The Clarence Moore House, Washington, D.C. (also known as the Embassy of Uzbekistan and the Old Canadian Embassy), is a building in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

which is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. An example of

Beaux Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and B ...

in blond

Roman brick Roman brick is a type of brick used in ancient Roman architecture and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered, or a modern adaptation inspired by the ancient prototypes. Both types are characteristically longer and flatter than standard ...

with

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

dressings, it was built in 1909 by Clarence Moore, a wealthy coal magnate, as his family residence. It has been on the

(NRHP) since 1973. Moore died in the sinking of the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

in 1912. From then on, his widow, Mabelle, used the house mainly for social and entertaining purposes. In 1927, she sold it to the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

, which used it as the Canadian

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

until 1989. In 1992, Canada sold the building to the

Republic of Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

which has used it since 1993 as the Embassy of Uzbekistan.

Location and historic status

The building is located at 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW on

Embassy Row Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C., with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded ...

, between

Scott Circle Scott Circle is an area in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. that is centred on the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and 16th Street, N.W. Originally a neighborhood recreational area like nearby Dupont Circle, Sc ...

and

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...

. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1973. The building is also designated a contributing property to the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District and

Dupont Circle Historic District Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...

, which are both listed on the NRHP. It is also listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites. As of 2012, the value of the Clarence Moore House property was $13,423,870.

History

Clarence Moore residence

Clarence Moore, a coal magnate from

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and member of private clubs in Paris and New York City, chose the New York City-based architect

Bruce Price Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle style architecture, Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modern ...

and the Washington-based

Jules Henri de Sibour Jules Gabriel Henri de Sibour (December 23, 1872 – November 4, 1938) was a French architect who worked in Washington, DC. Early life He was born in Paris, France, to Vicomte Gabriel de Sibour and Mary Louisa Johnson of Belfast, Maine. He mov ...

to design his home in Washington, D.C. At the time, Sibour was a prominent architect of large residences in Washington, including the Thomas T. Gaff House,

Andrew Mellon Building McCormick Apartments, also known as Andrew Mellon Building, Mellon Apartment, or 1785 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, is a landmark apartment building on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., whose inhabitants once included Andrew W. Mellon. It is the ...

, and the ambassadors' residences of Portugal, France, and Luxembourg. Moore purchased the land from Edward J. Stellwagen for $37,422. Construction began in September 1906 and was completed in 1909. Moore only lived in the house for three years. On April 15, 1912, he was one of the 1,517 passengers who perished during the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''. After Moore's death, his widow, Mabelle, remarried and only used the home for diplomatic and social events.

Canadian embassy

On May 28, 1927, Mabelle sold the house to the

for $375,000. A portion of the furnishings were purchased for an additional $100,000. Until 1931, Canada was represented in the United States by the British Embassy. From 1927 until 1946, the Clarence Moore House served as the Canadian chancery as well as the residence of the Canadian minister, and later the ambassador. In 1943 the

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

was raised to embassy status and

Leighton McCarthy Leighton Goldie McCarthy (15 December 1869 – 3 October 1952) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, businessman and diplomat. Life and career Born in Walkerton, Ontario, McCarthy was called to the Ontario Bar in 1892. He was elected to the H ...

became the first

Canadian ambassador to the United States This is a list of ambassadors of Canada to the United States, formally titled as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America for His erMajesty's Government in Canada. Originally, Canada's top diplomatic representa ...

. In 1946, the ambassador's residence was constructed at 2825 Rock Creek Drive, and the Clarence Moore House was then used solely for embassy office space. The Canadian government purchased land on

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C. that connects the United States Capitol with the White House and then crosses northwest Washington, D.C. to Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown. Traveling through So ...

in 1978 for $5 million for use as a new location for its chancery. Clarence Moore House continued as the chancery of the Canadian Embassy until 1988, when the embassy moved to the current location.

Uzbekistan embassy

After diplomatic relations between the United States and Uzbekistan were established on February 19, 1992, the government of Uzbekistan purchased the Clarence Moore House. The new embassy opened in February 1993 and advocates Uzbekistan's political, commercial, and economic interests to the government of the United States. The current

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of Uzbekistan to the United States is Furqat Sidikov.Embassy of Uzebekistan in the United States: Ambassador
The Uzbekistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs also maintains a

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

and a permanent mission to the United Nations, both in New York.

Architecture

Exterior design

The Clarence Moore House is a classic example of the Beaux Arts architectural style and features a Louis XV-style exterior. The -story structure includes a basement and comprises brick walls, a concrete floor, and a steel roof. The building measures 79.5 feet (24.2 m) in height and the walls are made of

. A limestone Tuscan

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

with a bracket

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

separate the third and fourth floors. The building's north entrance on Massachusetts Avenue has a 6 x 6 foot (1.8 x 1.8 m) stoop flanked by limestone

balustrades A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

. Above the entrance and ground floor windows are limestone

corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a bearing weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applie ...

and

guttae A gutta (Latin pl. guttae, "drops") is a small water-repelling, cone-shaped projection used near the top of the architrave of the Doric order in classical architecture. At the top of the architrave blocks, a row of six ''guttae'' below the narr ...

. The corbels support limestone second floor balconies and a vase balustrade. The third floor balconies are made of limestone and feature cast iron railings. The second, third, and fourth floor window and

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

s are set in a quoined limestone ground. Six limestone chimneys, capped with Tusance entablature, are visible from the ground level. Two chimneys are located at the front and back of the house and a chimney is located on the eastern and western sides. The

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

has a limestone and metal ridge.

Interior design

The home's interior features 16th, 17th, and 18th century

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

details. The building is heated by an oil-burning, hot air furnace and contains an Otis passenger elevator and freight elevator. The passenger elevator is wood-paneled and the freight elevator measures 5 x 4 feet (1.5 x 1.2 m) in diameter. The flooring consists of black and white marble squares and the walls are plastered to simulate limestone. In the back of the house is a five-bay entrance hall and staircase. The library entrance is located on the right side of the hallway and two reception rooms and a lavatory are located on the left side. Near the end of the hall are service rooms, service elevator, dining room (now the ambassador's office), and a breakfast room. A lavatory is located beneath the main staircase. At the end of the hall are two parlors and a large

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th ce ...

. The second floor contains three bedrooms, two baths, and a service area. One of the bedrooms, the master suite, contains a separate staircase that gives access to the upper floors. The third floor contains bedroom suites and a playroom in the southeast corner. The fourth floor contains additional bedrooms and servants' quarters.

References

External links

Embassy of Uzbekistan
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarence Moore House, Washington, D.C. Beaux-Arts architecture in Washington, D.C.

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Houses completed in 1909 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Washington, D.C. United States–Uzbekistan relations