Kicking off the annual Georgetown House Tour, which returns this weekend for its 91st year, the House Tour Patron’s Party attracted garden party guests at the Dumbarton House this week. This event, in advance of what is believed to be the oldest, most prestigious house tour in the country, honors some of the tour’s charitable partners.
On Saturday, April 20, 2024, St. John’s Episcopal Church will host the House Tour, with proceeds benefitting St. John’s ministries to homeless adults and children, the unemployed, senior citizens, and children at DC public schools.
Some exceptional homes and landmarks will be presented in a self-guided tour that also includes admission to The Parish Tea, held in Blake Hall at historic St. John’s Church.
A list of participating homes includes:
1) 3129 N Street, NW, 20007. Located in DC’s picturesque Georgetown neighborhood and a short walk to all the cafes and shops, this elegant free-standing home was originally built in 1890.
2) 1513 28th Street, NW, 20007. S.W. Rittenhouse, owner of the land in the 1880’s developed this row of four Victorian style houses as the Federal government was expanding and drawing new families to the area. Isaac Rollins was the first occupant of this home and there have been many renovations over the past 140 years.
3) 3045 West Lane Keys, NW, 20007. This classic townhouse was built in 1958 as part of a development situated along a charming and secluded courtyard that was once an apple orchard. The home was renovated in 2021, and is now a home for a young family, with open spaces that serve as backdrop for a stunning collection of modern art.
4) 3026 P Street, NW, 20007. One of two identical three-story brick houses built in 1819 by Richard Smith and then rebuilt in 1858 after a fire, this stately residence has been home to families, foreign service officers and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his wife Nancy. While renovating in 2022, contractors found a delightful collection of old photographs and letters likely dating back to the late 1800’s hidden in the boards behind a fireplace.
5) 3122 N Street, NW, 20007. A Federal style, red brick, four-story house built in the 1840s. The home was restored from near ruin in the 1950s by Archie Roosevelt Jr., the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, and his wife Selwa. The history of the house dates to 1849 when Henry Foxhall English and his wife, Elizabeth Van Doren English, married and moved into the house then identified as 115 Gay Street. Henry was named after his uncle, Henry Foxhall, who established the Foundry Methodist Church on 16th Street which is now one of Washington’s largest churches.
6) 3322 Dent Place, NW, 20007. Built in 1968, this stunning contemporary home takes advantage of its Southern exposure with a wall of floor to ceiling windows. Additional natural light is brought into the space by dramatic high ceilings, skylights – five in all – and clearstory windows, in keeping with the home’s midcentury aesthetic.
7) 3264 S Street, NW, 20007. A Dutch Colonial home originally built in1924 is now a “contemporary, cozy, cottage” using principles of the Danish practice of Hygge. The original home was destroyed by fire in December of 2020. Behind a low picket fence now sits a home constructed between 2021-2022, the result is as if it has been there for 100 years.
Homes will be open on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased at St. John’s Episcopal Church on the day of the tour at 3240 O Street, NW, 20007, and are priced at $65 per person.
