By Katie Roxberry, M.A. ’24, Museum Studies
After one year in the White House, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had developed a passion for preservation work. She had successfully advocated for the restoration of her historic new home (despite her husband’s objections) and hosted an Emmy award-winning documentary from its halls. Jackie Kennedy then turned to another project just outside the White House: Lafayette Square.
On March 6, 1962, in a letter addressed to the head of the General Services Administration, Jackie Kennedy wrote, “The important thing is to preserve the 19th-century feeling of Lafayette Square … I so strongly feel the White House should give the example in preserving our nation’s past. Now we think of saving old buildings like Mt. Vernon and tear down everything in the 19th century … but in the next hundred years, the 19th century will be of great interest and there will be none of it left, just plain glass skyscrapers … Before you know it, everything is ripped down and horrible things put up in their place. I simply panic at the thought of this and decided to make a last-ditch appeal.”
A map in the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection reveals what was at stake. Printed in 1981, Lusk’s Washington, D.C. Historic Preservation Map outlines and illustrates three different categories of protection and restoration assigned to the District’s landmarks. Category I is the highest designation, applied to the preservation of certain culturally significant landmarks. Category II affords protection of other culturally significant landmarks if possible. Category III denotes landmarks “which contribute to the cultural heritage or visual beauty and interest of the District of Columbia and its environs, and which should be preserved or restored, if practicable [emphasis added].”
Several buildings surrounding and near Lafayette Park are Category I landmarks. The Decatur House, built in 1818, became the first private home on Lafayette Square. The Treasury Building, built between 1836 and 1869, is Washington’s oldest federal departmental building. The Executive Office Building, also known as the State, War and Navy Building (listed under both names on this map), was constructed between 1871 and 1888. Other residences and buildings in the area, such as the Tayloe-Cameron House, the Cutts-Madison House (where former First Lady Dolly Madison lived in her later years), the Blair Lee Houses and the Renwick Gallery fall under Category II. Although the culturally significant buildings are afforded protection today, they were nearly demolished in the mid-20th century.
By 1957, the government had made plans to tear down many of these buildings to erect newer, larger structures that could accommodate President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s growing executive agencies. Local organizations, such as the Columbia Historical Society, Dupont Circle Citizens Association, and Citizens Committee to Save Lafayette Square, rallied to preserve them. Slowed but not stopped, the President’s Advisory Commission on Presidential Office Space continued to press for the buildings’ demolition. Shortly after his inauguration, President John F. Kennedy joined the preservation fight, likely influenced by Jackie Kennedy.
Although President Kennedy supported Lafayette Square’s preservation, he ultimately concluded that nothing could be done to save the buildings. Much like her efforts with the White House, Jackie Kennedy did not give up. A photograph of her viewing a model of the buildings’ preservation circulated before redevelopment plans had been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission. Public interest grew, and the incident sparked criticism within some government committees. In October 1962, newspapers announced that the historical buildings would be spared.
Once again, Jackie Kennedy had successfully intervened. The accepted plan allowed for the construction of new buildings set back from their historical neighbors, thus maintaining Lafayette Square’s cultural and historical character. The new buildings’ designs would be modern, yet cohere with nearby 19th- and 20th-century architecture.
Without Jackie Kennedy, Lafayette Square — and Lusk’s map — would look very different. While unacknowledged on the document, her efforts to preserve the atmosphere and historical integrity of Lafayette Square deserve to be recognized.
Read more about Jackie Kennedy’s preservation work in Washington:
Jackie Kennedy’s Washington
Jackie Kennedy in the White House
About the Author
Katie Roxberry has a B.A. in history and English and recently graduated from GW with an M.A. in museum studies. She enjoyed researching and writing on historical objects while working as the digital media editor for the Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies during the 2023-2024 academic year.
Header image: First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attends a press preview of the historic preservation and redevelopment plans for Lafayette Square, 1962. Photograph by Abbie Rowe, courtesy, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.