Among the notable buildings in the National Capital that have had a distinguished place since the early days of the Republic are the residences, embassies, and legations of the representatives from foreign countries. At the present time there are 53, representing the leading countries of the world. The legation and embassy buildings are held territory of the respective countries to which they belong, and fly the flag of their respective nations, excepting on state occasions, when they fly both their own flag and that of the United States. L’Enfant, in his plan of the city, contemplated diplomatic buildings to line the Mall. But as the Mall was delayed in its development for over a century, the museum type of building has been erected on the Mall and the diplomatic establishments located elsewhere. In later years the suggestion was offered to locate them in the vicinity of the State Department. At the present time the embassies and legations are located, for the most part, in the residential section of northwest Washington. Quite a number are on Sixteenth Street in the vicinity of Meridian Hill Park. In more recent years several of the leading countries have built new embassies on spacious grounds. In this Great Britain has taken the lead, having built a large embassy on 4 acres of ground at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue, near the Naval Observatory. Three blocks beyond, the Norwegian Legation building has recently been completed. In recent years the Imperial Japanese Government built a new embassy at 2514 Massachusetts Avenue. The French Government recently purchased the home of John Hays Hammond for its new embassy. A list of the countries having embassies and legations in Washington (with the exception of Estonia, whose representative is located in New York City) is as follows: [Illustration: BRITISH EMBASSY] [Illustration: ITALIAN EMBASSY] Albania: The Mayflower Hotel. Argentina: 1806 Corcoran Street. Belgium: 1777 Massachusetts Avenue. Bolivia: Fifteenth and K Streets. Brazil: 3007 Whitehaven Street. Bulgaria: 2881 Woodland Drive. Canada: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue. Chile: 2154 Florida Avenue. China: 2001 Nineteenth Street. Colombia: 1520 Twentieth Street. Costa Rica: 2128 Bancroft Place. Cuba: 2630 Sixteenth Street. Czechoslovakia: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue. Denmark: 1868 Columbia Road. Dominican Republic: 2633 Sixteenth Street. Ecuador: Barr Building. Egypt: 2301 Massachusetts Avenue. El Salvador: 2400 Sixteenth Street. Estonia: Rockefeller Plaza, New York City. Finland: 2416 Tracy Place. France, Chancery: 1601 V Street. Germany: 1439 Massachusetts Avenue. Great Britain: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue. Greece: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue. Guatemala: 1614 Eighteenth Street. Haiti: 5017 Sixteenth Street. Honduras: 2611 Woodley Place. Hungary: 1424 Sixteenth Street. Ireland: 2310 Tracy Place. Italy: 2700 Sixteenth Street. Japan: 2514 Massachusetts Avenue.