Locating History on Capitol Hill

From the Wall Street Journal's OWN Magazine - photos and story

A synonym for Location Location Location? Try History History History. "Face it," says Washington architect Judith Capen, "Most of our prime lots were developed years ago."

Many of them on or around Capitol Hill.

Capen's firm, architrave architects, pc, has been involved in many high-profile restorations including the Library of Congress and the U. S. Capitol, "Talk about a good location," she says with a laugh.

Oh, To Own a Slice of History

From the Wall Street Journal's OWN Magazine

If the first president didn't sleep in every grand house in the Washington area in 1801 he certainly visited. Jefferson too.  "It was a very small town," says Jeanne Livingston, a realtor with Long and Foster's Georgetown office. "Everyone knew everyone."

One place they most certainly visited was the magnificent Evermay.  Built over a ten year period at the turn of the 19th century, the 12,000 square foot mansion in the cricket chirping quiet of upper Georgetown is one of the largest homes in town, and having recently sold for $25.9 million, one of the largest real estate transactions in the city in years. Livingston had the listing.   

On the National Register of Historic Places and set on three and a half secluded acres, the property includes a carriage house, a smoke house, formal gardens, and tennis courts. The orangery with its 17-foot ceilings has Palladian windows opening onto a patio used for parties-- parties that in recent decades required sufficient parking for 100 cars.  

"The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were frequent guests, and both President George Bush and President George W. Bush as well as President Clinton enjoyed private tete a tetes," says Livingston.