Ella Burling Hall - Facilities Rental

The Great Hall- Ella Burling Hall (formerly The Great Hall) is modeled after the Great Hall of Haddon Hall in Derbyshire, England. The mantelpiece is a copy of one in Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, one of the royal manors where Elizabeth I lived before she became queen.

The family of Mr. Demarest Lloyd occupied the House until 1946 (it became the International Student House in January, 1947) and left valuable paintings and furniture in the house. The Elizabethan oak refectory table, which dates from 1620, was the Lloyd' s dining room table and could seat twelve people. Many paintings, including the Madonna and Child by Domenico Puligo (1492-1527), from the school of Andrea del Sarto, add to the classic atmosphere of Ella Burling Hall.

In the immediate area around Burling Hall is a 15th century Spanish woodcut, a Flemish tapestry, and several Persian and Aubusson carpets round out the magnificent décor. Circling the interior of the Great Hall are several high back Windsor armchairs, circa 1800. As you enter, to the right, are two landscapes by Henry Pember Smith (American, 1854-1907).
Ella Burling Hall was the scene of some of Washington' s loveliest parties. Presidents Coolidge and Hoover and Eleanor Roosevelt were entertained there. In the late 1920' s, Yehudi Menuhin (still in his teens), played the violin concert in the Hall, and Paul Robeson has also performed.

Garden and environs- an iron gate, which led to the massive oak entrance door (in the lobby to the left of the garden entrance), can be seen resting in the garden. The sundial (in the garden center) and the baptismal font (next to the landscaped garden area) were both original objects in the garden when the house was built in 1912.