Around Town
with Donna Shor
THE HOUSES THAT ANTOINE BUILT
Antoine Predock "took gold"
recently when he was awarded the
American Architectural Foundation's
prestigious Gold Medal, the "Oscar"
for that profession-and you have
never seen a happier chap. The
video screens at the Accent on
Architecture Gala pictured several of
his most innovative buildings, as well
as Antoine himself, white-haired,
handsome and vigorous astride
a motorcycle from his treasured
collection of twenty-five.
Predock's win was a popular
one, judging by the enthusiasm of
the 1,000 celebrants at the National
Building Museum, including
his dynamic wife, the sculptor
Constance DeJong, his staffers and a
crowd of clients from various cities.
Later, irrepressible Antoine passed
out souvenir black knitted "gangsta"
watch caps to everyone, advising
"Don't wear this to your neighborhood
liquor store." His medal ushers him
into a pantheon that includes Frank
Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and I.M.
Pei. Predock is New Mexico-based
architect famed for structures blending
a strong historical sense with spiritual
insight. He connects the land, the space
and the client in harmony.
A 'CORKING' GOOD TIME
When wine buff Melanie
Corcoran and her wine consultant
bridegroom, Daniel Mahdavian,
invited eighty guests to the St. Regis
Hotel for a very special sevencourse
Wedding Wine Dinner; the
superlative dishes and bottlings
produced a banquet that equaled or
even surpassed those served by the
proud Bordeaux "wine aristocracy"
in their chateaux in the Medoc.
We won't list the vintages or the
sumptuous dishes; you would be too
jealous, but let's just say these wines
were worth every cent they cost, and
worthy of the be-truffled dishes.
"The Corks" were jumping, but
not just the ones being pulled from the
bottles. Melanie is the granddaughter
of the late political operative, Tommy
"The Cork" Corcoran, and the
whole Corcoran clan, out en masse
at the dinner, seemed as buoyant as
corks themselves, singing, laughing
and having a rollicking good time.
Melanie designed and created the
menus, and she and her mother,
Carol Anderson, hand-painted
grape vines on the tiny, goldwrapped
souvenir dishes that held,
appropriately, chocolate kisses to mark
the turtledoves' event.
MORE AFFAIRS OF THE HEART
This year was the biggest yet as
eleven hundred women arrived at
the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
for the 58th annual luncheon of
the American Heart Association's
Women's Board. Rome-based
designer Peter Langner offered
wearable and beautiful garments on
the runway, and one would expect
no less as he apprenticed to such
greats as Guy Laroche, Emanuel
Ungaro, Mark Bohan at Dior and
Norman Hartnell. A week earlier
at Rizik's, Renée Rizik Kalil and
Maxine Tanous hosted a gathering
to introduce Langner to members...
The Literacy Council‘s fundraiser,
organized by executive director Liz
Liptak, scored a triumph, thanks to
its witty supporters. "Love Letters
for Literacy" at La Maison Francaise
began with tender tributes from
the emcee, ABC Channel 7 anchor
Kathleen Matthews to husband
NBC host Chris Matthews. There
was a touching moist-eyed speech
from former Senator Birch Bayh when he and wife Kitty were given
a special award for their fervent
support. The readings by Maureen
Corrigan, Gwen Ifill, Susan Shrive
and Trish and George Vradenburg
were exceptional. A moving moment
was the student reading by Counciltutored
LaTanya Gerald, when
guests saw in action what the Literacy
Council is all about.
PARTY-GO-ROUND
Hogan and Hartson's Chris
Warnke and Robert Wood Johnson
were honored in New York at a party
hosted by the beauteous designer
Maria Snyder, at her Fifth Avenue
apartment. Johnson, of the worldwide
Johnson & Johnson healthcare
company, is chairman and CEO of
both the Johnson Co., and the New
York Jets. He was honored for his
philanthropic work and efforts against
autoimmune diseases such as juvenile
diabetes and lupus. Chris was given
kudos for her work on women's issues.
Guests included John Loeb Jr., Mort
Zuckerman, producer Jonathan
Farkas and his wife Somers and
financial guru Asher Edelman. Up
from Washington were Linda Roth
and Fran Drescher, who has been
visiting here lobbying for the fight
against uterine cancer…
Carmen Petrowitz opened
her distinctive early Victorian
home in Georgetown to honor
Count Heinrich Matthias Thurn,
a descendant of the princely and
castle-rich family of Thurn und
Taxis. In fact, Matthias owns a castle,
too. "Inherited," he explained, "and I
share it with a cousin." (Back in 1490,
it was his distant great, great, etc., etc.,
grandfather, Franz Thurn und Taxis
who established a postal system that
served the Habsburg's empire and set
the pattern for all of Europe for 300
years.) Guests included Shelley and
Bruce Ross-Larson, the couple
who bought the home of the late
Susan Mary Alsop; Gertrude
d'Amecourt and daughter Nicole;
Andre Willieme; Kevin Chaffee;
Maya Bucow and Rosemary and
Joseph Caponio…
Over on New Mexico Avenue
Cathie and Dean Philpott's party
had so many fascinating little splinter
conversations going that guests stayed
on way past the polite go-home time.
In one corner, Francoise Ellis discussed
the world scene and children's health
with Dr. Richard Jonas, the chief
cardiovascular surgeon at the Children's
Medical Center, who has traveled the
world over in his work (25 trips to
China, alone!) Seen: architect Carmen
Jonas; Richard and Susan Lloyd
Graham; Ronald and Belle Duchin;
from the American Cancer Society,
Sonya Hird and her fiancée Chris
Clark; Moana and Eric Jackson; Ann
and John Boyd; Tony Beargie; Lolo
Sarnoff and Blake Ashburner.
After luncheon at the Colombian
embassy Nohra Pastrana, the wife of
the newly-appointed ambassador and
a former first lady of her country, took
her guests to the Museum of Natural
History to see a very special exhibit
of 2,000 year-old Colombian gold
objects, exquisite in their workmanship
and modern as today. The women,
who had all seen beautiful things in
museums around the world, were
awe-struck at this rare exhibit (which
closes, alas, on April 9, so hurry.)
Guest Marlene Malek had inside
information, because two years ago the
Pastranas had shown her, and husband
Fred, around the goldworkers' sites in
Colombia's mountains.
Send advance notice of an event you
think Around Town should know about
to donnashor@washingtonlife.com.
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