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You are standing at the edge of Embassy Row, which proceeds along Massachusetts Ave. from 16th St. almost to Wisconsin Ave. at Observatory Circle. This boulevard of grand mansions, row houses, and embassies, represents the finest realizations of L'Enfant's Baroque vision of grand vistas and diagonal avenues for the new nation's capital.
The majestic Beaux-Arts building nearby, now the Uzbekistan Embassy, (above) was built in the early 1900s as a residence for a wealthy sportsman, Clarence Moore. Legend has it that he sailed to England in 1912 to acquire foxhounds for the Chevy Chase Hunt Club (later Country Club) but died on his return aboard the Titanic. (The dogs made it safely on another boat.) The home was bought by Mabel Swift of the Chicago Swift family, owners of one of the nation's largest meat-packing companies of the early 1900s. The building later served as the Embassy of Canada. Johns Hopkins University's renowned School of Advanced International Studies stands next door.
To your left across the avenue stands the Brookings Institution, built in the 1950s on the site of Henry Cabot Lodge's house.
Fire alarm boxes such as this one (originally painted red) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Telegraphs transmitted the box number (top) to a fire alarm center. This system was used until the 1970s when the boxes were converted to a telephone system. By the 1990s, the callbox system had been replaced by the 911 system and was abandoned.
Artist, Ann Marie Ferramosca
A graduate of Virginia Tech in studio art and marketing, Ann Marie Ferramosca teaches and exhibits her paintings throughout DC.
Tour guide, map and artist information for all 22 boxes available at: www.DupontCircleCallBox.com
Fire Fact, 1871
The District of Columbia Fire Department was established on September 23, 1871 and included six fire companies. The "all-paid" fire department replaced the volunteer fire companies that had protected the Districts. |