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The Mansion and Its History, 2829 16th Street, NW:
The remarkable building that houses the Mexican Cultural Institute, was commissioned by Mrs. Emily MacVeagh (wife of Franklin MacVeagh, a Chicago businessman turned Treasury Secretary under President Taft Administration) to be designed by Nathan Wyeth, distinguished architect of the West Wing of the White House. The mansion was built in 1910-1911.
Wyeth employed a variety of styles in its design. The exterior facade, combines Italian, English and French architectural traditions. The house originally contained 26 rooms, 9 bathrooms and 2 terraces. The interiors were decorated mostly in Renaissance Revival styles made popular in the U.S. by the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago.
While the overall appearance of the buff-colored brick facade has been described as resembling an Italian Renaissance palace, architectural details on the second and third stories are considered English Palladian, and the hip-roofed upper facade to be French-inspired.
Highlights:
1910-1911: Construction of the mansion. Builder: George Fuller. Architect: Nathan Wyeth (who designed the West Wing of the White House).
Cost: $120,000 (1910 dollars).
1911: The MacVeaghs offered a ball in honor of Miss Helen Taft, attended by President Taft and his wife.
1916: Mrs. MacVeagh passed away. The mansion was rented to Lord Balfour, Head of the British Mission to the White House.
1918: The mansion was rented to Breckenridge Long, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State.
1919: King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium were guests of the mansion.
1921: Under the Presidency of Alvaro Obregon, he mansion was purchased by the Government of Mexico for $330,775.50. The Mansion housed the Residency of the Ambassador (1976) and the Chancillery (1989). In 1990 the Mexican Cultural Institute opened its doors.
The mansion throughout time. |