Evening star., 1951-05-06
Grand Review of 1866
The Victory Porode of the Union Army
Before President Johnson and Gen. Grant
By John CIoqett Proctor

houses and restaurants. About
the center of the square were one
or two old frame buildings and
some vacant lots. and at the cor
ner OF Second street, where the
waters of the Tiber were exposed.
was a three-story brick, built
for the public printing.
West of the Adams Express
Co. was the principal one, and on
the corner of Third street was the
st. Charles Hotel, then kept by
Seth Lamb. At the northwest
corner of Third street and the
Avenue was the Washington
House. conducted by Mrs. A. r.
Beveridge, a three story building,
with the main entrance on the
second floor, reached by stone
steps, the lower story on the Ave-
nue. being occupied by stores. The
site is at present Hotel Belvidere.
On the south side was a frame
structure, occupied as a restau-
rant and hotel, apd westward was
the McDermott coach factory, the
wood and coal yard of George L.
Sheriff and few boarding houses
of three stories. On the north
side of this square was Pullman's
Hotel and the United States Ho-
tel, the Congressional Globe Office
and a number of restaurants, and
at the corner of Four-and-a-hah
street, north side, the building
now known as the Odeon Hall,
where the late Joseph Shillington.
book seller and stationer. was To-.
Gated for many years. There were
several hotels and restaurants
westward on the square between
Four-and-a-half and Sixth streets,
and but little change has taken
place in the buildings on either
side, except near Sixth.
"The Central Market then was
composed of long sheds extending
from Seventh to Ninth streets, and
the front was open, as was also
the north side, the reservation not
having been inclosed. On the north
side of Market space, at Seventh
street, was the Avenue House. a
four story brick building. occupy
ing the site where Saks used to be
located. AS now, business places.
mostly dry goods, fronted the
space extending to Ninth street,
where Perry & Bro. conducted
the dry goods business in plain
two-story brick. The Gunton prop
erty. on the northwest corner Of
Ninth street and Pennsylvania
avenue, an old-fashioned two-story
brick, was occupied for the drug
business. Westward were some
old-faShioned bricks Of two and
three stories, nearly all of which
have been torn down or have been
remodeled. The most prominent
building in the square was the
iron hall building erected original
lily as a place of amusement and
now occupied, in part, by Edward
Droop. Near the corner Of Tenth
street the square was ended by a
row of three-story bricks, that at
the corner being used as the Lewis
johnson banking house. On the
south side of the Avenue, where
the Mutual Fire Insurance Co.'S
marble building now stands, were
some old-fashioned brick houses"
Grand Army Encampment
The first Grand Army Encamp-
ment held in Washington seems
to have omitted parade. OF this
early event, The Star of May IL,
1870, said: "The National En-
campment of the Grand Army Of
the Republic assembled at IL
o'clock today at the headquarters
of the Department of the Poto-
mac. corner of Ninth and D
streets"
The next National Encampment
was held in Washington, and
was probably the greatest and
most largely attended Of all. It
took place on September 81 and
%, 1892. The writer clearly re-
calls this, since on the day of
the parade he occupied a camp
stool on the sidewalk on the north
side of Pennsylvania avenue be-
tween Twelfth and Thirteenth
streets from 8 am. to S pm.
and saw more Grand Army men
than he ever saw before or since.
This was particularly notable
occasion, and the people of the
District of Columbia gave the
Grand Army a welcome such as
had not been given since the
grand review. OF course, there
was a Citizens Committee, which
made all the local plans suffi-
GENTLY far in advance to guaran-
tee the success that it proved
to be.