A brief history of the Chancery building A brief history of the Chancery building

A brief history of the Chancery building

The Chancery of the Embassy of India in Washington is located at 2107 Massachusetts Avenue.  The Chancery building in Washington consists of two adjacent buildings, one constructed in 1885, four floors were added in 1907, and the other (Depew House) in 1901, making them probably the oldest properties owned by the government of India abroad. 

T. Morris Murray, a prominent Washington physician, had built the adjacent building based on eighteenth century French architecture style in 1901.  It is constructed in granite and limestone.  This building over the years was occupied by some of the illustrious families including that of U.S. Senator Peter Gerry (1914-1915), Undersecretary of the Treasury Ogden L. Mills (1928) and the widow of U.S. Senator Chauncey Depew, May Palmer Depew.  It was during her stay, the building came to be known as Depew House.

After her death in 1940, her cousin leased the Depew House to various tenants, including the British Purchase Agency. Subsequently, the Indian government had acquired the building in 1946 and connected it with other building to create the Chancery.