Scandinavia House

Scandinavia House stands on a site with a long, complex history of political and architectural transition. Before the current glass and zinc structure opened in two thousand, this lot was occupied by a French neoclassical limestone mansion built in nineteen zero nine. That earlier house was designed with input from Julian Francis Abele, who holds the distinction of being the first documented African American architect in the United States. Following the era of private ownership, the building took on a vastly different role during the final decades of the twentieth century, serving as the United Nations mission for the German Democratic Republic.