Press Release

Preservation Foundation Enters into Purchase Agreement with The City Tavern and Announces Capital Campaign

March 29, 2024

Washington, DC.

City Tavern Preservation Foundation (CTPF), a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the City Tavern building, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with The City Tavern Club to purchase the historic City Tavern building and make it the location of its permanent headquarters as well as an historic landmark site open to the public.

The City Tavern, built in 1796 and located on M Street in Georgetown, is the last remaining Federal-era tavern in Washington, DC, one of the oldest buildings remaining in DC and is on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. Purchased and rescued from demolition in 1959 with private funding from a group of DC residents including Marjorie James, Nancy Pyne, Paul Mellon and Mildred Bliss among many others, it was extensively renovated and opened as a private social club in 1962.

Over the course of its history as a tavern, it has hosted Founding Fathers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, and served as an inn, stage coach depot, post office and the Mayor of Georgetown’s office.  In recent history, this landmark hosted significant events, including Lynda Bird Johnson, President Lyndon Johnson’s daughter, celebrating her rehearsal dinner here before marrying Chuck Robb in 1967. Additionally, it was the chosen venue for President Ronald Reagan’s inaugural luncheon in 1981. In purchasing the iconic building, CTPF will be safeguarding an important piece of Washington’s Federal-era heritage, ensuring that it will be open to future generations of visitors.

In order to procure the funds needed to purchase the building, and restore and preserve the building in perpetuity, the CTPF will immediately undertake a major gifts capital campaign with a goal of $6.75M. As part of the purchase agreement, The City Tavern

Club, a non-profit 501c7 private social club, will continue its operations and remain in the City Tavern building as a tenant of CTPF.

To ensure that the building is safeguarded from development while the purchase price is being fundraised, CTPF has set an additional goal of raising $500,000 by June 1, 2024.  Attaining this initial funding will be crucial in the success of the campaign to purchase the building. This phase of the campaign is anchored by a coalition of private donors who have jointly pledged $10K each.

To learn more about how you can support, volunteer or donate, please contact Leslie Maysak, Executive Director, CTPF at Leslie@citytaverndc.org. More information about the City Tavern and the City Tavern Preservation Foundation as well as a donation portal can be found at citytaverndc.org