Meridian House is a historic mansion in Washington, D.C., located in the Meridian Hill neighborhood of Northwest D.C.. It was designed by American architect John Russell Pope and built in 1920 for Ambassador Irwin B. Laughlin, who filled it with his extensive collection of French paintings and Oriental porcelain. It stayed in the Laughlin family until 1960, when it was purchased by the non-profit Meridian International Center.
Meridian House was built by American diplomat Irwin B. Laughlin. He purchased the land in 1912, two years after his friend Henry White bought the adjacent site at 1624 Crescent Place. After a long career with the US Foreign Service, Laughlin retired in 1919 and built Meridian House, filling it with his collection of 18th-century French drawings and Oriental porcelains and screens. Although he later returned to the diplomatic corps, serving as Ambassador to Greece and Spain in the 1920s and '30s, Laughlin also played an active role in Washington's artistic and historical communities.
Ambassador Laughlin was married to Therese Iselin, daughter of New York City banker Adrian Iselin Jr. Their daughter, Gertrude, who married Rear AdmiralHubert Winthrop Chanler, lived in Meridian House during her youth and from time to time after her marriage, especially when her husband was away on naval assignments. The house remained in the Laughlin family until 1958.
In 1960, a newly created non-profit organization dedicated to promoting international understanding, which later became Meridian International Center, received a grant from the Ford Foundation to purchase Meridian House. Gertrude Laughlin Chanler served as a Meridian trustee for many years and made a substantial donation to start Meridian's endowment. Her children continue to support Meridian International Center and frequently visit the house with their own children.
Perhaps as fine a piece of work of its kind as this country can show ... Certainly the manner of this house has not in this country been better done, not only in terms of stylistic authenticity, but in terms of pure architecture, meaning good taste in selectivity, in elimination, in execution. It cannot from its nature do otherwise than set a standard which should endure permanently.
After undergoing a major renovation in 1994, Meridian House's principal rooms retain their architectural detail as well as some of the original decorative features, such as the 18th-century European overdoor paintings and antique brass hardware and lighting fixtures. The classical symmetry of the Louis XVI style is reflected throughout the house.
Dining room
The dining room features a beautiful Mortlake tapestry, which has been dated by experts as late 17th century. The tapestry, purchased by the Laughlin family in England at the turn of the century, depicts the legendary reception given Alexander the Great by the Greek philosopher Diogenes. An almost identical tapestry hangs in Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The dining room also features two portraits - one of Ambassador Laughlin and one of his daughter, Gertrude Laughlin Chanler, as a child. A portrait of Mrs. Laughlin hangs nearby in the Chairmen's Study. All three were painted by Philippe de Laszlo, the renowned portrait artist of the early 20th century.
Reception
The reception gallery remains much as it was at the time the Laughlin family occupied the house. The wrought-iron and marble-topped side tables, the four Waterford crystal torcheres in the corners, the blue Chinese temple jars, and the antique clock and barometer on the mirrored walls are all part of the original furnishings.
The loggia, which links the major reception rooms and rear garden, includes four marble busts sculpted in France, representing the four seasons.
A Latin inscription, "Quo habitat felicitas nil intret mali", appears over the front door and translates "Where happiness dwells, evil will not enter." Another inscription, over the rear courtyard doors, reads: "Purior hic aer: late hinc conspectus in urbem," meaning "Purer here the air whence we overlook the city," a quotation also inscribed on a house at the top of Rome's Spanish Steps.
Gardens
The rear and side gardens largely retain their original design. The pebbled courtyard has 40 linden trees, imported from Europe when the house was built. The statues throughout the garden are original to the house, as are the statues at the four roof-line corners.
The Topkapı Palace, or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire, and was the main residence of its sultans.
The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Completed in 1722, it was built for nobleman and army officer Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been appointed Governor of Île-de-France in 1719. It is located on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré near the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the name Élysée deriving from the Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology. Important foreign visitors are hosted at the nearby Hôtel de Marigny, a palatial residence.
The Catherine Palace is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The palace is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.
The Palazzo Pitti, in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker.
Mercer House is located at 429 Bull Street in Savannah, Georgia. Completed in 1868, it occupies the southwestern civic block of Monterey Square.
Pavlovsk Palace is an 18th-century Russian Imperial residence built by the order of Catherine the Great for her son Grand Duke Paul, in Pavlovsk, within Saint Petersburg. After his death, it became the home of his widow, Maria Feodorovna. The palace and the large English garden surrounding it are now a Russian state museum and public park.
