This $7.4 million farmhouse-style mansion is a monument to pioneering women and a landmark on what feels like a stretch of country road in the capital city.
Look inside 2824 Chain Bridge Rd. NW
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An economist, author and diplomat, she helped President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration create the Social Security system and worked in the State Department during and after World War II. She was stationed in Germany in the 1950s and later hailed as the “Mother of Berlin” for her contributions to the revitalization of Berlin’s economy.
Her house, then 3,500 square feet (less than half its size today), was designed by another pioneering woman: Gertrude Sawyer, one of the first female architects in the D.C. area. In the 1930s, Sawyer’s Georgetown practice specialized in Colonial Revival-style homes. During World War II, she served in the U.S. Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps and became the first woman designated a Navy reserve officer.
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The house has since undergone two major expansions — one in the late 1990s by Washington architect Anne McCutcheon Lewis and the other in the early 2010s by the current owners, David and Martha Webb.
The Webbs’ four-story addition — which added a wine cellar, a living room, two bedrooms with walk-in closets and an office — was designed to maintain the historical integrity of the house. For example, they chose to have the addition’s exterior painted with lime wash to help it blend in with the original house.
“So if you look at the addition, you can’t really tell from the outside that it’s not part of the original house,” David Webb said.
The house, on the market for $7.4 million, is on the largest Washington lot listed under $25 million, according to the listing agent. It was landscaped by Richard Arentz, who in recent years added more than a dozen fruit and evergreen trees, perennial and vegetable gardens, beehives and several areas for entertaining.
“This house doesn’t appeal to somebody who wants a big, flashy, showy property from the street,” David Webb said. “This is for somebody who loves privacy, likes all the modern conveniences we have with high-quality finishes, but more of a subtle statement.”
Chain Bridge Road NW, which includes the longest stretch of road in D.C. without a stop sign or traffic light, has a “country road feeling,” he said. The property is steps from Battery Kemble Park and includes the remains of what the Webbs believe to be the Civil War-era home of escaped or freed enslaved people, with a metal chimney flue and the foundation of a roughly 400-square-foot abode.
The front door opens to a foyer that connects to formal rooms with heart pine floors, beadboard paneling, recessed lighting and brass hardware. The living room has an antique pine mantle. The kitchen has a pantry, Vermont slate and zinc countertops and a wine refrigerator. A mudroom is nearby. The family room, with three walls of windows, connects to a piano room, a breakfast room and two outdoor terraces.
On the second floor, the primary bedroom suite has two walk-in closets, blackout shades and an en suite bathroom with a soaking tub, a two-sink vanity and a steam shower. The suite has private access to the third floor, which has an exercise room, an office and a cedar closet.
Three additional bedrooms share the second floor with a library that has built-in shelving. There is also a laundry chute.
The lower level has a wine cellar and access to the pool deck and 50-foot pool. The motor court has parking for several vehicles.
$7,400,000
- Bedrooms/bathrooms: 5/5
- Approximate square-footage: 8,000
- Lot size: About an acre
- Features: The 1937 farmhouse has been expanded over the last eight decades to more than twice its original size. It has a 50-foot pool, a living room with a concealed projector, outdoor speakers and other modern amenities.
- Listing agent: Michael Rankin, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
