A Peek into the Lives of Washington’s Elite of the 1890s-1920s

Walking up Massachusetts Avenue from DuPont Circle, one can’t help but be impressed by splendor of the Gilded-age mansions that are now embassies and consulates. But who built those palatial mansions and why there, so crowded together? This tour takes you back in time to the late 1890s and early 1900s–the dawn of the telephone, electric light, automobile, and airplane when anything seemed possible–to learn about the rich and powerful families–like the Andersons, Bells, and Phillips–who built themselves mini-palaces and developed the beautiful Kalorama Neighborhood. Walking through their historic neighborhood, we’ll learn about their personal lives and private social clubs, their ambitions and rivalries, and the social “season,” when they wined and dined with the day’s leading politicians and justices. We’ll also learn how “Millionaire’s row” turned into today’s “Embassy row.”