Photo credit: Janet Donovan
“Welcome to our 40th Anniversary because 60 is the new 40. Tonight we are celebrating 60 years since The Ford Foundation acquired this house and we were off and running as a global diplomacy and leadership center,” said President & CEO Stuart Holliday of Meridian International Center at a reception that honored the Anniversary with a commemorative book: Grounds of Diplomacy: A History, A Place, A Mission. “We’re at an inflection point in our history. The things that we believe in – diplomacy, engagement, open borders, other cultures – uh, strike that last one – cooperation across borders, engagement with other countries, are perhaps as much in vogue as they once were. It’s very important now that we not only not let up on this mission, but that we double down on it and we continue it.”
Photo credit: Janet Donovan
Book synopsis: “To commemorate its 60th anniversary, Meridian International Center is publishing an elegant coffee table book to showcase the stunning architecture of Meridian House and White-Meyer House that make up the Center’s campus, and tell the story of how the homes and the Center came to be. Grounds of Diplomacy: A History, A Place, A Mission, will serve as a tribute to Meridian International Center’s historic campus in Washington and its thread in history as a hub for diplomacy, global leadership and international exchange. Starting with the official naming of the Meridian Hill neighborhood along the proposed Washington meridian line, the book chronicles the area’s transformation into the ‘diplomatic quarter of Washington’ with the development of several embassy mansions in the early 20th century. The book then details the construction of the two residential jewels on Crescent Place, designed by renowned architect John Russell Pope and home to two accomplished American diplomats, the influential Eugene Meyer family, and later, Meridian International Center.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Meridian
“As the only publication to memorialize this history through over a century’s worth of compelling photographs and imagery, the book celebrates Meridian’s work to advance diplomacy through the exchange of global leaders, ideas and culture, and shows how this mission upholds the legacy of those who built Meridian Hill into a Washington neighborhood that remains influential in the United States’ engagement with the world.” Meridian International Center
Didi and Ambassador Walter Cutler
Past and present members of the board were recognized by Holliday: “I think we have a very exciting future ahead. Our board of directors is committed and we are looking at a bright future. We have a number of people here who helped make this possible. [The book] is a wonderful way to memorialize the history of this spot from the days of Thomas Jefferson all the way up to today. All of this place represents something and it represents the idea that we, if we are globally engaged and internationally connected, can build a better world.”
Featured image photo credit: Janie Matthews
Ambassador Stuart Holliday
