James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, even a firehouse on 12th Street, according to noted author Gail S. Dessez also designed other notable buildings, such as the St. Dessez (1858 – 1918), an actual resident of Washington, DC who had worked on plans for the Washington Monument, along with working at the Navy Yard, and also designing homes in the District, Maryland, and Virginia. The man responsible for designing the home - which cost approximately $20,000 to build - was architect Leon E. Little did these men know that the home was “destined to have a storied history, later becoming the residence for the vice president of the United States.” McNair was soon followed by Commodore Robert L. In all, twelve US Naval Observatory superintendents resided at the home from 1893 to 1927. He had also required a specific number of additional dwellings for resident astronomers, which the Navy agreed to provide. McNair had overseen the planning and movement of the Observatory to its new location, so it only seemed fitting that he would be its first resident. McNair, the man responsible for overseeing the care and operations of the Observatory, was the first superintendent to occupy the Superintendent’s House, hence the name. that view, which we had only in the winter, never failed to thrill us.”Ī HOME FOR THE OBSERVATORY SUPERINTENDENT Gore called the home an “amazing place.” And Barbara Bush fondly recalled how after her husband was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 1981, they retired to the home for a nap, then “awakened and looked out our bedroom window to see lighted fireworks on the horizon. William Mondale, son of Vice President Mondale, remembers how it was such an incredibly big and beautiful house compared to their modest living quarters when his father was a senator. Other residents, such as Barbara Bush and Tipper Gore labeled it more informally, “the house” or simply “the home,” yet one thing they all seemed to agree on was how privileged they were to call Number One Observatory Circle their home. Dick Cheney, in Cheney, One on One, simply referred to the home as the VPR. The Mondale Family Cookbook, which included recipes that Joan Mondale used while living at the home, referred to the home as the “Vice President’s House, Washington, DC 20501” via an illustration for all of her menus, along with calling it simply the “Vice President’s House” throughout the book. Historically, the residence has been referred to by using the name of its tenant: the Superintendent’s House, the Admiral’s House, Admiralty House, the VPR (vice president’s residence), or simply just the vice president’s home or house. It’s the residence of the vice president of the United States, but unlike the White House, which is universally known and referred to by its name, what to actually call the vice president’s home has been a question with many answers. NUMBER One Observatory Circle - with an official address of 1 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 - is likely the most prestigious, yet unknown address on the property of the US Naval Observatory.
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