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

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 den ...

of the

Republic of Uzbekistan A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a " government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 1 ...

to 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 sov ...

of Uzbekistan to the United States is Djavlon Vahabov. The embassy is located at 1746

Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...

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 ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, 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, unlike Dupont Circle where poli ...

and

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW ...

. Constructed in 1909, the Clarence Moore House is an example of

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

in blond

Roman brick Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick used in Ancient Roman architecture and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type inspired by the ancient prototypes. In both cases, it characteristically has longer and ...

with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

dressings; it was used by the Canadian government until the 1980s. The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

(NRHP) 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 (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW ...

, which are both listed on the NRHP.

History

Clarence Moore residence

Clarence Moore, a coal magnate from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

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. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including F ...

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 The Thomas T. Gaff House is the diplomatic residence of the Colombian ambassador to the United States, a post currently held by Juan Carlos Pinzon. The house, a contributing property to the Dupont Circle Historic District, is located at 1520 20 ...

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, and construction began in September 1906 and was completed in 1909. Moore only lived in the house for three years. On April 15, 1912, Moore 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 home to the

Crown in Right of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

for $375,000. A portion of the home's furnishings were purchased for an additional $100,000. Until 1931, Canada had been 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. Legations ...

was raised to embassy status and

Leighton McCarthy Leighton Goldie McCarthy, (December 15, 1869 – October 3, 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 th ...

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 Her isMajesty's Government in Canada''. Originally, Canada's top diplomatic repr ...

. 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 Crown- in-Council purchased land on

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 (MD ...

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 it moved to the new and

current location Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

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. As of 2012, the value of the Clarence Moore House property is $13,423,870. The Uzbekistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs also maintains a

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic 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 count ...

in New York City.

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 that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

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 con ...

. Above the entrance and ground floor windows are limestone

corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

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 architraves 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 has a limestone and metal ridge.

Interior design

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

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

details. The building is heated by an oil-burning, hot air furnace and contains an

Otis Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...

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 cent ...

. 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:Embassy Of Uzbekistan, Washington, D.C. Beaux-Arts architecture in Washington, D.C.

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

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. Canada–United States relations United States–Uzbekistan relations