page_title: F Street House
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: F Street House / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The 1925 F Street Club now serves as the President's Residence at the George Washington University. International Monetary Fund and Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs buildings are seen on left and right, respectively.
context_page_description: The F Street House is today a historic 19th-century mansion in Washington, DC, blocks away from the White House, that serves as the official residence of the President of the George Washington University. It is a registered landmark on the National Register of Historic Places and was previously known as the Steedman-Ray House, Alexander Ray House, and as the F Street Club.
context_section_description: The Greek Revival building was constructed for U.S. Navy Captain Alexander Ray (1799–1878) in 1849.
  It was purchased by American University in 1920 and served as the "Downtown Campus" for many years.
  Laura Curtis, wife of New York lawyer James Freeman Curtis, rented the home in the 1920s.
  In 1935, the 1925 F Street Club, Inc. purchased the property and operated a private members' club from the building, started by Laura M. Gross. The Club counted many well known and influential men as regular guests, including Presidents Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, George H. W. Bush and members of their respective Administrations. This popularity could well have been because the Clubhouse was only a few blocks away from the White House.
  The Clubhouse also served as a popular meeting place of the East Coast elite (in particular those who held powerful positions in the C.I.A. and the Department of State); and who hold informal meetings at the club. It was once labelled as "...the most difficult door to open in Washington D.C.". Indeed, the club was so exclusive that not even its members knew exactly who else belonged entirely.  It was the place where men of power and influence dined, drank and socialized as they charted America's course according to Collier Magazine.
  It was managed by a Board of Directors consisting of ten members.  They were the "Old Guard," from prominent Washington, D.C. families who carefully guarded all operational aspects of the club.
caption: The F Street House with the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) behind it.
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