Categories
Dupont Circle

1785 Massachusetts Avenue NW

1785 Massachusetts Avenue NW was built in 1917, designed by architect Jules Henri de Sibour, in the Beaux-Arts style. It was built for Stanley McCormick, the heir to the International Harvester fortune, who wanted to create one of the first luxury apartment buildings in D.C. The building had six huge apartments – 25 rooms and 11,000 sq. feet each. Prominent tenants included Andrew Mellon and Joseph Duveen. Duveen sold a large collection of paintings to Mellon, which later became part of Mellon’s donation when he founded the National Art Gallery. Pearl Mesta (known as the “Hostest with the Mostest”) also lived there.
The building was turned into office space in 1941. It was owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for many years, serving as its headquarters. It was sold to the American Enterprise Institute in 2013, and is currently being remodeled.
It is on the National Register of Historic Places.