Dumbarton House
Detaljer
- Typ
- Other places
- Webbplats
- http://www.dumbartonhouse.org
- Beskrivning:
- Dumbarton House is a fine example of Federal period architecture and offers visitors to Washington, D.C., a unique opportunity to enhance their appreciation of early American history. Closely connected to the first years of the American Republic, the house has stood on the heights of Georgetown for over two centuries.
The property was built on a large tract of land patented in 1703 by an immigrant Scot, Ninian Beall. This land was originally named "Rock of Dumbarton” in tribute to Beall’s homeland. In 1798 developer Samuel Jackson bought 4.5 acres of "Rock of Dumbarton" and began to construct the property that eventually became known as "Cedar Hill." In order to build this house and others in the area, Jackson employed craftsmen who had flocked to the new Federal city after its creation in 1791. Although construction began in approximately 1799, work was halted when Jackson went bankrupt. Not having an intended owner for the house, it went up for public auction, and eventually was acquired by Joseph Nourse, first Register of the U.S. Treasury. Nourse completed construction of the home and he and his family lived at "Cedar Hill" from 1804-1813. In 1813, the home was bought and renamed "Belle Vue" by Charles Carroll. During Carroll’s residence, the house would host Dolley Madison on August 24, 1814, during her flight from the White House and British invaders.
In 1915, when the Dumbarton (" Que Street ") Bridge was built over Rock Creek, the house was moved 100 feet to its present site, to allow for the extension of Que Street into Georgetown . The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (The NSCDA) purchased the house in 1928 and restored it to its early 19th century character, changing the house’s name to "Dumbarton House." The NSCDA declared Dumbarton House its national headquarters and opened it as a museum to the public in 1932.
To celebrate its centennial in 1991, The NSCDA renovated Dumbarton House, and restored features identified over the previous six decades. Updates were added, such as modern climate control to the house; compliance with contemporary fire, safety, and accessibility codes; enlargement of the premises, the creation of a banquet/meeting space and outdoor terraces and gardens that now allow a variety of educational outreach programs, as well as civic, private, and organizational events.
Today Dumbarton House is one of the few stately brick homes in Washington to survive the heady days when the country and its capital were new. The design of the house reflects the shift from Georgian tradition to the Adamesque Federal style that would take hold as the new republic defined itself. From the library to the dining room, through the music room to the parlor to the bedrooms upstairs, visitors to Dumbarton House today see a wealth of furniture, paintings, textiles, silver, and ceramics that were made and used in the republic’s formative years. - Tillagd av
- vtdutchman
- Kontaktad
- Ja
- PlatsID
- 42221
- Redigera
Interaktioner
- Favoritmärkt
- Ingen/inga
- Besökta
- Ingen/inga