An Imaginary Tour of Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue Blair House
You continue your walk a little farther. Alongside Lafayette Square, concrete posts block the side street called Jackson Place. The post nearest the park looks like it has been hit by a car or truck-the concrete has been cracked off, revealing the metal post inside.
Across Jackson Place is Blair House. It was built in around 1824 and sold to the government in 1942. Foreign officials sometimes stay here when they come to see the President. In 1950, right here on Pennsylvania Avenue, Puerto Rican nationalists staged an assassination attempt against President Harry S. Truman, who was in Blair House at the time. The gun battle on Pennsylvania Avenue left one of the would-be assassins and a White House guard dead. The President was unharmed.
 Blair House, the white building seen across the Pennsylvania Avenue construction zone, is operated by the Department of State as a residence for visiting foreign visitors. It was built in 1824. In 1950, a gun battle erupted on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of Blair House when Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate President Harry Truman. The gun battle on Pennsylvania Avenue left one of the would-be assassins and a White House guard dead. The President was unharmed. |
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