French ambassador's residence in Washington, D.C.
The French Ambassador's residence | |
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
History
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]
Description and use
It is the largest single-family home in the Kalorama neighborhood;
Known for its elegant parties,
It is designated as one of many
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Kathy Orton, Want to be neighbors with the Obamas, Ivanka Trump and Jeff Bezos? Here's what it will cost you., Washington Post (February 15, 2017).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Jura Koncius, The French Embassy residence: Grand, rested and ready to host parties, Washington Post (April 23, 2015).
- ^ Yearbook of the Pennsylvania Society of New York, 1917.
- ^ Washington, City and Capital, American Guide Series, Federal Writers' Project, Works Progress Administration (1937), p. 699.
- ^ Isabelle Gournay, "Appendix: Architects and the French Connection in Washington, D.C." in Paris on the Potomac: The French Influence on the Architecture and Art of Washington, D.C. (eds. Cynthia R. Field, Isabelle Gournay & Thomas P. Somma: Ohio University Press, 2007), p. 152.
- ^ a b Frances Stead Sellers, D.C. diplomatic missions produce coffee table books to show off their embassies, traditions, Washington Post (May 6, 2014).
- ^ Barbara Gamarekian, Embassy Row: Beyond the Borders of Immunity, New York Times (January 13, 1984).
- ^ a b c d e f g Roxanne Roberts, The French ambassador's house has reopened? Now that’s a gala event., Washington Post (March 3, 2015).
- ^ "Statue of Liberty's 'little sister' takes up residence in Washington, DC". CNN. 14 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District, United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, page 52 (page 56 of PDF).
- ^ Allan A. Hodges & Carol A. Hodges, Washington on Foot: 23 Walking Tours of Washington, D.C., Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, and Historic Annapolis, Maryland (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980), p. 128.
- ^ Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District Contributing Structures, District of Columbia Office of Planning (April 2, 2016).