Perry Belmont House

	Perry Belmont House
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district; Contributing property
	D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites
	Dupont Circle Historic District (ID78003056)
NRHP reference No.	73002074
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 8, 1973
Designated CP	July 21, 1978
Designated DCIHS	November 8, 1964

The Perry Belmont House, sometimes referred to as the International Temple of the Order of the Eastern Star, though there are no ritual or ceremonial spaces in the building, is the world headquarters of the General Grand Chapter of the

Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

The International Temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 8, 1973.

History

The building,

chateaux in Europe; the construction architect on site was Horace Trumbauer.^[4]

The house takes the form of a free-standing

balustrade with stone urns masks a discreet Mansard attic storey. In the interiors Sanson used wrought-iron fixtures from France, wood from Germany, and marble from Italy

. During Belmont's lifetime, the house was used for only the winter months, when Belmont hosted lavish parties for Washington's elite.

In 1919,

Edward, Prince of Wales, was a guest of the Belmonts (at President Woodrow Wilson's request); there he handed out medals to various American soldiers whom Great Britain wished to honor for their roles in World War I.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

The Belmonts continued to use the building until 1925. Beginning in the 1920s, the Belmonts spent increasing amounts of time away from Washington, and the house was mothballed for almost a decade. Perry Belmont, a Freemason, sold the building to the General Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star in 1935 for $100,000, on the condition that the Right Worthy Grand Secretary would live in the building.[5]

On May 8, 1973, the Belmont House was added to the

property value of the Belmont House was $7,475,100.^[9]

Current usage

The building serves as the headquarters for the General Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. The Right Worthy Grand Secretary and his/her spouse live on the premises. Tours are arranged by appointment. Items from the Belmont era of the mansion, as well as items sent to the headquarters as gifts from chapters around the world, are on display. In the Venetian Dining Room, five ceiling paintings depict the five heroines of the Order. There are 37 oil paintings and several Tiffany vases in the house. The Japanese fourfold teakwood screen was a gift from the Emperor of Japan to Perry Belmont.^[10]

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "District of Columbia - Inventory of Historic Sites" (PDF). District of Columbia: Office of Planning. Government of the District of Columbia. 2004-09-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
^ As the house was completed, Perry Belmont transferred to his brother August the Newport cottage "By-the-Sea", which he had occupied in the season for the previous eighteen years. (New York Times, "Belmont Home Transferred", October 16, 1909 on-line text).
^ Gerard Martin Moeller, G. Martin Moeller, Jr., and Francis D. Lethbridge, AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C., 2006: cat. no. L30, p. 264f; Michael C. Kathrens, Eleanor Weller and Richard C. Marchand, American Splendor: The Residential Architecture of Horace Trumbauer p. 141.
^ ^a ^b GGC International Headquarters
^ Williams, Paul. Dupont Circle (Arcadia Publishing, 2000) pg.52,86
^ GGC Headquarters MWGP Suite
^ "Perry Belmont to Build; Will Have a Handsome Louis XVI Mansion in Washington". The New York Times. 1907-02-17. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
^ "DC Citizen Atlas Real Property Reports". Government of the District of Columbia. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
^ Order of the Eastern Star Headquarters; Treasure Room

External links

Media related to Belmont Mansion (Washington, D.C.) at Wikimedia Commons
The General Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.

[inventory-2] "District of Columbia - Inventory of Historic Sites" (PDF). District of Columbia: Office of Planning. Government of the District of Columbia. 2004-09-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2009-08-03.

[3] As the house was completed, Perry Belmont transferred to his brother August the Newport cottage "By-the-Sea", which he had occupied in the season for the previous eighteen years. (New York Times, "Belmont Home Transferred", October 16, 1909 on-line text).

[4] Gerard Martin Moeller, G. Martin Moeller, Jr., and Francis D. Lethbridge, AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C., 2006: cat. no. L30, p. 264f; Michael C. Kathrens, Eleanor Weller and Richard C. Marchand, American Splendor: The Residential Architecture of Horace Trumbauer p. 141.

[autogenerated1-5] GGC International Headquarters

[6] Williams, Paul. Dupont Circle (Arcadia Publishing, 2000) pg.52,86

[7] GGC Headquarters MWGP Suite

[nyt-8] "Perry Belmont to Build; Will Have a Handsome Louis XVI Mansion in Washington". The New York Times. 1907-02-17. Retrieved 2008-06-06.

[DCGOV-9] "DC Citizen Atlas Real Property Reports". Government of the District of Columbia. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2009-08-03.

[10] Order of the Eastern Star Headquarters; Treasure Room

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History

Current usage

See also

References

External links