22
a r c hi t e c t ur e o f d i p l omacy
in South America and the Far East. Linthicum, also a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, visited Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima, Panama, and Montevideo in 1928. Robert J. Phillips, who had come over to the Foreign Service Buildings Office on loan from the Commerce Department, inspected property in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Valparaiso, Santiago, La Paz, Panama, Lima, and Montevideo in the same year. The following year Merrill visited Belize, Managua, Panama, Guayaquil, Lima, La Paz, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, and Trinidad. By 1931, Secretary of State Henry Stimson pointed to an impressive list of accomplishments abroad, including: acquisition of the site for an office building in Paris, site acquisition and approval of plans for an office building in Buenos Aires, acquisition of the Bluecher Palace for use as an embassy in Berlin, approval of previously drawn plans for a consulate at Amoy, approval of plans for an office building in Rio de Janeiro, acquisition of a site for an ambassador’s residence in Lima, the beginning of construction of a consular building at Yokohama, and approval of plans for an embassy compound in Tokyo (construction was 70 percent complete in 1931). In addition, the FSBC had authorized purchase of a site for an office building in Ottawa, purchase of sites for consulates in Aden and Corinto, construction of consulates in Panama and Mukden, purchase of a site for a legation in Monrovia, purchase of sites for offices and residences in Managua and Calcutta, purchase of land and buildings in Tehran, Matanzas, and Santiago, furnishing of a government-owned ambassador’s residence in Seville, and rehabilitation of the legation in Tangier (acquired by gift). Projects already completed by 1931 included purchase, repair, and furnishing of an ambassador’s residence in Buenos Aires, furnishing of the ambassador’s residence in London (acquired by gift), remodeling of the ambassador’s residence in Paris (likewise, acquired by gift), and acquisition, remodeling, and repair of consulates at Penang and Nagasaki. When asked about architect selection, Merrill said that the FSBC tried to pick architects from all across the country.21 Since many projects never reached completion or lacked clear attribution, it is hard to know the extent to which geography really was a consideration. The commission also tried to hire American architects with work experience in other countries. For example, Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg requested that Porter approve the appointment of Cass Gilbert to design the embassy in Ottawa, citing Gilbert’s “great experience in construction work in Canada.”22 Though Gilbert’s prior experience was never identified and may never have occurred, he did get the job and presented sketches to the commission on 22 June 1928. The embassy was built in the early 1930s, and took its cue from the classical model much favored in Washington. Supervising Architect of the Treasury Louis Simon