The Ambassador's Residence

Photo by Jessica Patterson

The Brazilian Ambassador's residence in Washington, known to the Washington Commission of Fine Arts as Villa McCormick, was built on a lot in the so-called Pretty Prospect. The site was part of a larger and older estate known as the Rock of Dumbarton.

Ambassador Robert S. McCormick and his wife, Katherine, purchased the property from Alfred Fleming in 1907. The following year, they commissioned architect John Russell Pope to design the house, and William P. Lipscomb to build it.

In addition to private residences, Pope's architectural achievements by then included a variety of public buildings, colleges, churches, hospitals and monuments throughout the United States and Europe. Among his best-known works are the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple (a grand reconstruction of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus) the National Gallery of Art, the Jefferson Memorial, the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, and the National Archives—all in Washington, D.C. Like other American architects working in the classical style, Pope’s designs evince a lightness of execution and subtle elegance.

After graduating from Columbia University in New York with a degree in architecture, Pope was awarded the McKim Roman Scholarship and the Schermerhorn Scholarship, which together allowed him the opportunity to study for two years at the American Academy in Rome. We can trace his love of the art and architecture of classical antiquity through the Italian Renaissance to his student experience in Europe.

Thus began Pope’s 40-year career as a talented and erudite architect, designing dramatic and popular buildings. By the end of his life, he was one of the most established and celebrated architects in the United States. Villa McCormick is a classic example of his work.

In 1924, Mrs. McCormick, then widowed, left the residence and furnishings to her son, Senator Joseph Meddill McCormick, who was married to Ruth Hanna McCormick. Ten years later, on September 12, 1934, Ruth Hanna Simms (who had remarried after the senator's death) and General Charles G. Dawes sold Villa McCormick to the Brazilian government for the negotiated sum of US$200,000.

Brazil was thus able to solve the major inconvenience of not having a permanent residence to house its diplomatic representative in Washington. In a July 1934 dispatch to the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chargé d'Affaires, Minister Cyro de Freitas Valle, wrote: "The present situation – as Ambassador Oswaldo Aranha has had occasion to point out to the Head of State – of having to move to a different house each time a new Brazilian Ambassador arrives, is not very respectful and, above all, causes serious inconvenience to our archives.

The Residence is a work of elegant design: It is symmetrical and powerful, without superfluous ornamentation. The house is located at the center of the property, with an entrance facing Massachusetts Avenue.

Inspired by the Palazzo Massimi Colonne, the exterior of the residence was designed with contours similar to those of a 15th-century Italian palazzo. The interior, however, reflects predominantly French and English influences. The façade is austere, symmetrical and sparsely decorated.