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Regilded Age
Regilded Age
Dining room in the renovated
1789 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.
Renovations Restore Luster
to Historic Buildings by Peter James, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Merit Award in Historic Resources/Preservation McCormick Apartments. Designed by Jules Henri de Sibour, the
building originally housed six luxury units with quarters for more
1789 Massachusetts Avenue, NW than 40 servants. Its most famous tenant, Andrew Mellon, lived in
Washington, DC the penthouse apartment during the 1920s and ’30s, while he was
serving as Secretary of the Treasury and, in his spare time, helping
Hartman-Cox Architects to establish the National Gallery of Art.
Interior Architects: CORE architecture + design In 1941, the 72,000-square-foot building was converted to office
Consulting Architect: Stephen Perkins use, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
Interior Designers for Ground Floor Historic Rooms: The landmark designation encompasses the three street facades,
BraytonHughes Design Studios perimeter rooms and connecting corridors on each floor, and the
Landscape Architects: Moody Graham entire fifth-floor Mellon Apartment. The American Enterprise Institute
Lighting Designers: George Sexton Associates (AEI) purchased the building in 2013 from its previous owner, the
Structural Engineers: Silman National Trust for Historic Preservation. As a condition of sale, the
MEP Engineers: Affiliated Engineers, Inc. Trust secured a perpetual historic easement on the property.
Civil Engineers: Bowman Consulting AEI selected Hartman-Cox Architects as the lead design firm
Code Consultants: Jensen Hughes for its new headquarters. The renovation was no small challenge—
Food Service Consultants: Next Step Design the building’s mechanical and fire protection systems were obsolete,
Acoustical Consultants: Houghton Associates LLC the grand interior had been subdivided by partitions and mezzanines,
General Contractor: Grunley Construction Company and the façade was overdue for a facelift. Further, AEI’s program
needs exceeded the space available, so historically compatible
additions were required.
This Beaux-Arts beacon near Dupont Circle debuted as one of
The exterior—clad in granite, limestone, and brick—received
Washington’s best addresses when it opened in 1917 as the
a full “buff and scrub” and more extensive restoration where
22 REGILDED AGE
