My adventure in D.C. yesterday.

[arcadian]

Drove up and when I got to I-66, I realized 'cherry blossoms'. Cherry
blossoms were not a part of my plan, but I realized they were a part
of a lot of other peoples plans when traffic into D.C. started getting
backed up around Centerville. I had to come up with a plan B. I knew
66 would be horrible all the way into the District.

Quickly, I decided to get on the Beltway and take the Clara Barton
Parkway. The Clara Barton Parkway you ask? Yeah, nobody knows about
it, it runs along the Potomac River and C&O Canal on the Maryland
side.

Nice ride and not so crowded for the first real nice day in D.C. When
I hit a back up from Chain Bridge I just angled up toward Washington
Cathedral. The traffic was not bad at all around these neighborhoods.

Anyway, I wanted to take pictures on Embassy Row so I headed down
Mass. Ave. I was looking for the old Iranian Embassy. It was
completely abandoned. Nobody ever notices it when they drive by, it
looks like any embassy when zooming by, but upon closer inspection the
large building is empty and there is nobody around.


former Iranian Embassy

I was taking pictures when an older lady came up and started talking
to me about the embassy. She told me that when the Revolutionaries
took over they riped out the really ornate doors and threw them out.
She also said that they took all the alcohol that was in the embassy
and threw it out into the street, empty bottles and broken glass
everywhere. It was cool talking to her.



I walked all around the embassy grounds. The Ambassador's Residence
next door was also empty. Ostensibly, I believe these properties are
"run by" the State Department but they are still owned by Iran. It's a
large complex. Security camera all weather housings were still in
place and there was a guard booth with an iron gate which I just hoped
the wall to bypass. I have to say abandoned embassies are up there on
the cool abandoned properties list, probably just below abandoned
military bases.


former residence, Iranian Ambassador

In a small parking area around the back of the embassy, there was a
judgment against the Iranian Embassy pasted to a pole. It claimed the
property had been seized, so I don't know who actually owns it now, I
think it's in some kind of legal international judicial limbo.



The weird thing was, around the back, I found a small pile of papers
that had been partially burnt, I was thinking to myself, "Damn,
somebody didn't burn their CLASSIFIED communiques." But it was
nothing, some book about U.S. Japanese relations and another book
written in Japanese. Still bizarre though.

Later, I was up on Observatory Circle, still a part of Embassy Row and
I saw a lone protester outside the Apostolic Nunciature, the Holy See.
I stopped and took his picture. I checked out his website. He
apparently had been a victim of a pedophile priest. I took some
pictures of him and his banner and I'll send them to him. He seemed
like a nice guy.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear arcadian!

What a really nice, and informative, photo essay!

You've done an excellent job with these pictures and your descriptions... How clever of you to avoid the worst of the traffic by going this way!

Thank you so much.

Are you still in DC? Will there be more pics?

:hi:

[arcadian]

7. Thanks Peggy,

I have a lot of D.C. pictures. I'm close enough that I can zoom in and out for the day. :hi:

I like hanging out on Embassy Row, the architecture is really beautiful.

[nc4bo]

2. Had to recommend just on coolness factor.

Wow, the property was seized, eh? Just wow.

I found the burnt papers pretty weird too.

Most excellent adventure.

[MADem]

3. Now that is a recommendable thread!!!

If we ever normalize with Iran, they'll get the building back. They'll have to give us ours, too, or give us a nice chunk of property and some scratch in compensation.

Great pics! Well done!

[Glimmer of Hope]

6. Wow - I never noticed the Iranian embassy before. If you are still in DC you

should check out the Iraqi embassy on P Street in Dupont. It is sad.

[arcadian]

10. I've seen it. It's locked up tighter than a drum.

I have photos of it around here too, somewhere. They also have a chancellery up on Observatory Circle. :hi:

[arcadian]

9. I'm going to do some research.

That judgement says Michael Bennett, Representative for the Plantiff. So who is the plantiff? State Department? My guess is that it's a group from the hostage incident. Also, the American Embassy in Tehran is currently the Museum of the U.S. Den of Espionage. :rofl:

[MADem]

11. Could it be this Michael Bennett? Seeking recompense for the death of his daughter

in the Frank Sinatra Cafeteria while at University in Israel? HTML version with highlights:

http://74.125.93.104/search?q=cache:r2tMFsd98WMJ:https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc%3F2003cv1486-20+michael+bennett+iran+representative+for+the+plaintiff&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

[arcadian]

15. Yes, that is the exact document.

Good job! That is really interesting, nothing to do with the Hostage crisis at all.

[Carni]

4. Really interesting post thanks! eom

[malaise]

5. Really interesting

and very cool

[villager]

8. Interesting -- the burnt papers jibe with a story my D.C.-based Aunt told me

...when I was there for a visit, a couple months back...

She and my uncle live not far from there (I believe, if my D.C. geography is right). In any case, there was quite a "burning party" of old papers going on there, when the embassy "transitioned" from our sadistic puppets to their sadistic fundies...

Your story would seem to back that up...

[arcadian]

12. This was probably more recent.

Probably a homeless person found them in a trash bind. There were a couple of other abandoned embassies around there, but I don't know to which countries they belonged.

[villager]

13. Ah... I thought maybe you'd unearthed them, perhaps...

...still, I hadn't thought of that "Aunt anecdote" until your post!

[arcadian]

16. You used to be able to rent the embassy out.

My cousin was a KA at North Carolina State and if memory serves me correctly they had their national conference in D.C. one year and had a party at the former Iranian Embassy. They called it, "Iran, I Rock, I Roll" or something.

[MADem]

17. When I lived in Iran

I had a tee shirt that said "I came, I saw, IRAN."

[arcadian]

19. Was that pre or post Khomeini?

[MADem]

20. Mostly before, a bit after.

I was gone before the hostage business.

Despite the onerous nature of the Shah's regime, which was present and apparent in everyday life, even before things got sketchy, it was a more pleasant experience "before." I am not suggesting in any way it was optimal, but it wasn't as crappy, not by a long shot.

Now it's the same degree of interference and political oppression, and half the population are "morally oppressed" on top of that, and anyone associating with them from the other half falls under suspicion as well. There's a whole generation that's been born after the days of Iran sorta being like a shi'a Beyrouth. They have no idea how cosmopolitan their nation used to be.

Hell, the guys who worked in Saudi Arabia used to go to Teheran for R and R (no kidding).

[Ocracoker16]

14. Pleased you met the man who was the victim of a pedophile priest

Whenever I drive by, he always seems to be there. I have seen him for years. He is a really nice guy and he certainly didn't do anything to cause this awful abuse. I like him, because he reminds people of the problem with pedophile priests in the Catholic church. The Catholic church has paid some settlements, but there are many victims who haven't received anything. Thanks for sharing.

[arcadian]

18. Left out the best part of the adventure.

I also stopped by the FBI's spy house across from the Russian Embassy on Wisconsin. They photograph everybody going in and out of the Russian Federation's main gate with cameras located in the attic. Described in the article here:

http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/26/814625.aspx?p=1

[MountainLaurel]

22. Is that across Wisconsin from the Embassy?

Or the street that runs behind it? I used to live a few blocks away and am trying to remember where the house is located.

[arcadian]

23. It's right across from the Russian Embassy main gate

There is a vacant lot right next to it. Apparently the FBI has cameras all over the place. There is an apartment complex with the FBI in one of the units looking down on the gate. The street behind the embassy is Tunlaw, the FBI has a surveillance unit in one of the apartment complexes there too, supposedly.

[Adelante]

21. Delightful OP

But you need a DU Journal for a collection :)