Features

Nairobi’s First Net Zero Embassy

The two-building five-acre compound has a design feature that makes it unique the world over – it was modeled after an eco-safari camp in the Kenyan bush.

The Embassy that Held its Breath

The Beaux-Arts building with a cracked chimney and a fire-scarred roof at 15th & Euclid seems tucked away like a secret.

A Home on the Nation’s Avenue

Canada’s LEED-certified embassy is the only diplomatic property on America’s inaugural parade route.

Diplomatica’s Guide to DC’s Month of Culture

The tradition of embassies opening their doors to their neighbors dates back at least to the 1950s, when diplomatic teas were held as charity fundraisers, and as a measure of goodwill.

Kalorama’s Forgotten Embassy

Once home to a U.S. president and later a lost embassy, this Kalorama mansion stands as a silent witness to history, diplomacy, and abandonment.

Nest of Spies

The oldest continuously-operating embassy in Washington, the Embassy of Poland’s building on Sixteenth Street once drew the ire of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Born in a River

There are few tools of cultural diplomacy quite like tango, and few places to learn it quite like the Embassy of Uruguay.

Kalorama’s Dutch Beauty Riot

Each year, thousands of tulips fill the Netherlands residence, and spill out to the street in a seemingly spontaneous explosion.

The Tower Standing Watch Over Sixteenth Street

Built in 1909, what is now the Embassy of Lithuania was commissioned by Mary Foote Henderson as part of her vision for Meridian Hill.

The People’s Insurance Company

Located on Jamal Khashoggi Way, the Embassy of Saudi Arabia occupies a distinct place in Washington’s, and in Diplomatica’s, history.

The Pentagon’s Matryoshka

Nested within the Pentagon’s five-sided courtyard lies another five-sided building of significant interest to Russian diplomats during the Cold War.

The Only Constant is Change, Even for Embassies

While the faces and names of the diplomatic corps may change, more often than not, the embassies themselves stay mostly the same. Until recently.

The Mysterious Mansion with History Written on Its Walls

The history of Mexico winds along the walls of the main staircase of 2829 16th Street, part of Mary Foote Henderson’s diplomatic enclave and once the country’s embassy.

Pakistan Sells a Piece of Its History

One of the Embassy of Pakistan’s properties in Washington, owned since the 1950s, is up for sale.

Austria’s Bridge to the World

The Federal Ministry of the Republic of Austria is revisiting its complicated history.

A Presidential Act of Defiance

The Algerian Ambassador’s residence briefly served as an interim White House, and helped end segregation in one of D.C.’s poshest neighborhoods.

The Man Outside the Vatican Embassy

For nearly a quarter of a century, John Wojnowski has kept vigil outside the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See, waiting for justice.

War Comes to Washington

The Embassy of Ukraine, housed in one of Washington’s most historic buildings, serves as a gathering place for supporters of peace.

As Diplomacy Changes, So Must Its Architecture

Along a prime stretch of Nebraska Avenue in American University Heights on a 4.5-acre plot sits the Spanish colonial that, since 1948, has been the Swedish ambassador’s residence. It’s about to be put up for sale.

Redefining Environmental Diplomacy

As world leaders jockey for position on climate change on the global stage, some embassies in Washington are taking a more local approach.

The Inside-Out Residence

The building that serves as the home of the Spanish embassy’s cultural office is one of many current and former embassies along 16th Street, willed into being by Mary Henderson in the Gilded Age who envisioned creating a diplomatic enclave in Washington on the hill.

The Second House

One of the most unique properties on Embassy Row has its own distinction—it’s the only embassy with an Observatory Circle address.

The Invisible Dance

On a clear, crisp night, I find myself standing on the roof of the Colombian Ambassador’s residence, overlooking Dupont Circle.

Building A World Without War

Mementos of the convention that birthed the United Nations in 1945 are etched into the fabric of San Francisco.

A Monument to the Modern

The bold home at 1746 Massachusetts has, by turns, been both a monument to the modern and a shrine to the antiquated, a home to a newly-emerging country, and to an ancient civilization.

The Passionate Soul

High on Massachusetts Avenue, across from the U.S. Naval Observatory and nestled between the Vatican’s embassy and a serene city park, the Embassy of Finland harbors a secret.

An Island in the City

Near the intersection of two of the most prominent and historic stretches of embassies in Washington, the Embassy of Tunisia lives on an island in a building that was once a science experiment.

You Can’t Sell Sentiment in Washington

In the gentleman’s study in the house at 2314 Wyoming NW in Washington, D.C., cigar smoke once hung so thick in the air that it was nearly one hundred years before it could all be cleared away.

This Is What Brings On Revolutions

Tour enough old houses in Washington and you’ll find rumors of hauntings in nearly every one, and the stories of hauntings in embassies and diplomatic residences are as varied as the former inhabitants thought to be haunting them.

The Invisible Line Through Washington

If you stand at Jefferson’s feet in the memorial built to honor him, and turn your gaze north across the Tidal Basin toward the White House, you might not know it, but your gaze is following the path of one of Washington’s four prime meridians – a circle of constant longitude passing through a given…