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Embassy of Poland

            The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, DC was designed by the architect George Oakley Totten and was originally intended to be the city home of the US Senator John B Henderson. Completed early in 1910, the building was finished in a style reminiscent of seventeenth and eighteenth century French mansionettes, however, it also incorporates major elements of English styling, such as the use of double-hung windows, limestone balconies and the addition of an elaborate iron and glass marquee over the front.
The building was purchased on behalf of the government of the newly independent Polish nation in 1919 by the country's first ambassador to the United States, Prince Kazimierz Lubomirski. Since then, very few changes have been made and the building thus retains many of its outstanding period features. In 1978 a team of specialists was brought from Poland to repair and renovate the ornate plaster and woodwork of the embassy's state rooms, returning the interior to its former grandeur and restoring its artistic integrity.
In the embassy's main 'salon' stands a large Steinway piano which is still frequently used to entertain guests at many of the embassy's events throughout the year. The instrument not only evokes memories of music played on it by outstanding musicians over the years, but, as a gift to the Embassy during World War II from Ignacy Jan Paderewski, is also in itself a symbol of Polish patriotism. Paderewski played it during his last American tour, when he unfortunately fell ill and had to cancel his concerts. He died soon after in 1941 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with the request that his body be returned to Poland 'only when his country is independent once more'. This request was finally carried out in 1992 when he was exhumed from his grave in Arlington and reinterred in Warsaw's Powązki Cemetery.
Throughout the embassy there is a large and varied array of both portraits and landscapes by a number of Polish artists of different eras. Amongst these is an original oil on canvas portrait by Josef Grassi of Polish national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Pole who after meeting with Benjamin Franklin in Paris proceeded to the United States to fight in the revolutionary war and who ultimately went on to design the fortifications at West Point. Kościuszko then returned to Poland and devoted his life to achieving Polish freedom. It is to this end that he led the Kościuszko Uprising, which aimed to liberate Poland from the partitioning powers of Prussia, Austria and the Russian Empire.
   

Taken in: United States / District of Columbia / Washington / Reed (show map)

Taken on: January 28, 2014

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Embassies

Sets appears in: • Embassies • Washington, Winter 2013/14

Groups appears in: • Embassies Worldwide • Embassies of DC more » • PoPville Photos « less

Camera: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi, f/9.0, 1/200 sec, 21mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
Lens:	Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	21mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 11.0 Macintosh
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