Last Saturday morning, under grey skies and whipping winds, DCist rolled out of bed to take a walking tour of Embassy Row, one of the 60 free tours being offered in this weekend’s WalkingTown DC, an event offered by Cultural Tourism DC. Like Sommer, I was initially sceptical that there was much to learn about the Dupont Circle neighborhood, a familiar stomping ground for many Washington young people. But on the Embassy Row tour, professional guide Mary Anne Hoffman swiftly turns the world of stately diplomatic enclaves into a vivid snapshot of American aristocracy and one generation’s fall from decadence.

Hoffman first leads her group to the Dupont fountain, inside what Civil War-era residents called Pacific Circle, because of its perceived remoteness from the U.S. Capitol. Around the circle, wealthy 19th Century Americans began constructing elaborate “party palaces”. Families with familiar names like Longworth, McLean, Cannon, Sheridan and Roosevelt came from across the country to claim a foothold in the Capital as it rapidly became a locus of global power. They wanted to flaunt their new wealth, which came from California gold mines, publishing and investments in the growing industrial sector. What resulted is a hodgepodge of architectural styles, each considered the latest craze when constructed. I never imagined the ornate design of what is now the Indonesian Embassy was an homage to the White Star line of cruise ships. Everything from windows to chandeliers resemble the Titanic-era ocean liners — the height of fashion in turn-of-the-Century America.