Directly across the street from
The Lindens is my favorite house in DC still in private hands, the Mary E. Stewart mansion, designed by Paul Cret.
Cret started work on the house for Stewart, the daughter of a lumber baron, in 1938 and it was completed the next year in 1939. Stewart's sister, Devore Chase, lived next door in a (slightly smaller) grand Louis XV style mansion designed by William Bottomley in 1931. The design was meant to compliment that house but transition to the more sedate Georgian style house (the Lindens) on the other side of the property.
Above -Stewart's sister's house, the Devore Chase mansion.
photo courtesy of robinsoneditions It currently is the dc residence of the Sultan of Oman and looks only slightly different these days - lucky man!
I think this house sums up all of the charms we Americans have with French style. All of the romance is there: creamy limestone, a tall slate roof, charming balconies and the seemingly random placement of decorative round windows and other sculptural elements. Stewart probably went to Cret with this grocery list as he was an architect born in Lyon who studied at the Ecole de Beaux Arts before moving to America.
The house is large at nearly 12,000 SF and nearly fills the lot entirely except for a small brick entry drive and the planting bed you see here along with a small side yard. As she built the house after her sister, I can't help but wonder if she wanted to slightly out-do her: nothing wrong with some sibling rivalry! Kalorama is a tight neighborhood against Rock Creek Park with very few roomy lots for yards: The grand houses tend to max out the property here in the heart of the city.
One nice feature is that the house contains 2 garages off the side street by the service entrance. While the house might look a bit odd slid up against its neighbor like this, I assure you most of the grand residences in this part of the city do the same. The house would look lovely on a large piece of land but with this much style and a primo location, you take what you can get!
I first was made aware of the property years ago when it was featured in the
AIADC magazine in the summer issue of 2004 as a
home of note, and it became a part of my clipping files -the article is scanned in below.
The complete drawing set for the Stewart house by Paul Cret is located at the
Athenaeum library in Philedelphia along with hundreds of other drawings from his estate. As you have to pay $40 to access them online (sorry, but no thanks!!!) I'll have to make a trip up to Philly to view the documents in person someday soon!
Directly across the street from The Lindens is my favorite house in DC still in private hands, the Mary E. Stewart mansion, designed by Paul Cret.
Cret started work on the house for Stewart, the daughter of a lumber baron, in 1938 and it was completed the next year in 1939. Stewart's sister, Devore Chase, lived next door in a (slightly smaller) grand Louis XV style mansion designed by William Bottomley in 1931. The design was meant to compliment that house but transition to the more sedate Georgian style house (the Lindens) on the other side of the property. 
I think this house sums up all of the charms we Americans have with French style. All of the romance is there: creamy limestone, a tall slate roof, charming balconies and the seemingly random placement of decorative round windows and other sculptural elements. Stewart probably went to Cret with this grocery list as he was an architect born in Lyon who studied at the Ecole de Beaux Arts before moving to America.
The house is large at nearly 12,000 SF and nearly fills the lot entirely except for a small brick entry drive and the planting bed you see here along with a small side yard. As she built the house after her sister, I can't help but wonder if she wanted to slightly out-do her: nothing wrong with some sibling rivalry! Kalorama is a tight neighborhood against Rock Creek Park with very few roomy lots for yards: The grand houses tend to max out the property here in the heart of the city.
One nice feature is that the house contains 2 garages off the side street by the service entrance. While the house might look a bit odd slid up against its neighbor like this, I assure you most of the grand residences in this part of the city do the same. The house would look lovely on a large piece of land but with this much style and a primo location, you take what you can get!
I first was made aware of the property years ago when it was featured in the AIADC magazine in the summer issue of 2004 as a home of note, and it became a part of my clipping files -the article is scanned in below.
The complete drawing set for the Stewart house by Paul Cret is located at the Athenaeum library in Philedelphia along with hundreds of other drawings from his estate. As you have to pay $40 to access them online (sorry, but no thanks!!!) I'll have to make a trip up to Philly to view the documents in person someday soon!
My head always swivels in its socket in that part of Kalorama. Impossible to take in all the lovelies, and I agree, this is one of the loveliest. Interior shots, when the house was owned by Mrs. Garrett, in an old book, that every boy should own, called The Finest Rooms by America's Grea Decorators. Architectural Digest also did the house about 20 years back.
ReplyDeletePS ( I wish I could learn to say it all in one comment), I coughed up the $40 for the Philadelphia Buildings website one year, and enjoyed it immensely. Another year, I was mounting an exhibit about architecture in our town, and they couldn't have been nicer about providing me with copies of drawings.
ReplyDeleteI'm not encouraging finacial profligacy among Young Architects, but it's basically like buying a design book (only cheaper these days) with amazing access to thousands of drawings and photos of buildings and houses by many major architects.
Cheers.
Many a night when I get home after 6:30 to Kalorama Triangle we are forced to park on the other side of CT Avenue and love see what is arguably the nicest neighborhood in the District.
ReplyDeleteIf the walls could talk.
Great house, thanks for sharing. I need to plan a DC trip to take in all the architecture when the weather warms up.
ReplyDeletethis is a great post. I was just thinking that I need to do a post on house stalking...I always find myself turning to alternate routes just to drive or walk by certain beautiful homes, and this is one of them!
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous house. I love all old architecture. Would love to see those plans too.
ReplyDeleteGreat post --I love knowing the history behind great houses,especially in DC!
ReplyDeleteWonderful. Looks like it was lifted straight from France. A mini-chateau!
ReplyDeleteHappy travels to NY>
pve
Maybe it is just me, but despite the wonderful details, the composition of the exterior in regards to placement of door and windows is awful! Maybe it is a result of an incredible plan, but who knows? Cret was famous for modernizing classicism, but I would not give this house a passing grade based on what I see here. I am not a slave to symmetry, but this house just does not do it for me. But each to his/her own. I can't wait to see your next post!
ReplyDeleteOh, this house speaks to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the pictures and your commentary, and this will be on my list of things to see when I next visit my sister in DC.
ReplyDeleteMy sister has driven me through Kalorama many times, as she is also a house aficionado, and she looked very seriously at some of the houses in the area. Ultimately, the lack of land was too much of a drawback, despite the fact that the location is so amazing.
Nest trip to DC, I will have to walk through the area. Too bad I can't take my dog with me!
I'm back, after analyzing the big picture version of the house. Is it clad in masonry stucco? Are there many houses in DC done in real stucco?
ReplyDeleteIts sad but the first thing I thought of was - if this building was being built today that front door would not be so close to the street for security reasons.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful building this is!
I'm with Leah - time to start taking alternative routes to house stalk. I love the sister's house too.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in DC in a house on Embassy Row, right at the edge of Kalorama, and would walk its streets often (later I would drive its streets looking for parking). It is a marvelous part of town, almost a hidden gem. Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely house :-)
ReplyDeletehouse porno :-p
David