This former embassy is among the finest of nearly a dozen Meridian Hill mansions built by Mary Foote Henderson (1841-1931), in collaboration with her favorite architect, George Oakley Totten Jr. (1866-1939). Built in 1907, the project was her first successful enticement of a foreign mission to Sixteenth Street, in keeping with her great ambition to create an “Avenue of Presidents” lined with lavish embassies and memorials. The building is a superb example of Beaux Arts residential architecture, ranking among Totten’s finest work. The embassy was planned and built under French ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand, who served from 1902 to 1925 as one of the most influential and admired foreign diplomats ever assigned to the DC corps. The Old French Embassy was the site of critical political conferences during and after World War I, and served as Jusserand’s residence until his retirement. When he retired, the estate was turned back over to Henderson as the embassy planned to move their offices in the following decade. Following Henderson’s death, the Old French Embassy became a boarding house/hotel, with a church renting out some of the space. Eventually, the newly formed government of Ghana headquartered their embassy in the building, before moving to a newer building in 1990s. Today, the Council for Professional Recognition occupies the building, keeping the building properly preserved.

DC Inventory: August 28, 1997

For more (including 3 images) view the original article

The Clarence Moore Residence exemplifies the Beaux Arts style of architecture popular at the turn of the century in the houses built on Massachusetts Avenue. The house was built in 1906 for Clarence and Mabel Swift Moore and remained in the possession of Mrs. Moore (later Mrs. Wichfeld, after Clarence Moore died aboard the Titanic) until 1927, when it was purchased by the Canadian government for use as an embassy. The excellent interiors of the house have been well preserved, especially the southeast dining room, with its carvings in the style of Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721), the Englishman regarded as one of the greatest wood carvers in history. The dining room is modeled on Gibbons' work on the interiors of William Stanton's Belton House at Grantham, England, built between 1685 and 1688.

The Moores commissioned the firm of Price and de Sibour to design the house. As Bruce Price was deceased by the time the house was built, it is likely that Jules Henri de Sibour was largely responsible for the design. Born in France and raised in the United States, de Sibour attended Yale before returning to France for his architectural training at the École des Beaux-Arts. His other works in DC include the Hibbs Building, the Hamilton Hotel, and the Riggs Building.

After Mabel Swift Moore sold the residence to the Canadian government, the house was used as the Canadian embassy until the 1980s. In 1993, following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Uzbekistan the previous year, the house became the Embassy of Uzbekistan.

DC Inventory: February 22, 1972 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)

National Register: April 3, 1973

For more (including 4 images) view the original article

Originally owned by Robert S. McCormick and his wife, Katherine, the McCormick House’s distinct architecture and location tuned in to the future of major development along Massachusetts Avenue NW, often referred to as Embassy Row. Robert McCormick had previously served as the ambassador to France and Russia; Katherine McCormick’s father founded the Chicago Tribune, giving both spouses the financial and social resources to build such an impressive home in the area. John Russell Pope, a noted DC architect who also designed the National Gallery of Art, the Jefferson Memorial, and many other well-known buildings, designed the private home in the Italian Renaissance style. The home’s construction lasted from 1908 to 1910. The home’s limestone exterior and minimal ornamentation, along with the house’s orientation, made it exemplary of similar homes in the area. Pope had situated the house’s front exterior to maximize sun exposure from the southeast direction. The McCormick family owned the home until Katherine’s death in 1932 (Robert had passed in 1919). Its ownership transferred to the Brazilian government in 1935, and has since served as the Brazilian ambassador’s residence.

The residence of the Japanese Ambassador was designed in 1931 in the neo-Georgian style, which was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Designed by the prominent firm of Delano and Aldrich, the residence, with its teahouse and subsidiary buildings, sits among landscaped gardens and complements the scale and dignity of its Massachusetts Avenue neighbors. Additionally, the design of the embassy includes elements that bear the influence of Japanese architecture.

Although emissaries of the Japanese government had been received since 1860, the Japanese legation was only raised to an embassy in 1906, following the suggestion of Theodore Roosevelt. The new residence, completed in 1932, marked a decade of unrest in Japanese–U.S. relations that began when Japan took over Manchuria in October of 1931 and ended in the severance of relations when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941. As the U.S. entered World War II, the government took the building into its custody, and the Japanese ambassador and other Japanese diplomats were sent into internment at Hot Springs, Virginia.

