8 Showcases for 2022 Georgetown House Tour
By • March 31, 2022 0 2809
The stage has been set, and with eight making the list for the 2022 Georgetown House Tour, tour officials and volunteers met at the R Street home of Avery Miller and Gregory Mocek March 10 to thank the owners who agreed to be part of the tour on Saturday, April 23.
The party-goers applauded Phyllis and Michael Bayer, Jennifer Bisceglie and Robert Brese, Denise and Michael Bloomfield, Stephanie and Lawrence Flanagan, Skip Sroka and John Kammeier, Sara and Erik Swabb and Constance Chatfield Taylor — and the City Tavern Club.
The theme for the 89th Annual Georgetown House Tour is Our Doors are Open Once Again. St. John’s Episcopal Church on O Street will again host the tour, believed to be the oldest, most prestigious house tour in the country. This annual event attracts more than 1,600 guests each year. The Parish Tea will be held in Blake Hall at historic St. John’s Church, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“We are full of joy that we will once again be opening our doors this spring. The House Tour is a long standing tradition. We hope to have a large turnout this year as we mark the return of spring events for the Georgetown community,” said House Tour Chair Donna Leanos.
Patrons Party Co-chairs Emily Sower and Kathryn Minor Jones are enthusiastic about the April 20 soiree to be held at the Langhorne Residence on 31st Street, the Wednesday before the tour. The party was founded by House Tour benefactor Frida Burling and is considered one of the best Georgetown parties of the year — the first one was hosted by Kitty Kelley.
Homes will be open on Saturday, April 23, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Masks are required for all guests as well as proof of vaccination. The Parish Tea will be served in Blake Hall at the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church Georgetown, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For details, visit GeorgetownHouseTour.com.
Happily, there are four tour homes on the east side and four on the west side. The following is a list of participating homes for the house tour, as provided by tour officials.
1. 3264 P Street, NW. Georgetown’s hidden Victorian gem. This 1840s home boasts enchanting and gracious grounds and gardens.
2. 3131 P Street, NW. This end unit is home to Sara Swabb, founder and creative director of StorieCollective. Swabb recently completed a full renovation to make it more conducive for her young family. Part of the renovation’s scope included restoring the previously stripped millwork to its 1890s origins. Guests can anticipate modern light fixtures, a large open kitchen, and a lower-level family room. This home was built on land known as the Rock of Dumbarton and boasts long-range garden views, the benefit of bordering the large estate of the Albritton family.
3. 2706 Olive Street, NW. The 1950s home of famed chef Julia Child. This clapboard 1870 colonial-style home, which the chef affectionately called her “little jewel” is where Child produced recipes for one of her earliest cookbooks, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” The home was built in a post-Civil War era by a notable African American carpenter, Edgar Murphy. Child purchased the home with her husband in the late 1940s, and in the 1970s, acclaimed architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen, best known for designing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s home in Martha’s Vineyard, modernized the home, adding a wall of windows that are still intact today. The home recently sold following a five-year renovation by notable architect Dale Overmyer.
4. 3323 R Street, NW. Home to interior design Skip Sroka and his husband John Kammeier, this property was recently reconfigured and repurposed. Guests can anticipate a centered staircase and a second floor garden room complete with French doors and a Juliet balcony overlooking the rear walled garden. Other notable design elements include custom designed furniture as well as antiques, rugs, art objects and paintings.
5. 1519 28th Street, NW. A bow front Victorian dating to the late 1800s, this house features a deep garden and a small water feature that was previously on the Georgetown Garden Tour.
6. 3130 Dumbarton Street, NW. This home is full of light with large windows and French doors which lead to a double-sized lot. The home is adorned with period pieces and the walls are embellished with the owner’s extensive art collection. Guests are encouraged to visit the Carriage House, which has been converted to a Nantucket-inspired guest cottage complete with a large pool and patio.
7. 3312 N Street, NW. This is one of the earliest homes in Georgetown, built in 1818. Designed in the true Federal-style architecture. Beautiful updates throughout have been done while maintaining the original details of the home.
8. 3206 M Street, NW. The City Tavern Club is a private club housed in one of the oldest buildings in Washington, and the last remaining Federal-style tavern in the city. Constructed in 1796 and first managed by Clement Sewall, who served in the Revolutionary War alongside his friend John Parke Curtis, George Washington’s stepson.