The State Dining Room is the larger of two dining rooms on the State Floor of the Executive Residence of the White House, the home of the president of the United States in Washington, D.C. It is used for receptions, luncheons, larger formal dinners, and state dinners for visiting heads of state on state visits. The room seats 140 and measures approximately 48 by 36 feet.
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens is a decorative arts museum in Washington, D.C., United States. The former residence of businesswoman, socialite, philanthropist and collector Marjorie Merriweather Post, Hillwood is known for its large decorative arts collection that focuses heavily on the House of Romanov, including two Fabergé eggs. Other highlights are 18th- and 19th-century French art and one of the country's finest orchid collections.
The Royal Palace of Brussels is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels. However, it is not used as a royal residence, as the king and his family live in the Royal Palace of Laeken in northern Brussels. The website of the Belgian Monarchy describes the function of the Royal Palace as follows:
The Royal Palace is where His Majesty the King exercises his prerogatives as Head of State, grants audiences and deals with affairs of state. Apart from the offices of the King and the Queen, the Royal Palace houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the Court, the King's Head of Cabinet, the Head of the King's Military Household and the Intendant of the King's Civil List. The Royal Palace also includes the State Rooms where large receptions are held, as well as the apartments provided for foreign Heads of State during official visits.
The Cuneo Mansion and Gardens are a historic home, art collection and gardens in Vernon Hills, Illinois, built in 1914 and designed by architect Benjamin Marshall of Marshall & Fox. The mansion's first owner was Samuel Insull, an original founder of the General Electric Company. John Cuneo, Sr. purchased the mansion in 1937 after the collapse of the Insull utility empire. Cuneo is best known as the founder of the Cuneo Press and Hawthorn Mellody Dairy. Cuneo had the interior of the Mansion painted with murals from Chicago Ecclesiological Muralist John Mallin. In 2009, the house was donated to Loyola University Chicago.
Al-Azm Palace is a palace in Damascus, Syria, built in 1749. Located north of Al-Buzuriyah Souq in the Ancient City of Damascus, the palace was built in 1749 to be the private residence for As'ad Pasha al-Azm, the governor of Damascus; during the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, it housed the French Institute.
Yıldız Palace is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman pavilions and villas in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used as a residence by the sultan and his court in the late 19th century.
The National Museum of Decorative Arts is an art museum in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Poland to the United States of America. The chancery is located at 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C., in the Meridian Hill neighborhood.
Irwin Boyle Laughlin was an American diplomat. He served as Minister to Greece from 1924 to 1926 and Ambassador to Spain from 1929 to 1933.
The White-Meyer House is a historic mansion in Washington, D.C., located in the Meridian Hill neighborhood of Northwest D.C. It was designed by American architect John Russell Pope and built by order of American diplomat Henry White. For several years, the house was rented to Eugene Meyer, who then bought it in 1934. It was bought by non-profit organization Meridian International Center in 1987.
The Meridian International Center is a non-partisan, non-profit, public diplomacy organization founded in 1960 and located in Washington, D.C. It works closely with the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. government agencies, NGOs, international governments, and the private sector to create programs and partnership.
The Schnull–Rauch House, sometimes referred to as the Victorian Manor and now also branded as The Manor at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, is a National Register of Historic Places-designated Romanesque Revival historic home constructed in the early 20th century at 3050 North Meridian Street, north of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Hôtel d'Estrées is a hôtel particulier, a type of large townhouse of France, at 79 rue de Grenelle in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is the residence of the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to France. It was designed by Robert de Cotte, architect of King Louis XIV, and built between 1711 and 1713 for Madeleine-Diane de Bautru de Vaubrun, the Duchesse d'Estrées (1668-1753). After belonging to several owners, it was purchased by the Russian government in 1863 and became the Russian Embassy. Both Czar Alexander II of Russia and his grandson, Nicholas II, stayed in the residence when they visited Paris. In 1977 the Russian Embassy was moved to another building, and the Hotel became the residence of the Ambassador. It is now classified as a historic monument of France.
The Palace of Albéniz, formerly known as the Royal Pavilion of Montjuic, is a palace located on the Montjuïc mountain, in Barcelona, Spain, that currently serves as the official residence of the Spanish royal family in the region.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
