The Townsend House is a historic building 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, DC 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, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. It has been the home of the

Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C., that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...

since 1952.

History

The free-standing house, set in almost an acre of garden, was designed in the Beaux Arts French style by architects

Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (architect), Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was an American list of architecture firms, architecture firm ...

in 1898 for Mary Scott Townsend, daughter of and heiress to

William Lawrence Scott William Lawrence Scott (July 2, 1828 – September 19, 1891) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, a prominent railroad executive, as well as a prominent horse breeder and horse racer. Early life Wi ...

, and her husband Richard H. Townsend, moving from their previous home at 736

Jackson Place Jackson Place is a Washington, D.C. street located across from the White House and forming the western border of Lafayette Square between Pennsylvania Avenue and H Street, NW, beginning just south of Connecticut Avenue. Facing the street ar ...

. Construction was essentially completed in 1901. Mr. Townsend died shortly thereafter, in 1902, and his wife lived in the house until her own death in 1931. The house then became the home of their daughter, Mathilde Scott Townsend, and her husband since 1925, prominent diplomat

Sumner Welles Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892September 24, 1961) was an American government official and diplomat. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1936 to 1943, dur ...

, until 1939 and again in 1943, even though they spent much time in

Oxon Hill Manor Oxon Hill Manor is a neo- Georgian house of 49 rooms, located at Forest Heights, Prince George's County, Maryland. It was designed in 1928 for Sumner Welles (1892-1961) by the Washington architect, Jules Henri de Sibour (1872-1938). It was bui ...

and abroad. The

purchased the property in 1950, following Mrs. Welles' death in Switzerland in 1949. In 1933, President-elect

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

lived briefly in the house before his inauguration. This echoed the previous generation of Townsends' renting of their Jackson Place home to President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

in 1902, during the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

renovation and construction of the

West Wing The West Wing of the White House is the location of the office space of the president of the United States. The West Wing contains the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room (White House), Cabinet Room, the White House Situation Room, Situation Room, a ...

. The Townsend House was added to 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 ...

in 1973. It is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

to the Dupont Circle Historic District and Massachusetts Avenue Historic District.

References

External links

*
The Clubhouse
– Cosmos Club website Embassy Row Houses completed in 1901 Beaux-Arts architecture in Washington, D.C. Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C. 1901 establishments in Washington, D.C. Clubhouses in Washington, D.C. Gilded Age mansions {{WashingtonDC-struct-stub

History

See also

References

External links