For the first time, a unique picture of the Iranian embassy in Washington after 35 years
Most people of my generation probably don't know about the former Iranian Embassy, a majestic building that actually still stands in Washington, DC at 3005 Massachusetts Avenue on Embassy Row. The contemporary artist Eric Parnes recently gained access to the abandoned structure and shared with me his photographs of its interiors, closed since circa 1980 with the fall of the Shah and the events of the Iranian Revolution (as seen in last year's Oscar-winning film ARGO).
The photographs are currently on display at the Ayyam Gallery in Dubai, in the UAE. Built in 1959
the Iranian Embassy in its heyday in the 1960's and 1970's was known to host lavish presidential dinners (from the Kennedys to the Nixons) that attracted political luminaries such as George McGovern, Ted Kennedy and Henry Kissinger; it also was known as an extravagant Washington party thrower. Celebrated guests included Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Liza Minnelli, Barbara Streisand, and Andy Warhol.
The Embassy itself was lavishly decorated with interiors inspired by traditional Persian culture, from its ornate hand-laid mosaics to its grand carpet spreads and mirrored ceilings. Today, Parnes' photographs show that the Embassy building contains only ghosts of what once was.
Considered a pivotal episode in the history of Iran–United States relations, political analysts cite the crisis as having weighed heavily on Jimmy Carter's presidency and run for reelection in the 1980 presidential election. In Iran, the crisis strengthened the prestige of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the political power of those who supported theocracy and opposed any normalization of relations with the West. The crisis also marked the beginning of U.S. legal action resulting in economic sanctions against Iran, to further weaken ties between Iran and the United States. Months before the revolution, on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1977, American president Jimmy Carter further angered anti-Shah Iranians with a televised toast to the Shah, declaring how beloved the Shah was by his people.
Most people of my generation probably don't know about the former Iranian Embassy, a majestic building that actually still stands in Washington, DC at 3005 Massachusetts Avenue on Embassy Row. The contemporary artist Eric Parnes recently gained access to the abandoned structure and shared with me his photographs of its interiors, closed since circa 1980 with the fall of the Shah and the events of the Iranian Revolution (as seen in last year's Oscar-winning film ARGO).
The photographs are currently on display at the Ayyam Gallery in Dubai, in the UAE. Built in 1959
the Iranian Embassy in its heyday in the 1960's and 1970's was known to host lavish presidential dinners (from the Kennedys to the Nixons) that attracted political luminaries such as George McGovern, Ted Kennedy and Henry Kissinger; it also was known as an extravagant Washington party thrower. Celebrated guests included Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Liza Minnelli, Barbara Streisand, and Andy Warhol.
The Embassy itself was lavishly decorated with interiors inspired by traditional Persian culture, from its ornate hand-laid mosaics to its grand carpet spreads and mirrored ceilings. Today, Parnes' photographs show that the Embassy building contains only ghosts of what once was.
Considered a pivotal episode in the history of Iran–United States relations, political analysts cite the crisis as having weighed heavily on Jimmy Carter's presidency and run for reelection in the 1980 presidential election. In Iran, the crisis strengthened the prestige of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the political power of those who supported theocracy and opposed any normalization of relations with the West. The crisis also marked the beginning of U.S. legal action resulting in economic sanctions against Iran, to further weaken ties between Iran and the United States. Months before the revolution, on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1977, American president Jimmy Carter further angered anti-Shah Iranians with a televised toast to the Shah, declaring how beloved the Shah was by his people.
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