Page 119 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Washington, DC

THE WHITE HOUSE AND FOGGY BO T T OM  117

and 20 Latin American republics. The Department of the
Today there are 35 members. Interior was originally
The building houses the envisioned as an umbrella
Columbus Memorial Library over the departments of
and the Art Museum of the Agriculture, Labor, Education,
Americas, which exhibits and Energy, but it expanded
20th-century Latin American to oversee all federally owned
and Caribbean art. land across the United States.
Visible inside, but only when
q Department of taking the official guided tour,
the Interior are 36 murals painted by Native
American artists in the 1930s,
Building including one of the singer
Marian Anderson performing
1849 C St, NW. Map 2 F4 & 3 A3.
Fountain in the courtyard of the Organization Tel (202) 208-6416. q Farragut at the Lincoln Memorial in
of American States building West. Open 8:30am–4:30pm 1939 (see p87).
Mon–Fri (photo ID needed) . 7 = Displays in the small
0 Organization of ∑ doi.gov/interiormuseum Department of the Interior
American States Museum, located on the first
Designed by architect Waddy floor, include an overview
201 18th St, NW. Map 2 F4 & 3 A4. Butler Wood and built in 1935, of the Department’s history,
Tel (202) 458-3000. Open 10am–5pm this huge limestone building and some intricate dioramas
Tue–Sun. Closed Federal hols. Art is the headquarters of the of American wildlife and
Museum of the Americas: 201 18th St, Department of the Interior. important historical events,
NW. Tel (202) 458-6016. Open The building has a long central such as the 1929 Kinloch Mine
10am–5pm Tue–Sun. Closed Good
Friday, Federal hols. q Farragut West. section, with six wings that explosion. Also on view are
8 Call (202) 458-6016. ∑ museum. extend off each side. In total it paintings by 19th-century
oas.org covers more than 16 acres of surveyors, and crafts by Native
floor space, and has 2 miles Americans, inclu ding a great
Dating back to the First Inter- (3 km) of corridors. collection of basketry.
national Conference of the
American States, held from
October 1889 to April 1890 in
Washington, the Org anization
of American States (OAS) is
the oldest alliance of nations
dedicated to reinforcing
the peace and security of the
continent, and maintaining
democracy. The Charter of
the OAS was signed in Bogotá,
Colombia, in 1948 by the US The south facade of the immense Department of the Interior Building
The Tayloe Family
John Tayloe III (1771–1828), a colonel in the War of 1812,
was responsible for the construction of the unusual
Octagon building. He and his wife Ann, the daughter
of Benjamin Ogle (the governor of Maryland), had their
primary residence at Mount Airy, an estate and tobacco
plantation in Richmond County, Virginia. The Tayloes
decided they wanted to build a second house where
they could spend the inclement winter seasons. President
George Washington, a close friend of Tayloe and his father,
was at the time over seeing the building of the US Capitol
and was eager for people to move into the new city. The
president encouraged Tayloe and his family to choose
a plot in Washington rather than in the more popular
Philadelphia. The family heeded his advice and the
triangular-shaped corner plot for the Octagon was
chosen. Tayloe’s vast wealth enabled him to employ
the services of William Thornton, the original designer
Portrait, in crayon, by Saint Memin of of the US Capitol building, and spend a total of $35,000
Colonel John Tayloe III on the construction of the house.

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