Book Talk by Dr. Mark Ozer on Massachusetts Avenue in the Gilded Age: A Model for McLean Gardens
This event is free and open to the general public.
Massachusetts Avenue in the Gilded Age: A Model for McLean Gardens Welcome to Millionaires Row, where the Gilded Age mansions of what is now Embassy Row still exude a faded elegance. It was here that Martha Blow Wadsworth - an avid sportswoman competed with Theodore Roosevelt and wealthy hostess Nellie Patterson competed with her sister Kitty McCormick over who had the largest mansion and whose children would run The Chicago Tribune, the family newspaper. Thomas Walsh, the miner turned millionaire, built his brashly nouveau riche mansion on Massachusetts Avenue and staked his daughter Evalyn to the world’s greatest collection of diamonds and her extravagant life style with her husband Ned McLean at their uptown estate that became McLean Gardens. Mark Ozer examines the extant Beaux-Arts architecture and tells the stories of the buildings, their architects and the people who lived and played behind those grand facades"
The author, a long time resident of McLean Gardens, has in his travels explored the interaction of history and geography of many of the great cities of the world. Since retirement after a fruitful career as Professor of Neurology at Georgetown School of Medicine, for the past 10 years, he has given courses on history of many of the world’s cities, including Washington at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the American University in Washington, DC. A resident of Washington since 1964, he has found the place of especial interest as he has interpreted it to those from all over the world seeking a deeper understanding of the meaning of America. Mark Ozer has translated his interest in Washington into a series of books. The first, "Washington, DC: Politics and Place" has now been succeeded by a book that focuses on one of the great streets of the world, our own Massachusetts Avenue.
It will run from 3:30pm at the McLean Gardens Ballroom on Porter Street North West, one block west of Wisconsin Avenue. Directions are to turn west on Porter Street from Wisconsin Avenue. The Ballroom is the Ionic Columned building opposite the fountain. Parking is available on the street. Admission is FREE
For additional information: Please contact, Club Member, Dr. Mark Ozer directly by email: Mn3oz@aol.com