Embassy Building
The building currently housing the Embassy of Estonia was completed in 1903. It was designed by renowned architects William J. Marsh and Walter G. Peter (bureau Marsh & Peter) and built for Dr.George Barrie and his wife Emma Sears Barrie. The first floor was designed for De. Barrie’s medical practice while the upper floors were living quarters.
The Barries lived on Massachusetts avenue only until 1905 or 1906, but owned the house until 1922. They rented the house out and many notable Washingtonians inhabited it, for example Senators William Purnell Jackson (Maryland) and James H. Brady (Idaho). 1918- 1922 the bulding served as the Embassy of Peru and 1929- 1934 it housed the Landon School. From mid-1930s until 1970s it was a rooming house targeting Young government workers and foreign travelers. It is known that in the 1940s the number of people living in the house was 36.
In 1980s the house was renovated and a failed attempt was made to turn it into a bed and breakfast type of establishment. Since 1985 it mostly stood empty. The Republic of Estonia bought the house in 1994 and after remodeling (design by architect Madis Valge) the Estonian Embassy in Washington was opened in October 1995 at 2131 Massachusetts ave NW.