Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.

Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. is located at 8th and I Streets, Southeast in Washington, D.C. Established in 1801, it is a National Historic Landmark, the oldest post in the United States Marine Corps, the official residence of the Commandant of the Marine Corps since 1806, and main ceremonial grounds of the Corps.

The U.S. Marine Corps Barracks and Commandant's House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. A property with eight contributing buildings was included in the listing. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

History

The buildings at the Marine Barracks are some of the oldest in Washington. In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson and Commandant LtCol William Ward Burrows rode horses about the new capital to find a place suitable for the Marines near the Washington Navy Yard. They chose a location within marching distance of both the Navy Yard and the Capitol and hired architect George Hadfield to design the barracks and the Commandant’s House.

When the British burned Washington during the War of 1812, they also captured the Marine barracks, whom they had defeated at the Battle of Bladensburg. It is traditionally held within the Marine Corps that, out of respect for the brave showing of...
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