halcyon house

Halcyon House, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates

Today's home is a real piece of Washington history. Halcyon House is now a 30,500 square foot property and the oldest part of the house was built in the late 1780s by Benjamin Stoddert. the first secretary of the Navy. The home has undergone a 17-year restoration. HGTV has a piece on the restoration of the home which was also once owned by Albert Clemens, the nephew of Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain. Clemens added two wings of apartments in 1880 and Halcyon House was used as rental apartments and housing for students at Georgetown University during most of the 20th century. HGTV reports that John Dreyfuss moved into the home in the 1970s and details the extensive work he did to restore the home. A piece from the NY Times back in 1995 goes into even greater explanation, including the detail that Dreyfuss began the huge project when he was just 28.

The mansion has five bedrooms and the property also has five rental apartments and a separate townhouse. It has been the site of many weddings and grand events. It's also got one of the highest prices I've ever seen in the area, it is listed at $30 million.

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Gallery: Halcyon House