page_title: Old Ebbitt Grill
section_title: First Ebbitt House
hierarchical_section_title: Old Ebbitt Grill / Ebbitt House: 1856 to 1925 / First Ebbitt House
caption_attribution_description: English: Ebbitt House, a hotel and restaurant, in November 1865. This photograph was taken by Matthew Brady. Ebbitt House was located at the southeast corner of F Street NW and 14th Street NW in the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Several structures built between 1800 and 1836 were united into a single structure by William J. Smith some time between 1832 and 1856. The new structure was named "Frenchman's Hotel." In 1856, William E. Ebbitt purchased Frenchman's Hotel from Smith, turned it into a boarding house, and renamed it Ebbitt House. On September 1, 1863, Ebbitt sold the boarding house to his son-in-law, Albert H. Craney. Exactly a year later, Craney sold the property to Caleb C. Willard, brother of Willard Hotel owner Henry A. Willard. Caleb Willard converted the boarding house into a hotel. The same year, Willard purchased Bushrod Reed's property (a grocery store and home) on the corner. He joined the Ebbitt and Reed properties into a single unit, enclosing a 4-foot (1.2 m) wide alley between the two and built bathrooms (with oval windows) in the space above the former alley. To the right of Ebbitt House is "Newspapeer Row." The three-story home on 14th Street adjacent to (in this image, to the right of) Ebbitt House was occupied by the Reed family as well, although by 1864 it had been purchased by Willard and the roof raised. At that time it was not part of the hotel yet, and Willard leased it to the New York Times newspaper for office space. Two single-story buildings south of the Reed home were also built and owned by Reed, and by 1865 used by the Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Evening Post, and other newspapers for reporters' officers. Next to the one-story homes was Farnham House. Originally owned and built by David Burns (whose plantation formed much of the downtown area that would become Washington, D.C.), Burns gave the house to his daughter Marcia, who in turn sold it to William H. Dorsey in 1802. On May 16, 1818, Dorsey sold the house to William Blanchard. Blanchard's daughter, Jane Farnham, inherited the property on June 10, 1850, after his death. By 1865, it housed the D.C. offices of the New York Herald. The large number of newspapers with offices all along 14th Street between E and F Streets garnered the area the nickname "Newspaper Row," a name it would hold into the 1930s. Farnham sold her house at auction to Caleb Willard on October 4, 1866, for $74,000. Ebbitt House and the "Newspaper Row" structures were demolished in 1872 and a new, a six-story, 300-room, Second Empire-style hotel with mansard roof (also called Ebbitt House) was erected on the spot.
context_page_description: Old Ebbitt Grill is a historic bar and restaurant located at 675 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is Washington's oldest bar and restaurant, and as of 2012 was owned by Clyde's Restaurant Group. It opened as an unnamed restaurant in the Ebbitt House Hotel. The Hotel distinguished itself as the first hotel in Washington to remain open all summer instead of closing when Congress adjourned. In 1827, the Hotel was razed and rebuilt in the same location. Ebbitt House Hotel was razed in 1925 to make way for the National Press Building, built in 1926. The restaurant was incorporated by Anders Lofstrand, Sr., as a stand-alone business. It moved into new quarters at 1427 F Street NW. After Lofstrand's death in 1955, the restaurant was purchased by Peter Bechas in 1961. The restaurant was sold at a tax sale in June 1970, and was purchased by Clyde's Restaurant Group. The 1427 F Street NW location was demolished in 1983 during redevelopment, and Old Ebbitt Grill moved into its current quarters at 675 15th Street NW.
  For many years as part of Ebbitt House, the bar/restaurant had no stand-alone name or identity.
context_section_description: The building which later was owned by William E. Ebbitt was located on the southeast corner of F Street NW and 14th Street NW in the city of Washington, D.C. In June 1798, William Crawford obtained title to four parcels of land on the southeast corner of 14th and F streets. The four parcels lay west-to-east along 14th Street. In 1800, Crawford built two four-story Federal-style houses on the two easternmost parcels of this property. The garden of the houses extended west onto the two empty lots on the corner, and down the hill in the rear almost to Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1833, Bushrod W. Reed relocated to the District of Columbia from Westmoreland County, Virginia, purchased the two easternmost lots from Crawford, and between 1833 and 1836 built a double-wide, four-story, Federal-style building on the corner next to the Crawford homes. Crawford's daughter, Sarah, married Richard Forrest, one of the first eight clerks appointed in 1801 by Thomas Jefferson in the United States Department of State. William Crawford installed Richard and Sarah Forrest in his houses, and they inherited them upon his death. Richard Forrest died in 1828, and Sarah died in 1832. Although it is unclear what happened to the property after Sarah Crawford's death, some time prior to 1856 it was purchased by William J. Smith. Smith joined the two houses into a single unit, and named them "Frenchman's Hotel" because he employed a French immigrant as the manager of the facility.
  In 1856, William E. Ebbitt purchased Frenchman's Hotel from Smith, turned it into a boarding house, and renamed it Ebbitt House. During this time, the boarding house also took in guests from the Willard Hotel. On September 1, 1863, Ebbitt sold the boarding house to his son-in-law, Albert H. Craney. Exactly a year later, Craney sold the property to Caleb C. Willard, brother of Willard Hotel owner Henry A. Willard. Willard converted the boarding house into a hotel. The same year, Willard purchased Bushrod Reed's property as well. He joined the Ebbitt and Reed properties into a single unit enclosing a 4-foot (1.2 m) wide alley between the two and built bathrooms with oval windows in the space above.
  A three-story house on 14th Street adjacent to Ebbitt House was occupied by the Reed family as well, although by 1864 it had been purchased by Willard, who raised the roof. At that time it was not yet part of the hotel; Willard leased the building to the New York Times for use as office space. Two single-story buildings south of the Reed home were also built and owned by Reed. By 1865, they were used as offices by the Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Evening Post, and other newspapers. Next to the one-story buildings was Farnham House. It was originally owned and built by David Burns, whose plantation had covered much of the downtown area that would be developed as Washington, D.C. Burns gave Farnham House to his daughter Marcia, who in turn sold it to William H. Dorsey in 1802. On May 16, 1818, Dorsey sold the house to William Blanchard. Blanchard's daughter, Jane Farnham, inherited the property on June 10, 1850, after his death. By 1865, it housed the D.C. offices of the New York Herald. Given the numerous newspapers with offices along 14th Street between E and F Streets, the area was nicknamed "Newspaper Row," a name it would hold into the 1930s. Farnham sold her house at auction to Caleb Willard on October 4, 1866, for $74,000.
  For many years prior to the construction of the Ebbitt House stables in 1872, a large house known as Bull's Head stood at the rear of the hotel. The house marked the northeast corner of Murder Bay. Bull's Head housed prostitutes and contained a large, lower-class gambling den.
caption: Ebbitt House in 1865, after the Reed and Ebbitt properties were joined
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