James G. Blaine Mansion | |
 Blaine Mansion and adjoining buildings in 2010 | |
   | |
| Location | 2000 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°54′35.85″N 77°2′43.18″W / 38.9099583°N 77.0453278°W |
| Built | 1882 |
| Architect | John Fraser |
| Architectural style | Châteauesque, Queen Anne, Second Empire |
| Part of | |
| Significant dates | |
| Designated CP | October 22, 1974 July 21, 1978 |
| Designated DCIHS | November 8, 1964[3] |
The James G. Blaine Mansion, commonly known as the Blaine Mansion, is a historic house located at 2000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The imposing house was completed in 1882 for James G. Blaine, a Republican politician from Maine who served as Speaker of the House, and later as a US Senator and US Secretary of State. He was also a presidential candidate who was narrowly defeated by Grover Cleveland in the 1884 United States presidential election.
In addition to Blaine, the mansion has served as the residence of other prominent individuals, including wealthy businessmen Levi Leiter and George Westinghouse, and French ambassador Jules Patenôtre des Noyers. During World War I it was used as a meeting space for the newly formed United Service Club. Following the war, diplomatic occupants including the Japanese embassy and Colombian Ambassador Enrique Olaya Herrera leased the building. The mansion was used as office space for the Rural Electrification Administration during the Great Depression and by New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia during World War II when he led the Office of Civilian Defense. The United Nations leased part of the building as office space for the Food and Agriculture Organization in the late 1940s and Information Center in the 1950s.
The lower floors of the mansion have remained in use as office space for various businesses since that time. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the building was completely renovated after it was purchased by diplomat and attorney John R. Phillips and his wife, journalist and Obama administration official Linda Douglass. The renovation included converting the upper floors into a penthouse, renovating an adjoining commercial space fronting P Street, and constructing a narrow luxury residential building and underground parking deck on land adjoining the mansion.
Designed by noted architect John Fraser, the mansion is a combination of the Châteauesque, Queen Anne, and Second Empire architectural styles. The mansion was one of several large residences that once stood on the perimeter of Dupont Circle, a traffic circle and small park at the intersection of 19th Street, P Street, Connecticut Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, and New Hampshire Avenue. The other remaining large homes on the circle are the Patterson Mansion and Wadsworth House, more commonly known as the Sulgrave Club. The Blaine Mansion was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1964. The building is a contributing property to the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1974, and the Dupont Circle Historic District, listed on the NRHP in 1978.
- ^ Helwig, Anne H.; Ganschinietz, Suzanne (February 21, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places - Nomination Form: Dupont Circle Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Beauchamp, Tanya (May 28, 1974). "National Register of Historic Places - Nomination Form: Massachusetts Avenue Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
- ^ "District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites" (PDF). District of Columbia Office of Planning – Historic Preservation Office. September 30, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2022.