Walsh-McLean House

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The former Walsh Mansion (now the Indonesian Embassy) near Dupont Circle Embassy of Indonesia, Washington.jpg
The former Walsh Mansion (now the Indonesian Embassy) near Dupont Circle

Walsh-McLean House is a Gilded Age mansion in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW. Built in 1901, [1] it is now the Embassy of Indonesia.

History

Thomas F. Walsh had emigrated penniless from Ireland to the United States in 1869, then over the next quarter century built up a small fortune as a carpenter, miner, and hotel manager. [2] His first daughter (born in 1880) died in infancy, but his daughter, Evalyn (born in 1886), and son, Vinson (born in 1888), both survived. [3] He lost nearly all his life's savings in the Panic of 1893. [2]

The family moved to Ouray, Colorado, in 1896, where Walsh bought the Camp Bird Mine (which was thought to have been worked out) and struck a massive vein of gold and silver. [4] Now a multi-millionaire, Thomas Walsh moved his family to Washington, D.C., in 1898. [2] After spending 1899–1900 in Paris, France, the Walshes returned to Washington where Thomas Walsh commenced the construction of a mansion on Massachusetts Avenue NW. [5] Its carriage house is located at the rear of 1523 22nd Street NW and now houses a framing studio.

External videos
Indonesian Embassy during Embassy Week.JPG
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Embassy of Indonesia Tour - Washington, DC, Wanda Kaluza

The Walsh-McLean House, completed in 1903, [6] cost $835,000 (the most expensive residence in the city at the time) [4] and had 60 rooms, a theater, a ballroom, a French salon, a grand staircase, and $2 million in furnishings which took several years to purchase and install. [5] Walsh's daughter Evalyn Walsh married Edward Beale "Ned" McLean (the publishing heir whose family owned The Washington Post ) in 1908, and after her father's death in April 1910 lived in the Walsh Mansion. [3] In 1910, Ned McLean bought the allegedly cursed Hope Diamond for his wife for $180,000 (although the purchase was not formalized until February 1911, and not completed until after a lawsuit settled out of court in 1912). [4] Evalyn Walsh died on April 26, 1947. [3] To cover Evalyn's significant debts, the Walsh Mansion was sold in 1952 to the Government of Indonesia for use as an embassy. [4]

References

  1. ↑ Savage McAlester, Virginia (November 2015). A Field Guide to American Houses. Knopf. p. 482. ISBN   9780375710827.
  2. 1 2 3 Lorenz, Marjorie. Notorious Women of the West: The Good, the Bad and the Eccentric. Dover, Del.: Cherokee Books, 2005. ISBN   1-930052-27-8
  3. 1 2 3 James, Edward T. Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971. ISBN   0-674-62734-2
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kurin, Richard. Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem. New York: HarperCollins, 2006; ISBN   0-06-087351-5
  5. 1 2 Field, Cynthia R.; Gournay, Isabelle; and Somma, Thomas P. Paris on the Potomac: The French Influence on the Architecture and Art of Washington. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2007; ISBN   0-8214-1760-6
  6. ↑ Williams, Paul. Dupont Circle. Mount Pleasant, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2000. ISBN   0-7385-0633-8

38°54′36.9″N77°2′46.5″W / 38.910250°N 77.046250°W / 38.910250; -77.046250

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