In 1814, during the War of 1812, the British had burned the nearby U.S. Capitol building, forcing Congress into temporary quarters. A hotel was pulled down and a temporary Capitol was built in the Federal style of architecture and used from 1815-1819 while the U.S. capitol was being rebuilt.
It was vacated in 1819 and after that used as a private school and then a boarding house. Famed politician John C. Calhoun died at the boarding house in 1850.
In 1861, the government repurchased it and used it as a prison for captured Confederates, political prisoners, Union officers convicted of insubordination and local prostitutes.
A Varied Career. --Old Secesh
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