Located on Ft. McNair, one of Southwest’s most historic buildings was renovated, restored, and rededicated in a ceremony on April 3. Formerly known as “Building 20,” it was renamed Ulysses S. Grant Hall in honor of the General-in-Chief of the Union Army during the Civil War, who became the 18th President of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877.
The building became the focus of national attention in 1865 when the trial and sentencing of eight of those implicated in the assassination of President Lincoln was held on the third floor in a newly prepared courtroom. Four of the conspirators were hanged at gallows constructed outside the building. Mary Surratt was one of those hanged, and through the years there have been countless accounts from those who claimed to have felt her spirit in the building.