.
Regardless, an annual festival has commemorated the blossoming of trees since 1935. Each year, the Cherry Blossom Princess and Queen Contest, started in 1948, pits entrants from different states against each other, vying for the title, and the coveted Mikimoto Pearl Crown donated by Mikimoto Kokichi , weighing five pounds in gold and having more than 1,500 pearls. Too heavy and valuable to cart all year through, the Queen wears it at the crowning ceremony but is given a lighter one as a token. A spot of interest at the end of M street in Georgetown are the stone steps featured in Exorcist, the first horror film nominated for best film in Oscars. The legendary house, where it was filmed, stands at the top of the steps. The climactic death of Father Karras was filmed here as he hurled himself through Regan’s window. In 2010 the Library of Congress chose to preserve the film in its National Film Registry.
Quick facts Getting there: There are regular flights from Delhi/Mumbai to Washington DC via Europe or other cities of USA. Best season: April to August for ideal spring and summer weather although humid when raining. the National Cherry Blossom Festival is in April. In September and October autumn colours lend an amber hue. Things to do: Visit
the White House and Capitol Hill; visit the Smithsonian Museums,
various National Monuments and Memorials; walk the streets of
Georgetown; and along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal stopping to eat a
cupcake at ‘Baked and Wired’; dine at Circa Café at Dupont
Circle.
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