In an article in today's (Friday, June 30), New York Sun, "On an
otherwise
nondescript anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge, a small brass plaque
pays tribute
to another era. As cars and trucks whiz by, observant passersby may
notice the
tarnished marker placed on the bridge more than a century ago to
commemorate
the site of George Washington's first presidential mansion."
The Sun continues, "Although that portion of Cherry Street no longer
remains
and the area bears little resemblance to the "uptown" neighborhood once
populated by Revolutionary statesmen, the mansion was rented by
Congress for
Washington's use, according to New-York Historical Society papers. He
lived there
between April 1789 and February 1790, before moving to 39 Broadway."
For the complete article, "A Piece of History Stands Hidden on Brooklyn
Bridge", please go to:
http://www.nysun.com/article/35329
Oddly, neither the NY Sun article nor Burrows and Wallace's Gotham: A
History
of New York City to 1898 give the name of the house in
connection with Washington's residency. I had to resort to google to
find that it was the Franklin House. Washington moved from there after
10 months to the larger Macomb House because he found the Franklin
House too small to accommodate his staff and his presidential
activities.
Once I knew its name, I did learn from Burrows and Wallace that the
house was named for (and probably built by) a Quaker merchant, Walter
Franklin, who was a founder of the New York Chamber of Commerce.
Franklin died during the Revolution and his daughter Maria inherited
the house. She married DeWitt Clinton, obviously leading to the Clinton
occupancy of the house in the years after Washington departed.
I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting.