Grand Carriage House in Georgetown

Seller:  Carl Rickersten
1248 30th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
5 Bedrooms 6 Full Baths 2 Half Baths
Asking Price: $8,495,000



After a very eventful two week hiatus we have a doosey of a house in Georgetown to talk about today.  So get a tall cool one and sit down, because we are going to be here a while. The Laird-Dunlop Coach House, as the listing calls it, was built in 1799 as the carriage house of a Georgetown property known as the Laird-Dunlop House (natch).  Today these are two separate properties with the larger Laird-Dunlop House being currently owned and principal residence of the aging Washington power couple Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn.  Ben, for those of you too young (or too old) to remember, was the editor of the Washington Post during the Watergate scandal and was portrayed by Jason Robards in the film All the President's Men.  However, for much of the past 200 years these two buildings comprised one expansive property before being split in the mid-twentieth century and therefore share a rich history described below in the listing brochure:

In 1799 John Laird, a wealthy tobacco warehouse owner, commissioned the house to be built and remained there until 1833. Mr. Laird's unmarried daughter Margaret (Miss Peggy) and sister-in-law Elizabeth Dick (Miss Betty) inherited the home and stayed there until 1873. They were devoted to the Orphan Asylum and the Presbyterian Church during these years.

Mr. Laird's daughter Barbara inherited the house in 1873 and lived there with her husband James Dunlop until 1915. Mr. Dunlop was a law partner of Francis Scott Key, a Secretary of the Corporation of Georgetown and had been the Chief Justice of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia until President Lincoln removed him from office for being a Southern sympathizer.

The house was next occupied by Mr. Laird's son, who was reported to have kept a cow on the property and slaughter his own hogs each year.

In 1915, the Laird-Dunlop property was sold by the family to President Lincoln's eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln who served as Secretary of War and as Ambassador to England. He remained in the home until 1936.

The next owner of the home was Mrs. Helen Burgess (née Helen Pierpont Morgan), who was the granddaughter of JP Morgan and a direct descendant of Alexander Hamilton. She purchased the property with her first husband, former NYC Police Commissioner Arthur Woods. She then married William Randolph Burgess, who was a former Under-Secretary of the Treasury. Mrs. Burgess separated the coach house from the rest of the property, retaining much of the land for herself and adding the Ballroom for proper entertaining. She remained there until 1984.

The next owners were Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Sagalyn. Mr. Sagalyn was one of Eliot Ness's "Untouchables." They remained there nearly twenty years, until 2004.

The current owner (and hopeful seller) is Carl Rickersten, who is in private equity and can be credited with the excellent renovation and refurbishments needed to bring this house up to 21st century standards. 

And now, onto the listing:

1248 30th Street is an extraordinary balance between house and garden. Each of its parts would be enough to awe, but together they create the finest property we have seen in Georgetown for years. The detached brick house started as a carriage house during the Federal period and was part of Abraham Lincoln's son's estate. In the 1930s J.P. Morgan's granddaughter recognized its potential and mystique and created the property we see today by enlarging the structure and recasting the grounds to complement the house. The current owner has completely restored and renovated the house to fulfill its potential for a 21st-century lifestyle. Each of the rooms in this fivebedroom (and three-level) house has wonderful views of the private 1/3-acre lot with its extensive terraces, antique boxwoods, fountains, specimen plantings, a heated pool and spa. And each of these rooms is as special and unique as one could want. For example, the main living room or ballroom has 14-foot coffered ceilings, is over 700 square feet, and looks out at a huge expanse of lawn through enormous, custom Palladian glass doors. The cozy library in the center of the house also has garden views and is nestled around a fireplace. The paneled den offers the owner a perfect perch to work and survey the property in solitude.

From the moment you walk in the door, you realize this is very different from most Georgetown homes. There is no narrow center hallway with a big ole staircase in front of you as soon as you walk in the door - but a wide gallery entry hall.

Most large homes in Georgetown are very vertical; with only three or four rooms per floor, and stacked on four or five floors.  In many instances kitchens and dining rooms are not on the same floor.  However, this house, sitting on 1/3 of an acre has the luxury of having all the large publice rooms interconnected and on one level.



I admire the coffered, 14 foot ceilings and the wall of windows spanning almost the entirety the 34 foot length of the living room (yes, I said 34 feet!)  I hate to think what that rug must have cost....




A cozy, but nicely proportioned dining room.  Off the dining room is both a wine "cellar" and a china closet.



The family room has another fireplace and built-in bookcases.  It also benefits from it's proximity to a wet bar just through that doorway.




This large eat-in kitchen provides ample space for both catered events and family entertaining.



A beautifully furnished library off the family room overlooks the gardens and opens out to the terraces completes the public rooms on the first floor.  There is also a laundry room and a one car garage off the kitchen.



The master bedroom has a nice tray ceiling, plenty of windows and access to a balcony.  There is also  unseen en suite bath.




There are three additional, uninspired bedrooms on the second level.











Best I can tell the media room is counted as the 5th bedroom, but is in the basement and the windows are small, but there is an adjoining full bathroom.  There is also a second single car garage off the of the lower level media room.



If this property is worth anywhere near it's $8.5M asking price, it is because of the 1/3 acre grounds in the heart of Georgetown.



There is 40 foot long swimming pool.



Ample terrace space.



Outside kitchen and dining areas




Views to the Virginia skyline




If I were looking to leave my suburban enclave to move into the land of tourist, undergrads, and exploding manhole covers, I would seriously consider this house.  It is unique, in my view, due to the expansive grounds and wide footprint of the house.  It is not a typical townhouse on 4 or 5 levels, but a more manageable 2 levels + a basement.  It also has plenty of garage and off-street parking which is crucial in Georgetown.  However, I would also have to seriously consider whether I could live next to dear Sally Quinn.  She is a woman of many talents, but despite her advanced age has yet to learn there limits.  As seen here and here.

All pictures and listing information is courtesy of Washington Fine Properties. The listing can be found here.

Riverfront Estate Under Contract

Seller:  Various trusts related to the heirs of Burton C. Gray
Buyer:  TBD
710 Bulls Neck Road
McLean, VA 22101
6 Bedrooms  6.5 Baths
Asking Price:  $6,500,000

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen.  We are back in business with news of a big contract on a fantastic riverfront estate that has gone to contract after years (yes, years) on and off the market.  I remember seeing this unique and beautiful listing hit the market in in 2009 with an asking price of $9M.  After several years and several price chops it went to contract last week. At this point, there is no word on the prospective buyer or the contract price, but time will tell....

Now, before we dive into the specifics of the property itself, let's talk about the seller(s).  Burton C. Gray may not be a household name, but he was a big-time player in political and IT circles of Washington in the 1970's and 1980's.  He was a noted economist, businessman and conservative political theorist. He founded Scientific Time Sharing Corporation with Dan Dyer and Lawrence M. Breed, a computer software firm in the Washington, DC area. He was a board member of the Reason Foundation and the Philadelphia Society. He was a founder of the Federalist Society and active in the Libertarian Party. The Reason Foundation has established the Burton C Gray Memorial Internship in his honor.

Mr. Gray was from a prominent family, his father and grandfather, and several of his uncles were all, at various points in time, heads of the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company.  His father served in numerous positions in the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations (not many men can claim that long of a run).  Mr. Gray's brother is C. Boyden Gray, who was White House Counsel to President George H. W. Bush and has held numerous diplomatic postings.

Alas, Mr. Gray went to meet his maker in 1989, at a far too early age of 48, less than a year after marrying Deecy Stevens, a prominent figure in her own right.  In addition to his widow, he was survived by two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage, as well as his three brothers.

Now, on to the property in question. Here is the listing description courtesy of Washington Fine Properties:

THE CLIFFS*Spectacular waterfront offering on the Potomac River in McLean! This magnificent property features a total of 5 acres comprised of two lots, stunning Frank Lloyd Wright inspired residence designed by Charles Goodman. Features include complete privacy, light filled public rooms surrounding a beautiful atrium. Additional building sites a possibility. Water access!

The Cliffs, as it is called in the listing, is a beautifully situated house on a large, densely wooded lot perched prominently above a particularly splendid spot on the Potomac, between Great Falls and Little Falls.  Located at the end of a private lane off of the Georgetown Pike, just beyond the Beltway and before you get to the Madeira School.

The house, according to county records is over 6,700 sq. ft. spread over 3 levels and consists of 6 bedrooms and 6 and 1/2 bathrooms and was built in 1959.  While, I would not agree with the listing agent that the home is "Frank Lloyd Wright inspired", Charles Goodman  was a locally prominent architect who was very involved in many of the mid-century modern developments throughout the Washington area.  That being said, the style of the home is not everyone's cup of tea. 

I personally like the clean lines of the home, which blends nicely into the surroundings.  This must have astounded folks when it was constructed in 1959. 

The interior of the home appears to be well maintained, but has not been redecorated since the Nixon Administration and offers a rare glimpse of how I envision the well-off folks of the late 60's living.  I can just imagine Kissinger and Nelson Rockefeller discussing Indo-China diplomacy over martinis in the Great Room.

Imagine the fondue parties held in this Dining Room

The Library (below) is right out of Mad Men, although I don't see any books?  Since I was not born yet in the 1960's, I do not know what that contraption is in the lower right side of the picture.  Can anyone help me here?  Bueller? Bueller?  I suspect it has some part in explaining the purple ceiling and walls.

But wait, there is more MADness yet to come....check out this kitchen with the last remaining Amana RadarRange in existence.

Here is the master bedroom (below).  I imagine this is how Ethel Kennedy decorated her boudoir at Hickory Hill back in the day.  Shiny!

Not to be outdone, here is the adjoining dressing room.  One would have to be very confident in their self-image to face this room every morning.  I prefer to dress in a dark mirror-less room.

There are several other bedrooms that are consistent with the "style" of the above, that are not worth showing.  One remaining feature that is worthy of note is the "apartment" which seems to have great views of the property and river without all the purple and mirrors.  This where I would hang out if I had $6.5M to spend on Mad Men meets McLean.

While this home needs a lot of upgrades and improvements to bring it into the 21st century, I am hopeful the new owners (if this sale goes through) will not raze this beautiful house and replace it with something new and unremarkable.  The last thing the Virginia suburbs of Washington needs is yet another colonial McMansion, French "Chateau" or "Itailianate Palazzo".  Time will tell...