Few modern buildings in Dublin capture the imagination like the US Embassy. Designed in the 1950s by a young American architect, John M. Johansen, it opened to acclaim in May of 1964. For decades after its opening the building has been a symbol of modernity and advancement, a representation of the promise of America. It was one of the last avant-garde results from a strategic building programme the US government undertook during the Cold War. In commissioning leading architects to design decidedly modern, open, welcoming buildings, America exported its vision of open and free democracy to the rest of the world.