The J.W. Marriott, SABR 39's official hotel, has played a unique role in DC history.

The following comes from "On This Spot: Pinpointing History in Washington, D.C." by Douglas E. Evelyn and SABR member Paul Dickson.

"Now occupied by the J.W. Marriott Hotel, this corner [the northeast corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street NW] once served as the intersection of `Newspaper Row' and `Rum Row.' Along 14th Street were the offices of the New York Herald, The New York Times, New York World, Philadelphia Public Ledger, Boston Transcript and Cincinnati Gazette.

"After the Civil War, the Western Union telegraph office was located around the corner on what was then called E Street. In the 1890s, and also serving newspapermen of the day, was Rum Row, a string of watering holes along Pennsylvania Avenue that began at 14th Street and ran eastward. It included Tim Sullivan's popular bar and the Lawrence Hotel, which sported a beer garden and Washington's first cabaret. George Rothwell Brown recounted that colonel Joseph Rickey, a St. Louis lobbyist and drinkmeister at nearby Shoomaker's Tavern, was the originator of the `Whiskey Rickey,' composed of whiskey, Apollinarium (mineral water) and lime juice, later made with gin and called the `Gin Rickey' [editor's note: no apparent relation to Hall of Fame executive and confirmed teetotaler Branch Rickey].

"For must of the 20th century the building at the intersection of Pennsylvania and 14th, taking in Newspaper Row and part of Rum Row, was occupied by Bassin's Restaurant, a downtown magnet for those in search of an economical meal, including tourists, office workers and reporters from the adjacent National Press Building. Bassin's opened the city's first sidewalk cafe her in 1961, winning the city's approval despite predictions of dire consequences, including the attraction of ladies of the night. None of the forecasts came to pass.

"In the late 1970s and early 1980s Bassin's and the Washington Post building on E Street were razed as part of the Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment. Today Newspaper Row and rum row are occupied by the J.W. Marriott Hotel, the National Theatre and The Shops at National Place."

For a far more recent indicator of the J.W. Marriott Hotel being at the core of what's happening in Washington, click to read an article that appeared on the front page of Dec. 4's Washington Post, in which a Virginia businessman paid the hotel's $1 million asking price -- and planned to spend another $600,000 -- to assemble a "build-you-own-ball" package so that the disadvantaged could attend presidential inauguration ceremonies: The Benefactor of the Ball.

SABR 39 in Washington: It's going to be monumental.