TALIM

In the 1920s two or more pieces of property were acquired across the street from the original structure, and an ambitious program of construction and restoration then took place under Consul General (and later Minister) Maxwell Blake.  The most significant of Blake’s additions was a Moorish pavilion overlooking a new courtyard in which antique doors, ceilings, and tiles from Fez were used.  Elsewhere in the building, Blake added handsome 18^th century lanterns, iron grillwork, and marble mantle pieces.  When Blake had completed his work, the Legation had grown into an imposing edifice of more than 40 rooms. The noted American architectural historian, Charles Petersen, who carried out a detailed study of the Old American Legation in 1975, concluded that the complex has “considerable architectural interest and merit.”