Mr. Lincoln's Photographer

[L Verge]

Mathew Brady's Washington studio still stands today on Pennsylvania Avenue. It serves as a headquarters for an activist group. Many years ago, the building was a restaurant known as the Kansas City Beef House and was owned and operated by the Chaconas family. Joan Chaconas, a student of Lincoln, an expert on the assassination of Lincoln, and a staff member at Surratt House, used to work in the restaurant and had access to the third-floor studio where Brady did his work using a skylight to enhance his photography. The skylight was still there.

When President Kennedy rode down the Avenue in his inaugural parade and determined that "America's Street" needed a make-over, the corporation that was formed to oversee the work used the old studio as their headquarters. The building has been extensively renovated, added onto, etc. over the years. About fifteen years ago, we were able to take a tour group in on the first floor only, and the company that owned it at that time had done a nice display of Brady photographs along a long wall in one corridor.

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I just remembered that those of you who are attending the Surratt conference next month and were able to get on the Friday bus tour to D.C. before it filled (with 13 currently on a waiting list!) will be passing by the Brady studio building that day. Joan Chaconas has included a brief history of the building in a booklet that she has prepared for the trip. She shared an interesting piece of trivia that I'm passing along.

U.S. Grant was having his photograph taken there one day shortly after relieving Halleck and becoming the new General in Chief of the Union armies. He was seated under the skylight when a dark cloud crossed overhead. Brady sent an assistant up to pull back some matting that was covering part of the skylight. The man took a wrong step and put his foot through the glass - sending shards down on General Grant.

Grant was not upset, but his companion - Edwin Stanton - was! Stanton demanded that the accident be kept quiet as it might be thought to be a plot against Gen. Grant.