Building Tour
ISL tour – US Embassy Dublin
42 Elgin Rd, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, D04 TP03
Tour Dates & Times
- Friday 14 October:
- 6pm – 7pm
This is an ISL interpreted tour. To book a place for ISL tour please contact us via bookings@architecturefoundation.ie. Places are limited.
The embassy was designed by American architect John M. Johansen, in consultation with Irish architect Michael Scott. It was constructed between 1962 and 1964 on a triangular site at the intersection between Elgin Road and Pembroke Road. A Victorian house was previously on the site, and had been used as Bord Fáilte as their headquarters.
Situated on a triangular lot, the U.S. Embassy in Dublin stands as a five-story, 100-foot diameter, cylindrical drum with two service stories below ground and three administrative stories above. The precast concrete structure, composed of “modules fabricated out of reconstructed limestone” with vertical supports twisted at 90 degree angles to enclose large panes of fixed glass alternating with narrow operable windows, sits on a base of rusticated granite. The exterior perimeter is surrounded by a “30-foot flower-planted moat, across which two bridges gain entry to the rotunda reception area.” The embassy was a successful realization of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Building Operations design initiative during the 1950s and thus contributed to bringing the Modern Movement to Ireland’s public.
Accessibility Information
This building is wheelchair accessible. There’s a ramp to the front door.
There is a wheelchair accessible bathroom.
There is a wheelchair lift in place of steps into Embassy Rotunda
No parking available at the Embassy. For wheelchair users, gardai and security will allow people to temporarily pull up on Elgin Road near the entrance.
There is a carpark outside the Bank of Ireland building on Pembroke Road which is available to the public at weekends free of charge.
There are bike railings between D4 hotels and the Art of Coffee on Pembroke road. This is a 2 minute walk from the Embassy.
If you are traveling from the city center by Dublin bus you may take the number 4, 7, 7A and exit at the first stop (Stop 415) after D4 Hotels (formerly Jury’s hotel) in Ballsbridge. The Embassy is directly across the road.
If you are traveling from the city center by the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit), you should exit at Landsdowne Road train station. This is a 10 minute approx.. walk from the Embassy. When you leave the station, turn left and walk through Landsdowne Road to the traffic lights at the corner of D4 Hotels (formerly Jury’s hotel). Turn left at D4 Hotels – you are now on Pembroke Road. The Embassy is across the road about 2 minute’s walk from D4 Hotels.
