The French Ambassador's residence | |
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| Location | 2221 Kalorama Road, NW Washington, D.C. |
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| Coordinates | 38°55′5.556″N77°3′2.574″W / 38.91821000°N 77.05071500°W |
| Built | 1910 |
| Architect | Jules Henri de Sibour |
| Architectural style | Tudor Revival |
| Part of | Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District (ID89001743 [1] ) |
| Added to NRHP | 1989 |
The French ambassador's residence in Washington, D.C. is located at 2221 Kalorama Road, N.W., in the Kalorama neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. [2] [3]
The residence, built in 1910, was designed by the French-born American architect Jules Henri de Sibour for William Watson Lawrence (1859-1916), [4] a paint and white lead manufacturer. [3] It was later the home of the mining millionaire John Hays Hammond. [5] [6] The mansion was purchased by the French government in 1936, [3] and served as the French chancery (embassy building) until 1985, when the current chancery in northwest Washington was completed on Reservoir Road. [7] The completion of the Reservoir Road embassy allowed the 400 employees of the French diplomatic mission at the time to work in a single location, rather than at the ten different offices scattered around Washington, where French diplomats had previously worked. [8]
In 1941, the French government purchased additional lots of land overlooking Kalorama Circle, [2] bringing the total size of the property to 3.6 acres (1.5 ha). [2] [3] In 2017, however, the French government sold an empty tract of 0.58 acres (0.23 ha) of the property. [2] The sale brought the total size of the property to about 3 acres (1.2 ha), which is still the largest tract of land in Kalorama. [2]
In February 2015, the manor house reopened after undergoing a $4.5 million, two-year renovation and restoration. [3] During the renovation, Ambassador Gérard Araud, lived in a house in Foxhall Road. [9]
On Bastille Day 2021, a replica of the Statue of Liberty that used to reside at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris was installed and dedicated on the grounds of the residence. [10]
It is the largest single-family home in the Kalorama neighborhood; [11] a 1980 guidebook published by Smithsonian Institution Press describes the home's setting as "a dramatic and beautiful site high above Rock Creek." [12] Constructed of brick and limestone, the mansion house is described in National Register of Historic Places papers as an "imposing structure" with irregular massing, with its most prominent feature being a "dominant entry bay with large gables is anchored by two flanking square towers, each capped by a stone balustrade." [11] Its architectural style has been variously described as Tudor Revival [3] Jacobean Revival, [7] and French Eclectic. [11] In 2015, the estimated value of the property was $25–30 million. [9] The home is 27,000 square feet (2,500 m2) in size and has 19 bedrooms. [9]
Known for its elegant parties, [9] the home features art and decoration in both formal/traditional styles and modern styles. [3] The main floor features several large reception rooms, [3] [9] including a dining room, an Empire Salon in the formal style, a "Winter Salon" in the modern style, and the Salon des Boiseries (paneled room) and, to the rear of the building, a terrace. [3] The main floor also includes a huge entrance hall and grand staircase. [3] Three guest rooms and the ambassador's private apartment are on the floor above; additional guest rooms are on the topmost floor. [9] [3] The art includes pieces borrowed from Versailles and the Louvre. [3] Works are mostly by French artists such as Pierre Bonnard, but also by non-French artists such as Igor Mitoraj. [3] The residents hosts some 10,000 people annually for receptions, cocktails, cultural events, and other occasions. [9]
It is designated as one of many contributing properties to the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District, [13] a historic district roughly bounded by Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Florida Avenue, N.W., 22nd Street, N.W., P Street, N.W., and Rock Creek. [11] The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. [11]
Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW to the west, M Street NW to the south, and Florida Avenue NW to the north. Much of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the local government Advisory Neighborhood Commission and the Dupont Circle Historic District have slightly different boundaries.
Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C., with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded by Scott Circle to the south and the United States Naval Observatory to the north; the term is often applied to nearby streets and neighborhoods that also host diplomatic buildings, such as Kalorama.
The Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., is the French diplomatic mission to the United States.
Massachusetts Avenue is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C., and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District is a historic district that includes part of it.
Sheridan Circle is a traffic circle and park in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The traffic circle, one of two in the neighborhood, is the intersection of 23rd Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, and R Street NW. The buildings along this stretch of Massachusetts Avenue NW are part of Embassy Row, which runs from Scott Circle to Observatory Circle. Sheridan Circle is a contributing property to the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District and the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). In addition, the equestrian statue of General Philip Sheridan is 1 of 18 Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C., that were collectively listed on the NRHP.
