Mary Foote Henderson

Mary Foote Henderson bought land around Meridian Hill and commissioned elaborate houses for foreign missions. Working with architect George Oakley Totten Jr., she pursued a diplomatic neighborhood along 15th and 16th Streets while lobbying Congress to improve its surroundings. Congress authorized Meridian Hill Park in 1910 after years of her campaigning. ^{1, 2}

Before returning to Washington, Henderson had helped establish the St. Louis School of Design and studied art at Washington University. She published Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving in 1877. In Washington, her real estate ventures accompanied proposals for a new presidential mansion and a Lincoln memorial at Meridian Hill. Those proposals failed, but she continued pressing Congress for park appropriations through her later life. She died in 1931. ¹

At 2801 16th Street, Henderson commissioned a mansion from Totten as a memorial to her son and offered it for use by the U.S. vice president. Congress declined the gift because of upkeep costs. Spain bought the property in 1927 and used it as its ambassador's residence. ³