About Washington's Georgetown

One of the many wonderful aspects of life in Washington is the ability to rub shoulders with real history. Occasionally, homes of the founding fathers come on the market and visiting them gives an opportunity to imagine life in another time.

For instance, if you have $19.5 million dollars (or a buyer with that kind of loose change), you can bask in a glorious house built in 1787 by James Stoddert, the 1st US Secretary of Navy and a George Washinton confidante. Halycon House once was owned and expanded by Mark Twain's nephew. Located in Georgetown on half an acre overlooking the Potomac River, it has 5 bedrooms, 9 full baths, an outdoor pool, a large artist's studio, and parking for 12 cars.

414 Franklin in Alexandria was built around 1780. Originally used as a tavern where George Washingotn spent his last fourth of July, it is now a beautiful home with four bedrooms and four baths, five fireplaces, and a spectacular garden with gazebo, pool, and wisteria arbor. There is even a carriage house with a two car garage all on almost a half acre of land.

If you are looking for a really old property, then you should definately see the Manor House at The Reserve at Black Rock in Darnestown. Built in 1700, it remains a gracious colonial with over 9,000 sq. ft. - 4 BR, 6.5 BA, 7 fireplaces, and an elevator. Growing like Topsy since 1700, the last renovation took place in 2000. Besides a beautiful home, the sales price of $2.250,000 includes 73 +- acres, two ponds, pastures, woods and backs to Seneca Creek Park - the land is not subdividable.

Whether you are looking for an old home or a new one, call Lise Howe of Coldwell Banker at 240-401-5577 to find that perfect house.

To understand what’s happening in the market in Georgetown, you have to really look at the numbers carefully.

The number of sales is barely lower than they were two years ago. And today’s sales are taking a tiny bit less time to sell. But what about the their prices?

If you just look at the changes in the average sales prices, today’s numbers don’t look fabulous. The averages are about 86 percent of what they were two years ago, and 89 percent of last year’s. But in 2007, there was a single huge estate that sold for $25 million – that can skew things a little bit. And the highest number in 2008 a sale for $11,500,000. Year to date, there haven’t been any big ones. The largest so far is only $5 million.

When you look at the median prices, the numbers look a whole lot better. They’ve increased each year.

So bottom line, I think the numbers help to tell a story, but you have to look behind them for the real story.

And here are those numbers:

• Year 2009 2008 2007
  
• Number Sold 70 72 74
  
• Average List Price $1,609,055 $1,771,253 $1,807,035
• Average Sold Price $1,486,186 $1,663,385 $1,710,514
• Median List Price $1,360,000 $1,295,000 $1,249,000
• Median Sold Price $1,250,000 $1,261,000 $1,175,000
• Average Days on Market 94 105 100
  

Sometimes it's called the Buffalo Bridge, because it has four big old buffaloes, two at each end, that welcome people to Georgetown. And sometimes it's called the Dumbarton Bridge, because when it was built, they had to move Dumbarton House, a huge Federal style mansion, a couple fo blocks west of its original site. Whatever you want to call it, this bridge that links Georgetown and Dupont Circle is one of my favorites in Washington.

It was built between 1914 and 1915 by Glenn and Bedford Brown, a father and son architect team. The design was tricky, because the streets it connected didn't quite line up. This meant the bridge, with five large arches, had to curve a little bit.

The bridge originally had, in addition to the four buffaloes, 56 carvings that were modeled on a Sioux Indian Chief, known as Kicking Bear. But I didn't see them - I hope whoever removed them took them to a safe place, like the Smithsonian!

Alexander Phimister Proctor is credited with sculpting the four buffaloes. While he did several US presidents and Joan of Ark, the Denver artist was famous for his work with animals.

It's hard for me to imagine what it was like before this bridge connected these two popular neighborhoods. I love to walk across it, and I always stop to look down at Rock Creek and the Parkway that takes me around town.

In another couple of weeks, the leaves will put on an amazing show. I'll save that for a Wordless Wednesday.

Yes, I know! I am a little late with this one. It's a photo I snapped of Washington Harbor in Georgetown, with a view of the Potomac River and, in the distance, Kennedy Center. It's amazing how nice the weather got, and how blue the sky turned, once we left August behind.

© 2009 Patricia Kennedy. Unless otherwise noted, the content, both written and in pictures, is the property of Patricia Kennedy . If you would like to use this image, please email me (housepat@mac.com) with your request. I'll almost certianly say yes, and ask only that you provide a link back to my original content as well as an acknowledgment. The same thing applies to any other material you see posted here on Active Rain or on any of my other blogs.

And of course, if you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Washington, DC or the surrounding area, please contact Patricia Kennedy at 202-549-5167 or housepat@mac.com