ëEmbassy Residencesí Offers Rare Look Inside Diplomatic Homes by Larry Luxner Gabriela Febres-Cordero de Moreno, the wife of Colombian Ambassador Luis Alberto Moreno, is Venezuelan. Lily Urdinola de Bianchi, the wife of Chilean Ambassador AndrÈs Bianchi, is Colombian. And Patricia Cepeda, whoís also Colombian, is the wife of John OíLeary, a former U.S. ambassador to Chile. Together, these three ladiesóassisted by a team of advisers, graphic designers and architectural historians, and backed by one of Colombiaís most prestigious publishing housesóhave put together a book titled ìEmbassy Residences in Washington, D.C.î The 333-page coffee-table edition, which went on sale Nov. 3, is lavishly illustrated with 396 color images by Colombiaís Antonio CastaÒeda-Buraglia and Washington-based photographer Isabel Cutler. The publisher is Villegas Editores of Colombia, whose U.S. distributor is Rizzoli International Publications Inc. The book is also available in a Spanish-language edition titled ìCasas de Embajada en Washington, D.C.î The book brings to life the little-known and sometimes secret stories behind 41 of Washingtonís most sumptuous diplomatic residencesómost of whose interio rs have never been seen outside diplomatic circles. Last month, as ìEmbassy Residencesî was hitting local bookstores, The Washington Diplomat sat down to talk with Febres-Cordero, Urdinola and Cepeda. The interview was conducted, appropriately enough, at the Colombian Embassy residence off Dupont Circle, whose lavish interior happens to grace the cover of the new book. ìIt was my idea,î said Febres-Cordero as she showed off her home of the past five years. ìBenjamÌn Villegas, a well-known Colombian book publisher, came to Washington, and while visiting our house he mentioned how beautiful it was and asked if these residences were open to the public. I suggested that he publish a book showcasing the embassies of Washington.î At the time, Febres-Cordero said, only a small booklet existed that showed the faÁades of 28 embassy residences, but not the interiors. ìAfter he agreed, I spoke to a couple of ambassadors, asking if they wanted to participate in the project. I went with Villegas to each ambassadorís wife, introducing him and giving his books as gifts. We followed up with letters from the Embassy of Colombia. A few of them said they needed permission from their ministry of foreign affairs.î Diplomatic residences were chosen, she said, ìdepending on the access they gave us.î In the end, all of the big and important countries made it into the book, such as Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the United Kingdom and Russia. But the book also includes the beautiful residences of smaller nations such as Bolivia, Iceland, Kuwait and Tunisia. Greece wasnít included because that country replaced its ambassador to the United States in the middle of the project. ìAnd in the case of Israel, once we accomplished the first phase, the ambassador left, and the new one did not know us,î so the Israeli Embassy did not make it into the final draft either. ìThree embassies said no right away,î said Febres-Cordero, declining to name them. ìThe ones that said no did so for security reasons. Sept. 11 changed a lot of things.î Although the U.S. government was not involved in the bookís planning, Febres-Cordero said, ìWe needed an entrance to the rest of the embassies. I didnít think it was right for the book to open in alphabetical order.î She said the team originally wanted to include the Blair House ìbecause itís the official residence for guests of the president, but after 9/11 it was difficult to get. So we included instead the Meridian International Center, which is the institution that welcomes new ambassadors in town and offers activities that link the embassies together.î Other mansions profiled in the book include the official residences of the European Commission and the Holy See. Urdinola, who accompanied photographer CastaÒeda-Buraglia to most of the photo shoots, said the team worked under all kinds of time and logistics constraints. ìSome embassies like Japan only gave us three hours. But the British ambassador gave us a full day,î she explained. ìKorea was very difficult. I thought it wouldnít happen because they didnít get approval from the government until the first proofs came out. They couldnít understand why a Colombian photographer wanted to take pictures of the Korean Embassy. After the first proofs, I went to the ambassadorsí wives and gave them copies, so they could see that we were serious.î Most of the residences featured in the book were built in the late 19th or early 20th centuries by prominent American architects for millionaires who wanted homes in the nationís capital. But during the Great Depression, even rich owners couldnít afford to maintain such elegant residences and were forced to sell them. In effect, these historic Washington homes were rescued and preserved by foreign governments. The bookís well-researched introduction was written by architectural historian Jane C. Loeffler, a University of Maryland visiting professor who recently published ìThe Architecture of Diplomacy: Building Americaís Embassies.î According to Loeffler, one of the earliest millionaires to commission a mansion in Washington was Thomas Walsh, who had made his fortune in the gold mines of Nevada. His 50-room house on Massachusetts Avenue was built in 1902 for $830,000, which in todayís dollars would be worth $17 million. It became the Indonesian Embassy in 1951. Similarly, Edward Everett, the entrepreneur who invented the crimped metal bottle cap, commissioned a huge house in 1914 that 29 years later was purchased by the Turkish government. The foreword of ìEmbassy Residencesî was contributed by Ambassador Moreno and the preface by career diplomat Walter L. Cutler, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Zaire who now directs the Meridian International Center. Finally, the main text of the book was written by Urdinola, who, in addition to being married to the Chilean ambassador, is also a journalist whose articles have appeared in Caras magazine, Diario La Segunda of Chile and the Colombian newspaper El PaÌs. ìGabriela called me up to talk about the project, and I became fascinated with the histories of the houses,î Urdinola recalled. ìBenjamÌn Villegas came to see how the pictures were going and asked me to write the histories. I said no because I had too much to do as the wife of an ambassador, and I had had enough of deadlines.î But she was soon convinced and quickly set about researching the individual histories of the 41 embassy residences. ìPeople would give me information, but it was very poor information,î she said. ìI had to interview the wives of the ambassadors.î As Urdinola wrote the text in Spanish, Cepeda carefully translated it into English. Yet for Cepeda, this was not just another translation job. During the three years that her husband served as U.S. ambassador to Chile under the Clinton and Bush administrations, she lived in the U.S. Embassy residence in Santiago designed by Paul Thiry, architect of the International Fair of Seattle. While in Chile, she organized the acclaimed exhibit ìMaine Lightîóalong with an extensive program of lectures and eventsóin the ambassadorís residence under the auspices of the State Departmentís ìArt in the Embassiesî program. ìIt took a year and a half, but Patricia translated as I wrote it,î said Urdinola. ìFrom the beginning, we knew there would be two separate books, one in English and one in Spanish.î Febres-Cordero said that throughout the entire process, the book received the solid backing of the Colombian Embassy. ìThe embassy and our staff were involved in arranging transportation, phone calls, letters of introduction and other collaboration,î she said. ìFor us, it was like a partnership, and we wanted to make sure this project would be successful.î ìEmbassy Residencesî is now available at Politics & Prose, Olssonís, AIA Bookstore, Franz Bader Bookstore, City Museum of D.C., Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Building Museum, National Gallery of Art, Tudor Place, Smithsonian Institution and the Washington Historical Society. It may also be ordered from Rizzoli International Publications by phone at (800) 522-6657. Prices vary from $45 at amazon.com to $65 in bookstores. Larry Luxner is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.