TextTour of the U. S. Department of State's Diplomatic Reception Rooms

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The Diplomatic Reception Rooms

The Diplomatic Reception Rooms are among the most beautiful rooms in the world used for official entertaining. The 18th-century-style rooms are located in the Main State Department building. In this setting the Secretary of State, the Vice President, and Members of the Cabinet entertain the leaders of the world as well as foreign and American dignitaries. They are entertained at luncheons, receptions and dinners. In addition, 60,000 visitors tour the reception rooms each year. On this virtual tour, you can meet the Director of the Collection, as well as sample below, a representative portion of the objects in the Rooms.

The Collection of museum-caliber American furnishings of the period 1750-1825 has been acquired with the generous tax-deductible contributions from public-spirited citizens, foundations, and corporations. Since its inception, the project's only expenditure of tax money has been for salaries and the office expenses of a very small staff.

Edward Vason Jones Memorial Hall Guests are greeted in this beautifully proportioned hall.
Entrance Hall Design for the hall is based on two great Georgian plantation houses on the James River in Virginia.
Gallery Designed by Edward Vason Jones. In 1965, Jones brought a team of carpenters and craftsmen to Washington to create new designs in the Palladian tradition of Thomas Jefferson's time.
John Quincy Adams State Drawing RoomIt is here that the Secretary of State receives guests at state luncheons and dinners. The room is furnished with masterpieces of 18th-century cabinetmakers.
Thomas Jefferson State Reception Room The Room contains many features of Jefferson's buildings in Virginia in the neoclassical or Palladian style.
Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room This State Dining Room is the primary room used to entertain both foreign and American guests. The Room is modeled after Kedleston, a great estate north of London designed by Robert Adam around 1770.
Walter Thurston Gentlemen's Lounge Designed by Walter M. Macomber, who was the resident architect of Mount Vernon and one of the first architects of Colonial Williamsburg.
Martha Washington's Ladies Lounge Before renovation, the condition of this area prompted the original curator to volunteer to refurnish the Diplomatic Reception Rooms.

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