Touring Georgetown’s M Street Gem
A few doors down from Dean and Deluca and a short drive away from some of Georgetown’s historic residences sits the quiet City Tavern Club. It’s a lovely brick Federalist building that I’d been to a dozen times for events, but it wasn’t until my friend, Mary Beth, reached out with the promise of a step back in time that I became aware of its cherished history.
The City Tavern Club is one of the oldest buildings in Washington, D.C. at 222 years old and boasts entertaining several presidents.
It was during our tour that I had a “pinch me” moment. I’d worked in the halls of the U.S. Congress, so I have a huge appreciation for anything and everything about our nation’s history. So, naturally, my jaw dropped when I was handed (very delicately) a few of the green Herend Chinese Bouquet plates used for a luncheon hosted to honor former President Ronald Reagan during his inauguration weekend. What an honor to be holding a piece of history!
In commemoration of the luncheon, the club now holds a Reagan dinner every year complete with the former president’s favorite foods, namely jelly beans.
The City Tavern Club’s historic china and tabletop collections are extensive. The Governors’ Room was set with crisp white linens and green accented plates.
The club’s initials were engraved on the flatware and appeared on the charger plates. They were a wonderful match with the Herend plates. Since you all know me well by now, I probably don’t need to say that I was happy as a clam here.
The Governors’ Room is connected with the bright and cheery Jefferson Library. I quickly fell in love with the green trim used in both rooms.
Another one of my favorite rooms was the Great Hall. The scene of many dinners and dances, it is a truly beautiful space. Legend has it that the hand-painted wallpaper is a Chinese import secured by none other than Jackie Kennedy. It is also said that, if you look close enough, you can see slight footprints where the painters stood working on the immense panels.
The receiving rooms just up the stairs are the happiest colors. These rooms were renovated in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. The renovators took care to restore them as best as they could to the original Federalist style, borrowing from old homes in Georgetown when necessary.
An original “dog-leg staircase” led us upstairs from the Long Room to the
Library/Governors’ Room. We enjoyed a fabulous brunch of crab eggs Benedict and mimosas by the chef. A portrait of John Adams, the first president to live in Washington, D.C., rests on the mantle in this room to commemorate a banquet thrown at the club in his honor in June of 1800.
Adams’ toast from that evening: “Georgetown—may its prosperity equal the ardent enterprise of its inhabitants, and the felicity of their situation.”
In earlier days, taverns were quite often where everyone would congregate to receive the word of the day and to socialize. A fact that I didn’t know until touring this home is that Georgetown was initially a part of Maryland in 1751. It was a busy port city during the 18th- and early 19th-centuries. The brick floor in the tavern, which I fell in love with, is original, and the tavern still serves as a meeting place for Georgetowners today.
If you’re interested in learning more about the City Tavern Club and its membership, feel free to reach out to my friend, Mary Beth.
