Andrew Mellon Building

McCormick Apartments, also known as Andrew Mellon Building, Mellon Apartment, or 1785 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, is a landmark apartment building on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., whose inhabitants once included Andrew W. Mellon. It is the home of the American Enterprise Institute.

The floor plan
This article is about the apartment building. For the government-owned auditorium at Federal Triangle, see Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.
McCormick Apartments
Location1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
Coordinates38°54′33″N 77°2′30″W
Built1915
ArchitectJules Henri de Sibour
Architectural styleBeaux Arts
NRHP reference No.73002100
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 3, 1973[1]
Designated NHLMay 11, 1976[2]

History

The Andrew Mellon Building was built by Stanley McCormick, heir to the International Harvester fortune, in 1915 and completed in 1917. Washington-based Jules Henri de Sibour was architect of the building. This was one of the first Washington apartment buildings for luxury living. The structure was meant to fit in with other Beaux-Arts buildings in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. The building's composition is three principal elevations, to serve as a pivot point for a residential boulevard and two street intersections. The six units it originally contained had quarters for more than forty servants. Some of the Capital's most distinguished personalities once lived here. A partial listing of these residents, from the Historic American Buildings Survey, includes:

The millionaire industrialist Andrew Mellon is perhaps most significant of these past occupants. He was Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932. This was the longest tenure since Albert Gallatin. Mellon made this his residence shortly after taking on that role, occupying the top floor from 1922 until his death in 1937. Among his accomplishments include authoring the "Mellon Plan" which stimulated the economic boom of the 1920s, and founding the National Gallery of Art.[3] In 1936 Mellon paid $21 million for paintings and sculptures owned by Sir Joseph Duveen, an art dealer leasing the apartment below. At the time this was the largest art transaction on record.[4]

After 1941, the building was used for offices and eventually partitioned. The property was conveyed by deed from Katherine Dexter McCormick to the American Council on Education on March 31, 1950. Later the property was conveyed to The Brookings Institution on January 2, 1970. Finally, the building was sold to the National Trust for Historic Preservation on October 28, 1976.[5]

The Andrew Mellon Building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.[2][6]

2013 sale

The National Trust put the building up for sale in mid-2009. The organization said it had outgrown the 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) building, and needed about 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) of space. Real estate experts believed the structure would sell for $1,000 a square foot, or $60 million. Potential buyers considered turning it into a museum or luxury apartments again, but there were no offers at any price. After Trust president Richard Moe stepped down in early 2010 and was replaced by Stephanie Meeks, the organization's board of directors decided to pull the building off the market so that Meeks would not have to devote all her time to finding the National Trust a new home. Instead, National Trust officials said they would rehabilitate some of the structure's windows, HVAC, and mechanical systems and possibly add a green roof.[7]

In late June 2013, the National Trust sold the Mellon Building to the American Enterprise Institute for $36.5 million. The Trust said it will lease space on the top two floors of the Watergate Office Building. The National Trust holds a permanent historic preservation easement that protects both the interior and exterior of the Mellon Building.[8][9][10]

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References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "Andrew Mellon Building". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  3. Andrew Mellon Building, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC Archived June 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, from National Historic Landmarks Program
  4. Washington, D.C. Embassy Row Walking Tour, from National Geographic Traveler
  5. Wheeler, Lucy Pope (1978). "McCormick Apartments" (PDF). Historic American Buildings Survey. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 3. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  6. Cathy A. Alexander; Ralph Christian; George R. Adams (January 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Andrew Mellon Apartment, McCormick Apartments / 1785 Massachusetts Ave. Office Bldg., Brookings Institution" (pdf). National Park Service. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying two photos, exterior, from 1971 and 1975 (32 KB)
  7. Plumb, Tierney (June 28, 2010). "National Trust Building Goes Off the Market After No Offers". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  8. Sernovitz, Daniel J. (June 28, 2013). "National Trust for Historic Preservation Lands at the Watergate". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  9. O'Connell, Jonathan (June 27, 2013). "National Trust for Historic Preservation Moving Offices to the Watergate". Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  10. "CBRE Arranges Sale of Iconic Headquarters of National Trust for Historic Preservation". CityBizList.com. June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
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