After 1952, the embassy was returned to Japanese hands. In the years since, the embassy grounds have seen the addition of a rock garden and a teahouse that celebrate the U.S.–Japan diplomatic relationship.

DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)

National Register: February 20, 1973

For more (including 2 images) view the original article

Built in 1907 for A. Clifford and Alice Pike Barney by George Oakley Totten, this house is most notable as the home of Charles Evans Hughes—a statesman and juror of the highest order, a leader in the Progressive movement, and the holder of a succession of important offices, from the administration of William Howard Taft to the New Deal. When first appointed in 1910 to the Supreme Court, of which he later became Chief Justice, Hughes took his place alongside Oliver Wendell Holmes as one of the conservative body's two distinguished dissidents, exercising a powerful voice in progressive reform and as an early champion of civil rights and racial equality.

Although a native of New York, Hughes made Washington his permanent home. He and Mrs. Hughes purchased the commodious R Street residence, next door to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Francis Adams, in 1930, when he returned to the city as Chief Justice. For the rest of their lives, longer than they had lived anywhere else, the Hughes resided here, maintaining the order and efficiency that had always characterized their daily existence. As at his earlier Washington home, Hughes maintained a study on the first floor. "From these modest quarters," writes Hughes' biographer Marlo Pusey, "the Supreme Court was to be directed for eleven years."

Now occupied by the Ambassador of Burma, the dwelling is outwardly unchanged.

DC Inventory: June 19, 1973 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)

National Register and National Historic Landmark: November 28, 1972

Within Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District

For more (including 4 images) view the original article

Found at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 24th Street NW, the Christian Hauge House’s intricate architecture is exemplary of the neighborhood’s elegant aesthetic. Designed by George Oakley Totten, Jr. – known for his many designs in the Meridian Hill Historic District – in the Beaux Arts style and reminiscent of 16th century French chateaus, the house has served as both a private residence and as ambassadors’ residences for two nations. Constructed in 1906, the original owner and namesake of the home never occupied it. After serving as a private residence within the Hauge family, the house was sold to the Czechoslovakian government in 1929. They occupied the building until 1969 when they moved their operations. In 1972, the Republic of Cameroon purchased the building and has occupied it since. Today, the house serves as the ambassador’s residence. The home’s location in the Massachusetts Avenue and Sheridan-Kalorama historic districts, amongst many other official ambassadors’ residences and embassies, has maintained the neighborhood’s “Embassy Row” character.

Built in 1925 on land purchased by the Italian government from Mary Foote Henderson (1841-1931), the Old Italian Embassy is among the most notable mansions Henderson commissioned for Sixteenth Street.  The embassy is a distinguished example of Beaux Arts design in the Italian Renaissance style, illustrating the effective adaptation of the style for use both as an imposing residence and a statement of national identity. It is one of only two known buildings in DC designed by the prominent New York architecture firm, Warren and Wetmore, better known as the architects of Grand Central Station. The chancery was added in the 1930s. The building served as the Italian Embassy from 1925 through 1977. In 1977, Ambassador Roberto Gaja moved the residence to Villa Firenze (Firenze House) in the Forest Hills neighborhood. The Sixteenth Street building continued to serve as the chancery until 2002, when it was purchased by developers to be renovated as an apartment complex.

DC Inventory: February 23, 2006

For more (including 5 images) view the original article

Built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style for Emily J. Wilkins (widow of Beriah Wilkins, U.S. Congressman and Washington Post publisher), this lavish Beaux Arts mansion served as a family home and elegant space for high-society parties and events. Designed by Jules Henri de Sibour, the city's most successful Beaux Arts architect, the home has a 16th century Italian facade, Corinthian eaves, exposed brick, and arched doorways. The elaborate interior ornamentation, a composite of 17th century English styles such as Jacobean and Tudor, is best exemplified by its fine oak staircase pierced by carved panels and the plaster-work of its drawing room.

In 1910, the house was deeded to the Wilkin's son, John F. Wilkins, a socially prominent banker and businessman. The home transitioned from family residence into diplomatic service as the Australian Embassy occupied the house from 1947-1969.

In 1973, the Peruvian Chancery took over occupancy of the building and remains in residence today. 

DC Inventory: February 22, 1972 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)

For more (including 2 images) view the original article