Coming to the Board of Directors reception and dinner? This is a catered event at the Anderson House on Wednesday November 15, so be sure to accept the calendar invite you received from Peggy Reed by October 31, so we can get an accurate count for the evening.

The Anderson House located at 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner in the ballroom at around 6:30 p.m. Dress code for the evening is business attire.

Not only is this a great opportunity to mingle with the Board, it’s also a rare chance to have dinner at this beautiful mansion that is a national historic landmark. The Anderson House was completed in 1905, at a cost of nearly $750,000, as the winter residence of Larz Anderson, an American diplomat, and his wife, Isabel, an author and benefactress. The couple enjoyed their mansion for more than 30 years, which became a showcase for their art collection, a backdrop for high society galas, and a grand setting for diplomatic and inaugural receptions, formal dinners and luncheons, concerts, and dramatic performances.

After Larz Anderson died in 1937, the widow fulfilled her husband’s wishes to bequeath the mansion and its contents to the Society of Cincinnati. Fun fact about Isabel: In 1897 at the age of 21, Isabel inherited $17 million from her grandfather William Fletcher Weld, a shipping magnate, making her the richest woman in the United States. She was an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Girl Scouts of America and the Red Cross. And she wrote 25 children’s books and 15 travelogues. Every time she finished a children’s book, Larz got her a bronze model of the main character.

The Anderson House has been the headquarters for the Society of Cincinnati and open to the public as a historic house museum since 1939. The library, which is open to researchers by appointment only, has an extensive collection of rare books related to military and naval history of the eighteenth century.

For those of you from the office who will be driving, in addition to street parking (if you are lucky) there are hotel garages next to, and across the street, and an outdoor lot at 20th and Mass (a block away).

For public transportation, you can take the D1 bus from K and 14th to P Street between 20th and 21st. Or the 42 bus from Franklin Square to Connecticut Ave and Q St NW. Or you can take the Metro Red line to Dupont Circle. It’s a three-minute walk from there.

It’s 1.2 miles from the office, which is less than a 30-minute walk from the office. We can also work out car pool/taxi arrangements the day of the event.

If you have any questions, please contact Carlton Wesley or Peggy Reed.