CHANCERIESTHE DIPLOMATIC ATLAS

Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence

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Interpretive architectural study of the catalogued property.

3000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Moving Toward Massachusetts Avenue

Brazil purchased the McCormick house at 3000 Massachusetts Avenue in 1934. Reporting the acquisition in September, United Press correspondent Harry W. Frantz expected Ambassador Oswaldo Aranha and his wife to move there during the coming winter. [1] [4]

Frantz reported that missions increasingly favored Massachusetts Avenue between Dupont Circle and the National Cathedral over Upper Sixteenth Street, which had once appeared likely to become Washington’s permanent embassy district. [1]

A Private Villa Adapted for a Mission

John Russell Pope designed the house for Robert S. McCormick, a former American ambassador to Russia and France, and his wife, Katherine. Built around 1910, it has a limestone exterior and an Italian Renaissance design. Pope oriented the house to draw sunlight from the southeast. [3] [2]

By November 1934, the State Department listed Aranha, Madame Aranha, and embassy counselor C. de Freitas-Valle at 3000 Massachusetts Avenue, with the chancery at 2437 Fifteenth Street. [4]

Brazil’s institutional history describes construction of a separate chancery on the estate in 1934, with its entrance on Whitehaven Street, and the addition of an upper floor in 1942. In 1971, the offices moved again, into Olavo Redig de Campos’s modern chancery facing Massachusetts Avenue; the earlier office building was subsequently demolished. The city had already listed the McCormick House as a historic site on July 24, 1968. [5] [2]

Diplomatic Use

John Russell Pope’s limestone Villa McCormick became Brazil’s permanent ambassadorial home in 1934. Its five-bay garden façade, columned entrance and curved library porch face the grounds. Land and assessed value are shared with the chancery and counted in that entry.

FactValueBasis and sources
Constructed1910verified; The DC Inventory of Historic Sites dates the Robert S. McCormick House to circa 1910. The DC Preservation League historical account specifies construction from 1908 to 1910. Use the completion endpoint 1910; later landscape work and alterations do not replace the original building date.
  1. historicsites.dcpreservation.org
  2. planning.dc.gov
Acquired by Brazil12 September 1934documented; Official embassy history; exact purchase date Ruth Hanna Simms and General Charles G. Dawes sold Villa McCormick to the Brazilian government for $200,000. This is the historical purchase price, not today’s assessment.
  1. www.gov.br
NeighborhoodMassachusetts Avenue Heightsdocumented Massachusetts Avenue Heights / Embassy Row in historic architectural sources; Observatory Circle is the DC assessment neighborhood.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  2. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  3. planning.dc.gov
ArchitectJohn Russell Popedocumented; Original house architect and builder Commissioned by Robert S. and Katherine McCormick in 1908; built by William P. Lipscomb.
  1. planning.dc.gov
  2. www.gov.br
Rooms20–45 est.estimated; Planning estimate: rooms = building area × room-area fraction ÷ average room size. For this residential reception property, assume 55%–70% of the recorded 18,909 sq ft is enclosed usable room area, with an average 300–450 sq ft per room. The range combines the low fraction with the larger room size and the high fraction with the smaller size, rounded outward to five rooms. Room allocation and average size are assumptions. Covers the recorded building area; the interior has not been independently measured. Estimated room range.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Floor area18,900 sq ftverified; DC CAMA living gross building area (LIVING_GBA), building 1, section 1; building attribution inferred
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Site area77,000 sq ftverified; Shared estate total: 2147/0059. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
2026 Value$14.4Mverified; Shared estate total: 2147/0059. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Diplomatic use1934verified; The State Department Diplomatic List, November 1934, p. 23, lists Ambassador Oswaldo Aranha, Madame Aranha and Counselor C. de Freitas-Valle at 3000 Massachusetts Avenue; the chancery is separately listed at 2437 Fifteenth Street. This proves residential diplomatic use during 1934 and does not rely solely on the September 1934 purchase.
  1. archive.org

Scope and Evidence

The McCormicks bought the lot in 1907 and commissioned Pope in 1908. Circa-1910 completion follows the DC historic inventory. The documented sale to Brazil was 12 September 1934 for $200,000.

The model follows the published Pope plan for an approximate 26.4 × 15.2 m main block. Exterior photographs guide the five-bay garden façade, paired columns, balconies, shutters, curved library porch and cornice; the established rear stair assemblies are retained.

Dining and small drawing room studies represent the photographed 2015 installation. Historical plans inform structure and openings, not current furnishings or unseen circulation. Roof penetrations and concealed exterior details remain partly inferred.

