Evening star., 1940-01-14

Browns Hotel stood on the nor
between Sixth and Seventh streets, (
its name was changed to the Metro
politan, and by this name it was
known when removed about 1888, to
become a bus station, the property
having been leased for 80 years to
the United Motor Terminals, Inc,
by Woodbury. Blair and Rozier Du-
lany, trustees for the Wallach es-
tate. The history of this hotel and
its site-so far as its use for hotel
purposes is concerned-begins with
the purchase made by William
Woodward on April %, 1902, of a
piece of ground at this location from
William H. Dorsey on perpetual
ground rent.
Hotel Sites Used.
The Metropolitan covered the sites
of several early hotels, which it
seems to have absorbed as it in
creased in size and grew in i'm
portance, but Mr.. Woodward was
the first to start in business there,
which he did some time prior to
1904, for it was on this date that
a notice appeared in the National In
telligencer of meeting of residents
and proprietors to form a citizens
association, which is also interesting
as probably the first announcement
of an association of this kind. An
adjournment of this meeting was
4oly fo OF william WnnH-
wards, later mentioned as Wood
wards Centre Tavern.
According to w. B. Bryan: I'm
order to secure a supply of water
for his tavern, Mr.. Woodward, on
September IA, 1903, bought from
Thomas Tingey lot on the north
side of c street, just west OF Four
and-a-half street, where there was
a fine spring. The water was con-
veyed by pipes to the hotel, and
when Mr.. Woodward parted with
the property in January, 1906, to
Robert Underwood, the right to the
use of the water for the hotel was
reserved"
Continuing Mr.. Bryan says: This
Is the first hotel in that section
of the city there is any record of,
with the exception of notice in
the Intelligencer of January IA,
1901, that board and lodging for six
or eight gentlemen can be had at
the White House, between the City
Post Office and Pennsylvania ave-
nue.. AS the post Office was located
in a house owned by DR.. John
Crocker, at the northwest corner OF
Ninth and E streets NV, the gen.
eral location of the place is deter
mined.
Subsequent Houses.
"In point of time the establish
ment of Mr.. Woodward's place fol-
lows and the next house of public
entertainment is the Centre House
Inn, which Mr.. Solomon Meyers
announced, October "a, 1904, he had
opened on Ninth street, about 80
yards north of Pennsylvania avenue
and opposite Messrs. Herford's dis
tillery,' the latter being at the south
west corner of Pennsylvania avenue
and Ninth street. The exact loca-
ton (of the Centre House InnD was
the southwest corner of Ninth and
D streets. Unlike the great majority
of men engaged in the hotel busi-
ness at that time in this city, Mr..
Meyers purchased this property, but
then, a few months later, he made
an arrangement with Mr.. Wood
ward, by which he leased not only
the building used as a tavern by
Mr.. woodward, but the adjoining
house, also erected and owned by
Mr.. Woodward. He made formal
announcement of the change in the
Intelligencer, July 20, 1905, wherein
he christens his new place the Penn
sylvania House and Myers City
Tavern. The tavern, which was a
tWo-story brick structure, adjoined
on the west by Duane's bookstore at
the corner, and then, on the other
side, was the house lately occupied
by Mrs. Wilson as boarding house.
His lease from Mr.. Woodward was
for three years at $3.50 per year."
The successor to Solomon Meyers
and his City Tavern was George w.
Lindsay, who began operating the
Avenue hotel under his name, but
only for a year or two, when 1t
went under the management OF
John Davis, about 1910. Still later
1t was McKeown's Hotel, and in
1920 the ownership passed to Jesse
Brown, who had been for several
years the proprietor of the City
Hotel in nearby Alexandria. Brown
called his washington enterprise
Browns Indian Queen Hotel, the
name having probably been sug-
gested from a hotel by the same
name once kept by David ARIEL or
Market street in Alexandria.
Jackson Group Organized.
It was during the proprietorship o1
Jesse Brown that the Jackson Demo
cratic Association was formed II
1928 as the Jackson Central Com.
mittee. Through the efforts of thi:
club, John P. Van Ness, John H
Brent and Henry M. Morfit were
elected the first delegates from thi.
city to the convention of the Demo
cratic party, held in Baltimore II
1882, when Martin Van Buren wa
nominated for Vice President on tn
ticket with Andrew Jackson. Thi
was voting delegation, a privileg
not accorded the District again unit
years later.
Van Ness was the shrewd bushes
man who married Marcia Burnes an
who was Mayor Of Washington from
1880 to 1884. When he died ther
was portrait of Andrew jackson
hanging on the wall of his dinin
room in honor of him whom he S
greatly admired in life.
The Globe, at the time referred +
by Senator Vandenberg, was pub
lished on the north side of E stree
between Thirteenth and Fourteent
streets. where is now the Munse
Building. The plant consisted c
three buildings, purchased by Blai