Ball House, which appears to have sat in a now non-existent square bounded by Sixth, Seventh, and M Streets, SW, across from the Mount Vernon Steamship wharf on the Potomac.

The 3/20/04 "Washington Times" reported, "This building is said to be one of the oldest in Washington, no one being able to tell now just when the structure was erected. It has, however, the walls of a fort and windows which were once embrastures for old flintlocks." The house was part of the estate of George Washington's uncle, Joseph Ball.

I'm a little skeptical RE: the fort and flintlocks, but a total sucker for rambling old Washington houses like this one :) . It was being used as a tavern and boarding house when this photo was taken.