International Temple

Infobox_nrhp | name =Perry Belmont House
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= 1618 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington, D.C.
lat_degrees = 38
lat_minutes = 54
lat_seconds = 44
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 77
long_minutes = 2
long_seconds = 30
long_direction = W
locmapin = District of Columbia
area =
built =1909
architect= Sanson, Ernest; Trumbauer, Horace
architecture= Beaux Arts
added = May 08, 1973
governing_body = Order of the Eastern Star
refnum=73002074cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The International Temple, formerly the Perry Belmont House, is the world headquarters of the General Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, one of several organizations affiliated with Freemasonry. The building is located at 1618 New Hampshire Avenue Northwest in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

History

The building, Beaux Arts in style, was built from 1906 to 1909 for Perry Belmont, son of August Belmont and grandson of Matthew C. Perry. The trapezoidal plot of land was purchased for $90,000, and construction cost $1.5 million. [As the house was completed, Perry Belmont transferred to his brother August the Newport cottage "By-the-Sea", which he had occupied in the season for the previous eighteen years. ("New York Times", "Belmont home transfered", October 16, 1909 ( [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02E0D61539E733A25755C1A9669D946897D6CF on-line text] ).] Perry Belmont served as a United States Congressman from New York, and later as the United States' ambassador to Spain. French architect Ernest Sanson designed the building, having built several chateaux in Europe; his associate architect on the site was Horace Trumbauer. [Gerard Martin Moeller, G. Martin Moeller, Jr., and Francis D. Lethbridge, "AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C.", 2006: cat. no. L30, p. 264f; Michael C. Kathrens, Eleanor Weller and Richard C. Marchand, "American Splendor: The Residential Architecture of Horace Trumbauer" p. 141.] The house takes the form of a free-standing pavilion in the French taste, with a single storey articulated with slender Ionic pilasters over a channel-rusticated basement. A balustrade with stone urns masks a discreet Mansard attic storey. In the interiors Sanson used wrought-iron fixtures from France, wood from Germany, and marble from Italy. Normally the house was used for only the winter months, when Belmont hosted lavish parties for Washington's elite. In 1919 Edward, Prince of Wales, was a guest of the Belmonts (at President Woodrow Wilson's request); there he handed out medals to various American soldiers that Great Britain wished to honor for their roles in World War I. [http://www.easternstar.org/ggc_headquarters.htm GGC International Headquarters ] ] [Williams, Paul. "Dupont Circle" (Arcadia Publishing, 2000) pg.52,86] [ [http://www.easternstar.org/tour/mwgp_suite.htm GGC Headquarters MWGP Suite ] ] cite web| last= | first= | title="Perry Belmont to Build; Will Have a Handsome Louis XVI Mansion in Washington" | work=| publisher="The New York Times"| date=1907-02-17| url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D03E3DF123EE033A25754C1A9649C946697D6CF | accessdate=2008-06-06]

The Belmonts continued to use the building until 1925. In 1925 the Belmonts decided to place the house for sale. Himself a Freemason, Perry Belmont sold the building to General Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star for $100,000, on the condition that the Right Worthy Grand Secretary would live in the building.

It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Current usage

The building serves as the headquarters for General Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. The Right Worthy Grand Secretary and his/her spouse live on the premises. Tours are usually for members only. Items from the Belmont era of the mansion, as well as items sent to the International Temple as gifts from chapters around the world are on display. In one room five ceiling paintings depict the five heroines of the Order. There are 37 oil paintings and several Tiffany vases in the house. The Japanese four-fold teakwood screen was a gift from the Emperor of Japan to Perry Belmont. [ [http://www.easternstar.org/ggc_headquarters.htm Order of the Eastern Star Headquarters] ; [http://www.easternstar.org/tour/treasure_room.htm Treasure Room] ]

Gallery

ee also

* List of Registered Historic Places in the District of Columbia

References