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The City Tavern was constructed in 1796 and first managed by Clement Sewall, who served in the American Revolution alongside his friend George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington’s step-grandson. Sewall had previously managed another significant inn known as the Fountain Inn (also known as Suter's Tavern) on Fishing Lane (near the corner of today’s 31st and K Streets), where President Washington negotiated with local land owners to create the new Federal City.[citation needed] At the time, Georgetown was a separate municipality and thriving port in the nascent District of Columbia and the new City Tavern was one of several inns built to meet the growing demand for lodging. Located in the heart of Georgetown, the City Tavern served not only as a traditional lodging house but also as the meeting place for Georgetown’s governing body, the Georgetown Corporation and the location for elections and meetings of the Mayor’s Court. It also served as the terminal stop of the Georgetown-Frederick stagecoach line. Of the several taverns that were constructed in Georgetown during the founding era, the City Tavern is the only one that remains today.

Image taken mid-day in HDR and processed in CS5