Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-08
AVENUE BUILDING
HISTORY RECALLED
Topham Reads Paper to AS
ISOLATION of Oldest lnhabit-
ants on Collapsed Edifice.

Washington newspaper history and
"reminiscences of lower Pennsylvania
t.renue. brought forth by the recent
collapse amid a Juror Of bomb rumors
of the Fellowship Forum Building,
near Third street and Pennsylvania
avenue, was recalled by the Associa-
ton of Oldest Inhabitants of the Dis
trict of Columbia at its meeting last
night in the old Union Engine House,
Nineteenth and III streets.
Following the regular business ses-
sion. at which the association voted tc
receive John +. Jarvis and Charles
McCauley Emmons as new members,
Washington Topham, vice president
of the organization, read a paper IN
which he reviewed not only the history
of the Fellowship Forum Building
named jackson Hall at it's dedication
but the newspaper publishing events
preceding the structures completion
including the press reports or the
Congressional sessions prior to the
founding of the Congressional Record.
Lively Discussion Held.
Mr.. Topham's paper. which fnsti-
tuted a lively discussion concerning
the exact location of Tiber Greek.
follows, IN part:
1.-THE disaster on August Z and
consequent destruction of the rear
portion Of the Globe office on Pennsyl-
vania avenue, awakens in the minds
of the oldest Inhabitants many memo
ries of this historic old structure and
neighborhood. Few buildings in Wash.
ington have more interesting and
important history, both from a local
fhan tina nId
Globe office, or Jackson Hall, as 1t
was better known in it's earlier years,
and as it was named at it's dedication.
Here the Congressional Globe was
printed and published, which became
the recognized official reports of Con.
gress for over a quarter of a century,
from 1S4S until 1876. when Congress
began the publication Of the Congress
sional Record.
1.-The corner stone Of Jackson Hall
was laid July 4, 1S45, but the building
was not completed and dedicated until
July 4, 1916, just one year later.
The occasion of the laying of the
conner stone was an unusual and i'm
pressive one, including Masonic cere.
monies, parade, the erection of a
hickory pole in front of the building
and addresses by Judge Shields and
others.
Blair and Rives Builders.
blair and Rives were the builders
and proprietors and a wealth Of his.
torical interest is associated with
these names so closely identified with
the business and political life of our
city as well as that of the Nation.
THE National Intelligencer of De.
cember /, 1S45, has an interesting
article in reference to this building,
under the head of new buildings
erected on the Avenue that year. as
follows:
Among the improvements on the
Great National Broadway of this
metropolis, SO well known all over the
Union by the name of Pennsylvania
avenue, is the spacious and mag
nificent structure, ,;nown as Jackson
Hall. This superb edifice contains
beside two large basement rooms, tive
spacious and elegant store rooms or
the first floor, and on the second and
third floors two splendid and spacious
purposes, said to be the largest in the
city.
jackson Hall is yet in an un
finished state; it is being erected by
Mr.. Zephaniah Jones, bricklayer; Mr.
Barney B.. Curran, carpenter, and
Messrs. Emery and Gault, granite cut
tiers. In the rear of Jackson Hall, the
same master workmen have just com
pleted for Messrs. Blair and Rives q
large and commodious three-story
building for printing Office. 1t IL
already provided with steam and Other
mechanical apparatus for carrying or
an extensive business
jackson Hall proper was 81 feet
long by so feet wide. The building
was considered a lofty one in those