Talk:James G. Blaine Mansion

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:James G. Blaine Mansion/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Mike Christie (talk · contribs) 23:45, 15 August 2022 (UTC)

I'll review this. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 23:45, 15 August 2022 (UTC)

Images are appropriately tagged; sources are all reliable.

• "The remaining large homes on the circle are": suggest making this "The other remaining large homes on the circle are".
• I wouldn't hold up GA for this, but I think three paragraphs on Blaine's history, prominent though he was, might be more than we need in an article about his house.
• "Blaine's wife, Harriet, wrote to their son Emmons in May 1981": a typo, I assume! I won't fix it in case the fix isn't just to make it 1881.
• Can we be sure Patenôtre actually lived there? You cite an announcement that he would be leasing it, but then say Harriet was living there after that date.
• "Three of these were only built" should surely be "Only three of these were built" or "Three only of these were built".
• I was slightly surprised by how few details of the interior design are given. Is there nothing more in the sources?

-- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 00:21, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

1) Done.

2) I can tweak this if necessary. I thought a section on why he's notable would be interesting to readers considering how many political roles he played.

3) Done. (and oof)

4) When I read old DC articles I see a lot of people moving in and out of residences due to political or diplomatic appointments sometimes being brief. Since the article says he leased it and Harriet doesn't come up until two years later, I assume he stayed in the city for a year or two after his promotion to ambassador. I looked for other sources that would verify a specific date, but no such luck. Do you think this should be removed?

5) Done.

6) Yes, it was difficult finding specifics of the interior. The source (and related works on 16th Street architecture) usually gives more details, but there's not a lot on the Blaine Mansion. The only thing mentioned is on page 117. I can try to find some old newspaper articles describing the interior. Don't remember if I saw any when gathering sources.

APK whisper in my ear 09:14, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

And thank you for taking the time to review the article. APK whisper in my ear 09:15, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

I'd leave the coverage of Blaine as it is; if you take this to FAC, then see if others make the same comment. For Patenôtre I think what got me wondering was the wording; if you make it "By 1895 Harriet was reportedly living in the mansion again, but..." then it'll sound less as though the previous report might have been a mistake. But that's not worth holding up GA for, so I'm passing the article now. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 10:26, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

Spotchecks

APK, I realized after I reviewed this that I should have been doing spotchecks as part of the review. I just did a few and found one thing I'd like to check with you.

• FN 18 cites "Leiter leased the mansion at a cost of $11,500 a year, which was noted at the time as being the most expensive rent paid for a residence in the city and much more than the Chinese Legation paid to rent the nearby Stewart's Castle." The source says the former lease was $10,000/year, and "the same terms are continued in the new lease".

-- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 15:28, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

Mike Christie sorry for the delayed response, I've been on vacation. You're right, the source gives a different amount. I'm not sure where I got the other figure, possibly from one of the books. I'll have to check when I get home. I'll change it to the $10,000 amount until I can see if there are conflicting numbers. Thanks. APK whisper in my ear 09:36, 4 October 2022 (UTC)