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.

This tour is pre-book only.

This building is wheelchair accessible.
There is a wheelchair lift in place of steps into Embassy Rotunda.
No parking available at the Embassy.

For wheelchair users, 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.