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Where the presidents lived - Washington Post

By Kathy Orton and Darla Cameron, Published Feb. 12, 2015

As a nod to Presidents’ Day, here is a sampling of where commanders in chief lived before, during and after their time in the White House. Several served as congressmen, senators or Cabinet officials before becoming president, and they tended to move around. John F. Kennedy, for example, resided in many homes in Georgetown but we list the one he lived in just before he moved into the White House.

From hotels to mansions

The early presidents preferred boarding houses for their lodgings. William McKinley and his wife, Ida, lived at the Ebbitt House at 14th and F streets NW (now the National Press Club building). James Polk lived at Jonathan Elliott’s boarding house on Pennsylvania Avenue, and Benjamin Harrison lived at Riggs House. These homes were not luxurious. Rutherford B. Hayes, who took rooms on 13th Street, wrote in a letter to his wife, Lucy, that “my surroundings are so-so.” Andrew Jackson and Calvin Coolidge stayed at hotels.

Others lodged with prominent citizens in their homes. William Henry Harrison lived at the E Street home of William Seaton, major of Washington. Andrew Johnson was one of the few presidents to live in Maryland. While vice president, he spent time at Francis Blair’s home in Silver Spring.

SOURCE: Post research. Illustrations by Patterson Clark. Eddy Palanzo contributed to this report. Published Feb. 12, 2015.

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Update: 2024-08-13