Hello educational travelers!
Enjoy today’s post about the very interesting Heurich House written by one of our guest writers, Jeff.
Educational tours to Washington, D.C. can be wonderfully enhanced by visiting the Heurich House Museum located at 1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW. Complimentary tours are offered to students and teachers at the elementary, secondary, and collegiate levels. The Heurich House has much to add to a variety of curricula including architecture, decorative arts, and history. The one hundred and twenty year old structure preserves the legacy of Christian Heurich and enriches the cultural life of our nation’s capital.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Dupont Circle and its grand avenues became a “place of wealth and fashion,” the center for great mansions and castles. Only a few of the homes of the Gilded Age have survived until today, and the Heurich House Museum is the crown jewel of all. Containing most of its original furnishings and decorations, the museum’s rooms reflect the late-Victorian era. It will thrill anyone on a student tour of Washington, D.C.
Christian Heurich was a self-made businessman who emigrated from Germany to America with only $200 in his wallet. As the owner of the Heurich Brewing Company, he became the District’s second largest landowner and largest non-governmental employer. He lived until the end of WWII, and was at 102 the world’s oldest brewer. Heurich’s mansion was built in the early 1890’s as a technological marvel, incorporating full indoor plumbing, hot water heat, and gas and electric lighting fixtures. It is built of reinforced steel and concrete and is completely fireproof. Educational tours of Washington, D.C. will marvel that none of its fifteen fireplaces has ever been used!
The interior of the house is a masterpiece of craftsmanship and design. The thirty-one rooms are replete with hand carved wood and mantles, cast bronze fire backs, hand painted ceiling canvases, luxurious furnishings and original art collections from a long gone era. The Heurich House Museum must be part of your next student tour to Washington, D.C.
Until next time,
Jeff.