Almost every Georgetown house can tell
quite a story. The place at 1405 34th St., NW,
has started a new chapter with a new owner.
Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank purchased
the 11,000-square-foot house, according to Carol
Joynt of Washingtonian’s “Capital Comment.”
It was put on the market and sold by Debbie
Winsor, widow of Curt Winsor III, Bank of
Georgetown founder, who died last December.
Plank paid $7.8 million for the house, according
to the Washington Business Journal.
One of the best known Georgetown historic
homes, it is called the Ambassador Bruce House,
after the distinguished post-World War II diplomat,
who lived there with his wife Evangeline
Bell Bruce, known for her fashion and parties.
“It’s very private and understated from the
street,” Eileen McGrath of Washington Fine
Properties told the Washington Post in April.
“But it is a really substantial home with a great
Georgetown history.” McGrath was the listing
agent along with Jamie Peva for the property.
(Washington Fine Properties did not comment
on the Washingtonian report.) The house was
built just after the War of 1812 by Clement and
Walter Smith, builders who constructed the
famous Smith Row on N Street. Most recently,
in 2010, the Winsors hosted the Georgetown
House Tour Patrons’ Party at their home.
Plank owns another home one block west at
1404 35th St., NW, which he bought in October
2011. As told by Under Armour, in the mid
1990s Plank started his business in the basement
of his grandmother’s house in Georgetown.
Debbie Winsor and her family has since
moved to Dumbarton Street, purchasing the former
home of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, ex-head
of the International Monetary Fund.
