#23

Love the bunting on the porch railings!

No, in this case #23 does not refer to MJ. Sandwiched between the two terms of Grover Cleveland was Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States. The only POTUS to hail from Indiana, the house where he lived in Indianapolis is now a national historic landmark. Since we had a free morning before M's semi-final performance with Pacific Crest at Lucas Oil Stadium, we decided to check out the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, about 1.5 miles from our hotel downtown. 

The docent who led our tour was very knowledgeable and easily kept our interest. We learned a lot about the Harrison family, beginning with Benjamin's great-grandfather (also Benjamin Harrison), who was elected to the First Continental Congress as a representative of Virginia and was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, fought against Tecumseh in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 and was elected in 1840 as the ninth President of the United States. He died after only a month in office. 

Benjamin Harrison was a prominent attorney in Indianapolis and served as a colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War. He and his wife Caroline began construction on the house in 1874, and except for the periods of time when he served in the U.S. Senate (1881-1887) and as President (1889-1893), he and his family resided here. Caroline died in the White House in 1892, but in 1896, Harrison married his first wife's niece, Mary. Harrison died in their home in 1901. Mary and their daughter Elizabeth stayed in the home until 1913 when they moved to New York.

Unlike some of the other historic homes we have visited, many of the furnishings and artifacts within the house actually belonged to the Harrisons, as opposed to pieces which are merely appropriate to the time period.

Front parlor

Study

Formal dining room

Kitchen

Look at the tiny waist on that dress!

Master bedroom

Elizabeth's room

Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel and walked over to Georgia Street to check out Food Truck Friday. R ordered a lobster roll from Caplinger's Fresh Catch, while J and I split a bacon grilled cheese sandwich from Bacon Station and pretzel breadsticks with queso dip from Union Jack. A yummy lunch!