Presidents and First Ladies Trivia

[Gene C]

Is this where Seward had his carriage accident?

[RJNorton]

That is a very thoughtful guess, Gene, but Seward's carriage accident is not the answer. This historical event came after 1865.

[L Verge]

19th or 20th century event?

[RJNorton]

It happened in the 19th century.

[L Verge]

Pre-CW or Post-CW?

[RJNorton]

It happened after the Civil War. I believe it's been occasionally mentioned on this forum.

[Gene C]

Where Grant got his "speeding ticket"?

[RJNorton]

That is another excellent guess, Gene, but not correct.

Hint #2: Where the man is standing was not in a street when this historical event happened. A building was there where he is standing.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Garfield assassination?

[RJNorton]

Excellent, Eva! Yes, according to Louis Picone's The President is Dead! the author is standing on the approximate spot where President James Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881. The shooting occurred in Washington's Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station.

Picone writes:

"After the Union Station opened in 1907, the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station was torn down. In 1936, district city engineers set out to determine the spot where Garfield was shot. Their best estimates placed the shooting at the center of Constitution Avenue NW, approximately 30-40 feet west of the Sixth Street corner. There is no marker at the location today, making the site the only presidential assassination site that is completely unrecognized."

[Leon Greene]

   

Excellent, Eva! Yes, according to Louis Picone's The President is Dead! the author is standing on the approximate spot where President James Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881. The shooting occurred in Washington's Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station.

Picone writes:

"After the Union Station opened in 1907, the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station was torn down. In 1936, district city engineers set out to determine the spot where Garfield was shot. Their best estimates placed the shooting at the center of Constitution Avenue NW, approximately 30-40 feet west of the Sixth Street corner. There is no marker at the location today, making the site the only presidential assassination site that is completely unrecognized."

Earlier, a tiny marker was indeed erected in memory of President Garfield's 1881 assassination. In the waiting room of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Terminal in Washington, D.C., a bronze star on the floor of the terminal marked the spot where Charles Guiteau had shot President James Garfield, and a marble tablet on the adjacent wall commemorated the event. Train passengers apparently disliked the reminder of the tragedy that had occurred on this spot, and after a minor fire in the terminal on March 4, 1897, both the star and the plaque were removed, never to be restored to their original locations. With the demolition of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Terminal after its closure in 1907, the assassination site's precise location became obscured.

I've attempted (maybe unsuccessfully) to attach a photo of the memorial. It can be seen at http://civilwarwashingtondc1861-1865.blo...-1881.html

[Steve]

That's a really interesting blog post you linked to. Thanks, Leon.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Excellent, Eva! Yes, according to Louis Picone's The President is Dead! the author is standing on the approximate spot where President James Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881. The shooting occurred in Washington's Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station.

Picone writes:

"After the Union Station opened in 1907, the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station was torn down. In 1936, district city engineers set out to determine the spot where Garfield was shot. Their best estimates placed the shooting at the center of Constitution Avenue NW, approximately 30-40 feet west of the Sixth Street corner. There is no marker at the location today, making the site the only presidential assassination site that is completely unrecognized."

Isn't the West Building of the National Gallery of Art on that site today?

[RJNorton]

Isn't the West Building of the National Gallery of Art on that site today?

Yes, very close.

"And as a result, we don’t know the precise location of the shooting anymore, but I came as close as one can get these days. The railroad station stood at the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 6th Street, northwest. Today that intersection runs between the Newseum and the National Gallery of Art’s West Building."

http://www.bradycarlson.com/the-james-a-...bout-here/

[Leon Greene]

Excellent, Eva! Yes, according to Louis Picone's The President is Dead! the author is standing on the approximate spot where President James Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881. The shooting occurred in Washington's Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station.

Picone writes:

"After the Union Station opened in 1907, the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station was torn down. In 1936, district city engineers set out to determine the spot where Garfield was shot. Their best estimates placed the shooting at the center of Constitution Avenue NW, approximately 30-40 feet west of the Sixth Street corner. There is no marker at the location today, making the site the only presidential assassination site that is completely unrecognized."

Isn't the West Building of the National Gallery of Art on that site today?

An excellent graphic of today's buildings superimposed on the city's street map in the 1880s can be found at: https://matthewbgilmore.files.wordpress....onspot.jpg