DC records this area for building 1, section 1, attributed here to the historic main residence from its construction classification and relative scale. No public address-to-building-number key was retrieved. Its assessor year 1917 is not adopted as the house’s historical construction date.

The chancery and historic residence total 73,313 sq ft in the building records. An additional 4,411 sq ft ancillary record is not assigned to either modeled building. The full shared estate is 77,024 sq ft of land and assessed at $14,376,013 for 2026; both property views display that estate scope, while database totals count it once.

  1. architectdesign.blogspot.com
  2. archive.org
  3. commons.wikimedia.org
  4. funag.gov.br
  5. historicsites.dcpreservation.org
  6. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  7. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  8. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  9. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  10. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  11. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  12. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  13. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  14. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  15. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  16. planning.dc.gov
  17. planning.dc.gov
  18. virtualglobetrotting.com
  19. www.gov.br
  20. www.gov.br

Research Questions

Where Is Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence?

3000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008.

Sources and basis

When Was Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence Built?

Constructed: 1910. Record status: verified. The DC Inventory of Historic Sites dates the Robert S. McCormick House to circa 1910. The DC Preservation League historical account specifies construction from 1908 to 1910. Use the completion endpoint 1910; later landscape work and alterations do not replace the original building date. Verified in the record on 2026-10-24.

Sources and basis

Who Designed Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence?

Architect: John Russell Pope. Record status: documented. Original house architect and builder Commissioned by Robert S. and Katherine McCormick in 1908; built by William P. Lipscomb.

Sources and basis

What Is the Floor Area of Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence?

Floor area: 18,900 sq ft. Record status: verified. DC CAMA living gross building area (LIVING_GBA), building 1, section 1; building attribution inferred Verified in the record on 2026-10-24.

Sources and basis

What Is the Site Area of Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence?

Site area: 77,000 sq ft. Record status: verified. Shared estate total: 2147/0059. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded. Verified in the record on 2026-10-24.

Sources and basis

What Is the 2026 Value of Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence?

2026 Value: $14.4M. Record status: verified. Shared estate total: 2147/0059. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value. This is a tax assessment, not a verified sale price or market valuation. Verified in the record on 2026-10-24.

Sources and basis

Sources

  1. New Embassy for Brazil Shifts the Capital Socially

    Ranger Times, September 9, 1934, vol. XVI, no. 85, p. 1; complete short article

  2. DC Inventory of Historic Sites: Robert S. McCormick House

    M section, PDF p. 4, Robert S. McCormick House (Brazilian Embassy)

  3. Robert S. McCormick House (Brazilian Embassy)

    Historical account, opening three paragraphs

  4. Diplomatic List, November 1934

    November 1934, printed p. 23, Brazil

  5. Residence of the Ambassador of Brazil: reproduced embassy history

    Historical text explicitly attributed to www.brasilemb.org; paragraphs beginning The beginning of the third and current stage

  6. Massachusetts Avenue Historic District: National Register nomination

    1974 nomination, section 7 continuation, PDF pp. 7 and 10, McCormick House

  7. DC Inventory of Historic Sites — Robert S. McCormick House
  8. ArchitectDesign — McCormick House exterior visit and Pope plans
  9. McCormick House — dated exterior photographs
  10. Embassy of Brazil — A Chancelaria

    Official opening date, original architects, structure and entrance materials. Published 29 December 2022; updated 14 June 2023.

  11. Embassy of Brazil — A Residência

    Official lot purchase, 1908 commission, architect/builder and exact 12 September 1934 sale. Updated 11 January 2024.

  12. FUNAG — Legações e embaixadas do Brasil (2021)

    Printed page 83 / PDF page 85 documents Maurício Nabuco’s earlier residence at the first Washington embassy and his 13 June 1968 return for the new chancery marker ceremony, at Vasco Leitão da Cunha’s invitation. Appointment and mission-start chronologies are distinguished.

  13. DC MAR — building address points
  14. DC owner polygon — square 2147, lot 0059
  15. DC ITSPE — 2026 compound assessment
  16. Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil
  17. DC MAR — address-to-parcel crosswalk
  18. DC commercial CAMA — SSL 2147/0059
  19. DC ITSPE FACTS — current assessment cross-check
  20. DC residential CAMA — exact-parcel room-count check
  21. Property audit: Embassy of Brazil Chancery — 2026 Value
  22. Property audit: Embassy of Brazil Chancery — Floor area
  23. Property audit: Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence — Constructed

Notes

  • The 2009 DC inventory dates the house to about 1910; the older 1974 district nomination gives 1931. The original construction permit and alteration record remain to be reconciled.

Related Reading

Cite This Article

Brazilian Ambassador’s Residence. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record version 8f7bf903f61b5eeb1014.

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