Would you like to save this?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

The District of Columbia’s oldest structure is a home dating back to 1754. The old house is, surprisingly, still in its original form. This home is on the market with a recent price reduction to $8.75 million.

The property is known as “The Lindens” with the home measured at 8,820 square feet. It has a one-half acre of mature gardens, grand formal rooms with six bedroom suites, and an additional three bathrooms. It has scenic wall coverings, two kitchens, a three-car garage, eleven fireplaces, a movie theater, a spa, and a tavern room.

The listing agents of Washington’s oldest home are William F. X. Moody, Robert Hryniewicki, Adam T. Rackliffe, and Christopher R. Leary of Washington Fine Properties.

The foyer of the house has dark hardwood flooring to contrast the white wainscoting. These are then complemented by the colorful scenic wallpaper adorned with wall lamps and mirrors. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

The living room has bright white walls, ceiling and light beige sofas to contrast the colorful patterned area rug. You can also see the fireplace and the grand piano on the corner standing out against the walls. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

This is one of the kitchens of the house. It has its own dining area of a round wooden table and chairs that stand out against the light tone of the surrounding cabinetry and tall ceiling. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

The formal dining room has a large dark wooden table paired with matching wooden chairs. They are complemented by the colorful patterned area rug of the floor and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

This bedroom has a large fireplace with a white mantle to bring warmth to the cushioned armchair at the foot of the bed. The green patterns on the sheets match the tone of the armchair and the curtains on the far side. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

The large bright bed of this bedroom is paired with cushioned armchairs that provide a sitting area on one side and a reading nook at the far corner by the two windows. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

Would you like to save this?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

This bedroom has light neutral tones to its area rug, bed sheets and walls. These make the fireplace and wooden dresser stand out. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. — This bedroom has light neutral tones to its area rug, bedsheets and walls. These make the fireplace and wooden dresser stand out. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

This is the spa with glass-enclosed shower areas and a steam room that has wooden surfaces on its walls, floor, ceiling and the built-in benches. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

This is the tarn room with a spacious hardwood flooring to match the wooden ceiling with exposed beams. These also match the brown leather sofas and the wooden coffee table on a striped area rug. on the far end, you can see some table games for pastime. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

This is the view of the second floor landing and its hallway leading to the bedrooms. Here you can see the scenic wall paper contrasted by the white wainscoting. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. — This is the view of the second-floor landing and its hallway leading to the bedrooms. Here you can see the scenic wallpaper contrasted by the white wainscoting. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

The game room at the upper floor of the house has a large wooden pool table illuminated by the natural lights of the windows as well as the decorative lighting of the ceiling. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

The library and home office has comfortable sofas, a wooden desk and the walls are lined with built-in wooden bookshelves along with tall windows that bring in natural lighting. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

This is a view of the backyard of the house with a spacious lawn filled with mature trees that bring shade and beauty to the area. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.

All photos are used with permission from TopTenRealEstateDeals.com

One of the District of Columbia’s most interesting homes for sale also happens to be its oldest structure, dating back to 1754. What makes it even more interesting is that it was dismantled and shipped to D.C. by rail in six boxcars from Massachusetts.

By 1930, Washington lawyer George Morris and his wife Miriam had accumulated a vast and important collection of Colonial antiques. They felt it only fitting that the historical collection be displayed in a home from the same era. After an extensive search, they could find nothing in Washington, D.C., or the surrounding area old enough or stately enough to fill their needs.

Unwilling to settle, they expanded their search and set out on a journey covering the Upper East Coast and inland through the historic areas and finally came across exactly what they were looking for in Danvers, Massachusetts. Still, in its original form with only its library paneling having been placed in a museum, the bones of the house were good with the original wide floorboards, large rooms, impressive Hancock staircase with a carved balustrade, and even a secret passage leading to a ballroom on the lower level.

The couple purchased the house for $12,500 and proceeded to have it painstakingly dismantled and shipped back to Washington by rail. They hired Walter Macomber, resident architect for the 1930’s Colonial Williamsburg reconstruction, to oversee the rebuild in the upscale Washington Kalorama neighborhood.

It was important to the Morrises that the home had all the modern conveniences completely hidden from view. This meant expanding the size by five feet in order to install plumbing and repurposing former closets to bathrooms. Not so much as a radio was on view. Macomber also reinforced the structure with hidden steel beams. The entire project took three years to complete.

At her housewarming party, Miriam Morris welcomed Washington’s finest in period hoop skirt and dressed the hostesses and servers in period attire. Food was derived from early American recipes and an authentic stage was set for their guests. For the next forty-five years, Miriam repeated the event hosting over 50,000 guests including many ambassadors and first ladies. When the Morrises died in 1982, their huge antique collection was auctioned by Christie’s with proceeds amounting to $2.3 million.

Known as “The Lindens” after the numerous linden trees on the property, the 8,820-square-foot home, sited on one-half acre of mature gardens, has the typically grand formal rooms of the era with six bedroom suites and an additional three baths. Its scenic wall coverings were printed in France and exact reproduction of the original library paneling was installed.

The home has two kitchens, a three-car garage, eleven fireplaces, and what was originally the ballroom behind the secret passage now houses a movie theater, spa, and tavern room. Originally listed at $10,500,000, it has recently undergone a price reduction to $8.75 million. The listing agents are William F. X. Moody, Robert Hryniewicki, Adam T. Rackliffe, and Christopher R. Leary of Washington Fine Properties.

Source: www.wfp.com