16 World War I and the 1920s: service and diplomacy The grand avenue establishments were for more than parties Owners loaned them for state functions and humanitarian work, making Mass Ave one of the most important public streets in Washington in World War I and thereafter Examples:29 From 1908: President Theodore Roosevelt’s lively daughter Alice, who was married to Speaker of the House Nicholas Longworth, entertained important figures for decades at 2009 Mass 30 1918: 1801 Mass was loaned to the American Red Cross At 2020 Mass, volunteers made garments for refugees 1919: The King and Queen of Belgium stayed at 2020 Mass, receiving important guests 1921 and after: Three former US presidents resided near Mass Ave: William Howard Taft (1921–30), Woodrow Wilson (1921–24), and Herbert Hoover (1921–29, 1933–44) 1922: Count László Széchenyi, Hungary’s ambassador to the US, bought 2929 Mass for himself and his wife Gladys, née Vanderbilt, to use for official and social entertainment 1927: President and Mrs Calvin Coolidge lived at 15 Dupont Circle while the White House was being refurbished During three days that Charles Lindbergh was their guest there, the house was besieged by crowds Fig. 26 West of Rock Creek, new establishments were landscaped as country seats. Great Britain’s palatial embassy (3100 Mass), built in 1927, has approaches fit for royalty. Fig. 27 Alice Roosevelt at age 17 in 1902.
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