Nation’s Oldest House Tour Returns to Georgetown

The Georgetown House Tour, which is believed to be the nation’s oldest and longest continually running tour of homes, returned for its 89th iteration in April.

With eight homes to tour and an “Our Doors are Open Once Again” theme, self-guided tours of some of Georgetown’s private residences (and a federalist-era tavern!) returned for the first time since 2019.

It all started with the annual Patron’s Party, a kick-off to the Georgetown Spring social season — held each year at one of the neighborhood’s preeminent homes — and this year hosted at the Langhorne Residence on 31st Street NW.

Then just days later, neighborhood notables Phyllis and Michael Bayer, Jennifer Bisceglie and Robert Brese, Denise and Michael Bloomfield, Stephanie and Lawrence Flanagan, Skip Sroka and John Kammeier, Sara and Erik Swabb and Constance Chatfield Taylor  — and the City Tavern Club — opened their doors to let the curious take a peek inside.

St. John’s Episcopal Church on O Street returned to host the tour, which annually attracts more than 1,600 guests each year. The historic church also holds a Parish Tea held on the afternoon of the tour to raise funds for its missions.

Among the homes on the tour included 3264 P Street, NW, a home dating from the 1840s which boasts “enchanting and gracious grounds and gardens,” according to the tour description; 3131 P Street, NW, which was built on land known as the Rock of Dumbarton and features long-range garden views; 2706 Olive Street, NW, famously the 1950s home of chef Julia Child, where she produced recipes for one of her earliest cookbooks, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking;” 3323 R Street, NW, home to interior designer Skip Sroka and showcasing stunning design elements; and 1519 28th Street, NW, a bow front Victorian dating to the late 1800s.