Sorry for the lack of posts lately; I was vacationing in LA and wasn't online as much as I would have liked. Before I bring you the highlights from that trip, I wanted to share with you the interiors of the McCormick Apartments that I talked about last week.
The building has 4 massive full floor units at 11,000 SF each and 2 smaller apartments on the first floor along with accomodations for dozens of servants.
Seen above is the typical floor plan for the 4 main units and the first two photographs show the elegant oval entry foyer.
I mentioned earlier that the building luckily contains many of the original details from when it was finished in 1915; basically everything except the bathrooms. This may be in part due to the National Trust for Historic Preservation which has taken such great care of the building since buying it from the Brookings Institute in 1977 and using it as their headquarters.
The top floor apartment, famously occupied by Andrew Mellon, features numerous skylights which flood the unit with light. Above is the laylight into the foyer and one of numerous fireplace mantels.
The original butler's pantries (bigger than most studio apartments) retain the original silver safes.
Many of the interior mahogany doors still have their elegant original hardware.
The long bedroom hall still has a row of 11 beautiful cedar closets with mahogany doors, useful for storage of winter clothes while the residents would leave for the summer, abandoning sweltering DC.
I loved the hidden drapery pockets in the living room.
Light is a theme throughout the apartments. The public spaces have glass french doors and transom windows allowing light to pass room to room.
The 25'x45' living room is still as elegant as ever, in this case used as the main conference room on the 2nd floor.
Here is a photograph of Andrew Mellon taken in his living room in the McCormick in 1929.
His living room was not very comfortably furnished perhaps, but I'm sure the art collection in it was amazing; his collection formed the base for the National Gallery of Art afterall, put together while living in this very apartment!
The dining room is nearly as large as the living room at 25' x 35' and opens directly into it. I love the pedimented overdoors.
Another famous tenant was Lord Duveen, the famous art dealer, who rented the apartment below the busy and aging Mellon so that he could preview different works of art in the privacy of his own apartment building. 
Mellon returned the favor to Duveen by purchasing every work of art he had brought: 24 paintings and 18 sculptures at the cost of $21 million (1930s dollars!).
In 1941, the state department requisitioned the apartment building (due to a lack of office space in the city) from the McCormick estate and leased it to the British Embassy. Later in 1950 the building finally left the McCormick hands and was sold to the American Council on Education. Above - plasterwork in the library.
The servants quarters are open to the main apartments but split the high 14' tall ceilings into 2 levels with an upper and lower floor with tiny bedrooms opening off a miniscule corridor.
The 2 smaller apartments on the first floor have recently been renovated and are offered to rent as the National Trust doesn't require the entire building.
I love how they have respected the historic mouldings while adding more efficient modern lighting.
Living in the McCormick wasn't cheap, as one would expect. The main apartments contained 6 bedrooms and 4 baths as well as the public spaces and would set back the renters $15,000 a year (later dropping to $12,000 a year during the great depression).
I mentioned earlier that the building luckily contains many of the original details from when it was finished in 1915; basically everything except the bathrooms. This may be in part due to the National Trust for Historic Preservation which has taken such great care of the building since buying it from the Brookings Institute in 1977 and using it as their headquarters.The top floor apartment, famously occupied by Andrew Mellon, features numerous skylights which flood the unit with light. Above is the laylight into the foyer and one of numerous fireplace mantels.
The original butler's pantries (bigger than most studio apartments) retain the original silver safes.
Many of the interior mahogany doors still have their elegant original hardware.
The long bedroom hall still has a row of 11 beautiful cedar closets with mahogany doors, useful for storage of winter clothes while the residents would leave for the summer, abandoning sweltering DC.
I loved the hidden drapery pockets in the living room.
Light is a theme throughout the apartments. The public spaces have glass french doors and transom windows allowing light to pass room to room.
The 25'x45' living room is still as elegant as ever, in this case used as the main conference room on the 2nd floor.
Here is a photograph of Andrew Mellon taken in his living room in the McCormick in 1929.
His living room was not very comfortably furnished perhaps, but I'm sure the art collection in it was amazing; his collection formed the base for the National Gallery of Art afterall, put together while living in this very apartment!
The dining room is nearly as large as the living room at 25' x 35' and opens directly into it. I love the pedimented overdoors.
Another famous tenant was Lord Duveen, the famous art dealer, who rented the apartment below the busy and aging Mellon so that he could preview different works of art in the privacy of his own apartment building. Mellon returned the favor to Duveen by purchasing every work of art he had brought: 24 paintings and 18 sculptures at the cost of $21 million (1930s dollars!).
In 1941, the state department requisitioned the apartment building (due to a lack of office space in the city) from the McCormick estate and leased it to the British Embassy. Later in 1950 the building finally left the McCormick hands and was sold to the American Council on Education. Above - plasterwork in the library.
The servants quarters are open to the main apartments but split the high 14' tall ceilings into 2 levels with an upper and lower floor with tiny bedrooms opening off a miniscule corridor.
The 2 smaller apartments on the first floor have recently been renovated and are offered to rent as the National Trust doesn't require the entire building.
I love how they have respected the historic mouldings while adding more efficient modern lighting.
Living in the McCormick wasn't cheap, as one would expect. The main apartments contained 6 bedrooms and 4 baths as well as the public spaces and would set back the renters $15,000 a year (later dropping to $12,000 a year during the great depression). Historic photographs of the Mellon apartment from the book 'Best Addresses' by James M Goode
Do we bloggers always need a reason to post pretty pictures? I for one don't think so. Sometimes we (or at least I) go to a museum simply to see something pretty and not neccesarily to learn anything. Is that too honest? 
A bust of Louis XV at the age of 47 by Lemoyne and presented to his mistress, Madame de Pompadour (beat that portrait to your mistress, Congressman Weiner)
To enter, simply leave a comment saying which house number you would pick if you won. Receive 1 extra entry for posting a link to the giveaway on twitter or facebook. Good luck!
The evolution of a building is natural, much bemoaned by strict preservationist but it is the nature of time, particularly in cities; another topic for another day. A building which started out as the most luxurious apartment building here in Washington, DC now finds itself a distinguished office building holding none other than the 
I was lucky enough to have a tour of the building a few months ago and while many changes have been made to the interiors to accomodate offices, it's extraordinary how many of the original details have been retained. 
The neighborhood, Dupont Circle, was the heart of the cultural center of the city at the time (and some may argue still is) and the new building was designed to fit into this city beautiful movement stretching across the country.
Unlike luxury apartment buildings in the city today, there were no shared amenities per say. Rather, the public spaces, while beautiful, are small and efficient. No swimming pool , roof deck or gym were offered to the tenants!
From the entry lobby, one stepped up into a marble lined vestibule which contained doorways into two smaller apartments, 3 seperate elevators (one for service staff) and the main staircase (which wraps around the primary elevator).
The plaster work in the lobby is astounding and even more amazing is that it has survived intact for so many years.
The marble floors are an added bonus in Washington as it gets rather hot here in the summer and this was built pre-air conditioning. However, most of the tenants were here only during the winter 'season' and would not have had to worry about this inconvienence.
The landings outside of each apartment continue the simple moldings and 12" square black & white marble floors.
Join me next week as I show details from these original apartments, a typical floor plan is below to whet your appetite!
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