The complete package in a family-friendly D.C. neighborhood
By Michele Lerner,
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The “must-have” items for those who can afford them in 2020 include plenty of indoor living space for family members to have privacy; one or more home offices; a place for children to learn and play; and, ideally, a backyard with a swimming pool and a spa.
Although those attributes, as a rule, are more likely to be found in a modern home, the estate at 2615 30th St. NW in D.C., built in 1927, has all the them, along with some interesting former residents.
The fieldstone house, in the Massachusetts Avenue Heights neighborhood, “has classic Colonial proportions and is tucked away on a street that’s not used as cut-through between Massachusetts Avenue and Connecticut Avenue,” said listing agent Robert Hryniewicki with HRL Partners at Washington Fine Properties. “This house was formerly the embassy residence for the Republic of Gabon and has the classic grandeur of a 1920s home.”
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The family room includes built-in bookshelves and has a back staircase to the upper and lower levels.
This section of Massachusetts Avenue Heights, sometimes called Normanstone, has stately homes, winding lanes and access to Woodland-Normanstone Terrace Park. The community is adjacent to the better-known Kalorama Triangle, and it has similar characteristics, including residences that attract diplomats and other prominent people with their privacy and space.
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The public, formal areas of the house, which is listed at $4.7 million, offer multiple access points to a terrace, said Hryniewicki, which provides a circular flow for indoor-outdoor entertaining.
The main level has a grand foyer entrance with a curved staircase to the second level, a living room that extends from the front of the house to a sunroom at the back, a formal dining room and a library.
“The informal rooms — including the family room and breakfast room off the kitchen and living spaces on the second and third floor — provide plenty of space for family members to relax,” Hryniewicki said.
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The kitchen has a center island and a triple window facing a terrace with a fountain.
The second floor has a gallery overlooking the main level, and the third floor has loft space that can be used in a variety of ways, in addition to a bedroom and a bathroom. The primary bedroom suite includes a separate sitting room and his-and-hers bathrooms.
The finished lower level has three spaces designated as offices that can also be used for recreation rooms. It also has storage rooms, an exercise room, a powder room and a kitchenette. The grounds have a swimming pool, a spa, terraces and a garden.
Homes in neighborhoods such as Massachusetts Avenue Heights tend to have at least a few well-known residents.
[A prime location for good times, friendly gatherings in Bethesda, Md.]
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The grounds include a swimming pool, a spa, terraces and a garden.
Perhaps one of the liveliest owners of this house was the Austrian-born Gertrude de Ponton d’Amecourt, who came to Washington during World War II with her husband, Albert de Ponton d’Amecourt. A French viscount, her husband was stationed as a military attaché at the French Embassy.
Gertrude was a prominent hostess, particularly well known for entertaining important European emigres and other dignitaries. She became a real estate agent in the 1940s, and she opened a firm that specialized in diplomatic and upscale properties. She also owned several art galleries and a gift shop in Georgetown, and she was active in arts organizations until she died at 102.
Other prominent owners of the property included David B. Charnay, a former CEO of Four Star Television Productions. Charnay, a former reporter, worked with the Office of Strategic Services (precursor to the CIA) during World War II and started Allied Public Relations in the 1950s.
Rear Adm. Emory Day Stanley Jr., a former commanding officer of the Naval Supply Depot in Seattle who served in the Pacific, Atlantic and Mediterranean, also lived in the house.
In addition to being suitable for an ambassador, the house is in a location agreeable to families.
“The sellers of this house loved raising their kids here in this close-knit neighborhood,” Hryniewicki said. “It’s a great community for walking.”
2615 30th ST. NW, WASHINGTON $4.7 million Features: The four-level stone Colonial-style home has five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, formal and informal entertaining spaces, two fireplaces, a lower level with recreation and office space, an outdoor swimming pool, a terrace, and a stone parking pad for two cars. Approximate square-footage: 9,000 Lot size: 0.21-acres Listing agents: Robert Hryniewicki, Adam T. Rackliffe and Christopher R. Leary with HRL Partners at Washington Fine Properties