Charles Evans Hughes House is a historic house at 2223 R Street, NW in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Built in 1907, it was from 1930 to 1948 the home of Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948), a prominent Republican politician and from 1930 to 1941 the Chief Justice of the United States. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972 and is a contributing property to the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District. It presently serves as the official residence of the Ambassador of Myanmar to the United States.
The Thomas T. Gaff House is the diplomatic residence of the Colombian ambassador to the United States, a post currently held by Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, and previously held by Juan Carlos Pinzon. The house, a contributing property to the Dupont Circle Historic District, is located at 1520 20th Street NW, Washington, D.C., across from the north entrance to the metro station in Dupont Circle and one block from Massachusetts Avenue's Embassy Row.
The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, D.C.,, is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United States. The current Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the United States is Furqat Sidikov. The embassy is located at 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., between Scott Circle and Dupont Circle. Constructed in 1909, the Clarence Moore House is an example of Beaux Arts architecture in blond Roman brick with limestone dressings; it was used by the Canadian government until the 1980s. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on April 3, 1973. The building is also designated a contributing property to the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District and Dupont Circle Historic District, which are both listed on the NRHP.
George Oakley Totten Jr., was one of Washington D.C.’s most prolific and skilled architects in the Gilded Age. His international training and interest in architectural decoration led to a career of continuous experimentation and stylistic eclecticism which is clearly evident in many of his works. The mansions he designed were located primarily on or near Dupont, Sheridan, and Kalorama circles and along 16th Street, N.W., near Meridian Hill. Most now serve as embassies, chanceries, or offices for national or international organizations, their important public or semi-public functions, combined with their urbanistically integrated close-in locations, make them particularly visible exemplars of Washington's peculiar mixture of turn-of-the-century political and social life.
The Embassy of Turkey in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Turkey to the United States. It is located at 2525 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest in the Embassy Row neighborhood.
The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Poland to the United States of America. The chancery is located at 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C., in the Meridian Hill neighborhood.
The Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of Japan to the United States. It is located at 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C., in the Embassy Row neighborhood. In addition to serving as Japan's diplomatic mission in the United States, the embassy provides Japanese consular services to residents of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland.
The Embassy of Latvia in Washington, D.C., is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Latvia to the United States. It is located at 2306 Massachusetts Avenue NW on Embassy Row in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood.
The Embassy of Laos in Washington, D.C. is the Lao People's Democratic Republic's diplomatic mission to the United States. It is located at 2222 S Street N.W. in Washington, D.C.'s Kalorama neighborhood.
The Embassy of Malta in Washington, D.C., is the Republic of Malta's diplomatic mission to the United States. It is located at 2017 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. in Washington, D.C.'s Kalorama Triangle neighborhood. The embassy also serves as the High Commission of Malta to Canada and the Bahamas.
The Embassy of Mauritania in Washington, D.C. is the Islamic Republic of Mauritania's diplomatic mission to the United States. It is located at 2129 Leroy Place N.W. in Washington, D.C.'s Kalorama neighborhood.
The Kalorama Triangle Historic District is a mostly residential neighborhood and a historic district in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The entire Kalorama Triangle neighborhood was listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites (DCIHS) and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1987. In addition to individually listed landmarks in the neighborhood, the district is home to roughly 350 contributing properties. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by Connecticut Avenue to the west, Columbia Road to the east, and Calvert Street on the north.
Appleton Prentiss Clark Jr. was an American architect from Washington, D.C. During his 60-year career, Clark was responsible for designing hundreds of buildings in the Washington area, including homes, hotels, churches, apartments and commercial properties. He is considered one of the city's most prominent and influential architects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of his designs are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District is a neighborhood and historic district located in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The boundaries of the historic district include Rock Creek Park to the north and west, P Street to the south, and 22nd Street and Florida Avenue to the east. On the southwestern edge of the neighborhood is a stretch of Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue. The other neighborhood and historic district that lies to the east of Sheridan-Kalorama is Kalorama Triangle Historic District. The two neighborhoods are divided by Connecticut Avenue. For many years both neighborhoods were geographically connected before the stretch of Connecticut Avenue was installed toward the Taft Bridge. Oftentimes, both neighborhoods are simply called "Kalorama" or "Kalorama Heights".
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