The Little White House. The Cutts-Madison House. The Howard T. Markey National Courts building.

You’d be forgiven for missing these places. While centrally located, another home distracts you from their existence – the White House.

Madison Place hides in plain sight. The grand Federalist and Italianate style homes on this closed street look like they should sit on acres of land, but they are instead built right alongside on another. Built between and 1820–1910, these mostly nineteenth century townhouses are obscured and shaded by the trees in President’s Park. And being right around the corner from the imposing Treasury Building Annex, they’re easy to overlook. Restored under John F. Kennedy’s administration in 1962, the houses serve as a reminder of a different Washington, one that commanded an all powerful social influence from our founding citizens. What was originally planned as a rejuvenating park for the commander in chief became a neighborhood for Stephen Decatur, Martin van Buren, Henry Clay, Dolley Madison, John Hay, and Henry Adams.