This weekend was the annual “Passport DC” event, where many of the 174 foreign embassies in Washington, DC host lectures, events, and most popularly, open houses. A stretch of Massachusetts Avenue, north of DuPont Circle, is commonly known as “Embassy Row” and is home to some of the most extravagant and unbelievable houses in DC. Most of these mansions were originally built for extremely wealthy families in the early 1900’s, but were abandoned or sold during or after the Great Depression.
On Saturday, we rambled through the embassies of Uzbekistan, Trinidad & Tobago, the Bahamas, and most interestingly, the Indonesian Embassy. While I was at the Indonesian Embassy, I saw several names that seemed vaguely familiar. The thread of history dangled in front of me and I was compelled to follow. . . .
Steel drums at the Trinidad & Tobago Embassy
Thomas Francis Walsh (1850-1910) was an Irish-American who came to America as a poor immigrant at the age of 19. He was trained as a carpenter, but was ultimately interested in mining. He eventually discovered one of the largest gold mines in America (the Camp Bird Gold Mine near Ouray, Colorado, which at its peak was producing $5000/day in gold ore. It produced and estimated $30 -50 million and is still an active gold mine!) The man who came to America penniless now lived a lavish lifestyle that included trips to Europe, fine clothes, and expensive motor cars. Overnight, the family went from “wearing red flannel to sleeping under $4,000 silk sheets”. Around 1898, the family (which included his wife, Carrie Bell Read, and two children, Evalyn and Vinson) moved to Washington, D.C. and entered the world of high society, where Tom Walsh was known as the “Colorado Monte Cristo”.
The "Colorado Monte Cristo", Tom Walsh
The Camp Bird Gold Mine; Colorado
In 1903, Walsh finished construction on a new house at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue, the most expensive private house built in DC at that time (it cost $835,000 at the time; that’s an astonishing $20.2 MILLION in modern dollars.) The 4 story mansion boasted 60 rooms. Walsh specified to New York architect Henry Anderson that he wanted the main staircase to be reminiscent of an ocean liner, and thus he created an open decked promenade through three floors of carved mahogany. Magnificent, inlaid wood panels covered the walls, and there is even a small pipe-organ in the main dining room. To access the theater and ballroom on the fourth floor, guests rode in one of the earliest residential elevators in America. As testament to his financial beginnings, Walsh had the architect inlay a large piece of gold ore in the arch of the main entrance.
The exterior of "2020"
The Walsh mansion on Mass Ave soon became the scene of some of the most lavish entertaining in Washington, and the Walshes hosted US officials, along with foreign heads of state. The King of Belgium, King Leopold, became a personal friend and often stayed at “2020” when he was in town.
King Leopold of Belgium
In 1910, his daughter (and now only remaining heir) Evalyn became involved with Edward “Ned” McLean. Ned McLean would go on to become the publisher and owner of the Washington Post—but in 1910, he was another spoiled child born into wealth and privilege. He was the son of John Roll McLean (one of the original owners of the Washington Post, and the builder of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Line. The town of McLean, Virginia—where we now live—was named after John McLean!) Ned was born into a life of luxury and as the only heir to the family fortune, lived an extravagant childhood.
Ned & Evalyn; c. 1915
Rather than wait for a high society wedding, the 19 y/o Ned and 24 y/o Evalyn eloped to Europe with $200,000 in spending cash ($100K from each family as a modest wedding gift.) As they traveled around Europe and the Middle East, Evalyn indulged her love of jewelry, purchasing the 92-carat diamond known as the “Evening Star” from Pierre Cartier. At the end of their romantic getaway, the two found themselves back in Paris, unable to pay their hotel bill despite having just come from the casinos at Vichy where Evalyn had won $70,000. A quick telegram back to the parents resolved any cash problems, and Ned found himself with enough cash to buy his new bride a shiny new bauble for a final wedding gift—the 62-carat blue diamond known as The Hope Diamond (picked up for a mere $180,000). (There’s considerable speculation on whether the Diamond was purchased on their honeymoon or two years later, but we’ll stick with the honeymoon story for the moment.)
The Hope Diamond
[In a somewhat-related rabbit trail, the Hope Diamond is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. Many unsubstantiated rumors and legends abound about the Hope Diamond, but this much is a known fact: the Hope Diamond was once part of France’s Crown Jewels, and was often worn by French King Louis XV (at the time, it was known as the “Blue Diamond of the Crown (diamant bleu de la Couronne de France) and weighed an amazing 62 1/8 carats.). In Sep 1792, it was stolen during the French Revolution and eventually made its way to England and the US by the early 1900’s. The Hope Diamond weighs 45.52 carats, and has an estimated value of $300-$350 million US dollars!)
Evalyn Walsh; 1915
Evalyn loved the Hope Diamond, and for the next 30 years, wore it to almost every social function she attended. Pictures from the time captured her with the Hope Diamond around her neck. She loved it so much that she would hide the diamond around the mansion and the children (and later grandchildren) would play a high-priced version of Hide-and-Seek with it.
Evalyn Walsh; unknown date
Evalyn Walsh; 1936
Ned & Evalyn remained a fixture in the DC social scene, and she became close friends and confidantes to Alice Roosevelt Longworth (the oldest child of President Teddy Roosevelt) and Florence Harding, (the wife of 29th President Warren G. Harding). Their parties became the stuff of legend as guests dined on solid gold plates, and their children slept in a solid gold cradle (to be fair, the cradle was a gift from King Albert of Belgium.) Her parties would feature multiple orchestras and bands and sometimes included as many as 2,000 guests.
The McLeans' frivolous spending accelerated during their marriage and their inability to understand the basics of money management resulted in their virtual bankruptcy towards the end of their lives. Together, the couple wasted two family fortunes worth millions (billions in current cash value) by splurging on such exotic things as a million-dollar birthday party for their dog, who was allowed to wear the Hope Diamond on his day of honor. Additionally, the marriage was constantly racked by rumors of by infidelity and substance abuse (Ned was a spectacular alcoholic, while Evalyn was addicted to morphine). The couple divorced in 1929, though the decree was invalidated due to the divorce having been illegally obtained in Lithuania (That’s such an unusual event that I can’t even make any further comments about it.) Ned McLean eventually suffered psychiatric issues (official diagnosis: “Korsakoff's psychosis and brain atrophy from alcohol saturation”) and died in a Baltimore mental institution in 1941.
When Evalyn Walsh McLean died in 1947 (of pneumonia at the age of 60), she bequeathed the Hope Diamond to her grandchildren, though her property would be in the hands of trustees until the eldest had reached 25 years of age, some 20 years in the future. Unfortunately, she left this world with some outstanding debts, so the trustees gained permission to sell her jewelry to settle her debts. In 1949, many of her jewels were sold to New York diamond merchant Harry Winston, who eventually donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1954, mailing it through the US Postal Service in a plain brown envelope.
After the Walshes and McLeans vacated 2020 Mass Ave, the luxurious building switched hands several times before being purchased by the Indonesian government in 1952 for $335,000. We've come a long way since the opening paragraph, and here's some shots of the interior.
The main staircase
The Embassy Dining Room
You can see the Hope Diamond on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
You can check out the exterior of the Indonesian Embassy at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.
You can come visit us in McLean, Virginia at any time!
1 comment:
I was given a book called "hope" by Mary Ryan.
I could not put this book down for 3 days. Tells the story of The Walsh's and McLean's (my maiden name is McLean). I felt at a loss at the end of the book and that I'd lost "my family"
This is by far the best book I have ever read. And urge anyone that is interested in history to read this.
Post a Comment