Embassies & Cathedrals Ramble
Massachusetts Avenue, named for the State where the American Revolution began, is Washington D.C.’s longest street, at eleven miles. In the years after the Civil War, its western half became known as the city’s premier residential street, known first as “Millionaire’s Row,” and for the last century, as “Embassy Row.”
Join me for a half-day ramble along Massachusetts Avenue to some of the city’s grandest buildings, many of them touched by dramatic episodes in American political history and international intrigue.
I will begin by picking you up at your Washington D.C. hotel, or we will meet at Dupont Circle, where the tour begins. The famous circle, at the heart of one of DC’s most popular spots for dining, shopping, and nightlife, is named for a famous naval commander. We will continue on foot to a series of Gilded Age mansions, many of them now among the dozens of embassies of foreign nations that crowd the grand avenue.
Highlights include the headquarters of a society for the descendants of Revolutionary War heroes founded in 1783; the former studio of avant-garde painter Alice Pike Barney; and former homes of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt. Along the way, I’ll share stories of the only state-sponsored terrorist attack on American soil, the two great geopolitical enemies who stare each other down across the avenue, and an infamous burying ground that became the haunt of body-snatchers.
We’ll continue down the avenue to see a few of its most memorable embassies, including the British Embassy, the work of famed architect Edward Lutyens, fronted by a statue of Winston Churchill. Nearby is the Iranian Embassy, vacant for nearly five decades since diplomatic relations were suspended, and the Japanese Embassy, which burnt all its documents the night before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
We’ll also visit a series of uniquely international religious buildings that mark a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue north of Rock Creek Park. First, we’ll stop at the Islamic Center of Washington, the city’s first mosque and the largest mosque in the Western Hemisphere when it was dedicated by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1957. Marked by Fatimid and Mameluke motifs from the golden age of Islamic architecture, the mosque is filled with treasures donated by the governments of several Muslim nations.
We continue up Massachusetts Avenue for visits to the city’s two Orthodox cathedrals. First we visit the Orthodox Church in America’s Cathedral of St. Nicholas, which features extensive frescoes patterned on those of the Cathedral of St. Demetrius in Vladimir, Russia. Next is Saint Sophia Cathedral, the center for the city’s Greek Orthodox Church, named for the great ancient church of Constantinople.
Our final stop is a guided tour of Washington National Cathedral. Chartered by Congress in 1893, the church was built in the English Gothic style of the 14th century, using traditional construction techniques. This cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington hosts services at important occasions in national life and contains the tomb of President Woodrow Wilson, the only U.S. President to be buried in Washington, D.C., as well as a stained glass window that contains a moon rock.
Includes admission to all sites. Please contact me directly to schedule a ramble for groups larger than seven.
