Mapping Georgetown: Getting to Know Our Neighbors on This Year’s House Tour
By • March 13, 2023 0 2278
As you wander through Georgetown, have you ever wondered who are all these beautiful, vibrant, interesting people who live here? Today we meet a couple — one’s an artist and the other a lawyer — who dwell in a beautiful home on 34th Street. Mark your calendars for April 22nd when you’ll have a chance to view their lovely home on this year’s Georgetown House Tour.
Peter and Cherry Baumbusch’s Mapping Georgetown Story
Courtesy Mapping Georgetown.
Peter was born in Ohio and raised in Hastings-on-Hudson New York. Cherry was born in D.C. at the historic Columbia Hospital for Women on L Street (now condos) as were two of our sons. Cherry was raised on a farm in the Clifton area of Virginia, where she developed her love of nature of all kinds.
Peter worked at Connecticut and L for many years as a partner in the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Peter helped open that office in 1977 along with Ted Olson and Ken Starr. The recent movie “House of Gucci” features Peter’s client buying Gucci from the Gucci family. But there is, unfortunately, no cameo in the movie of Peter! We met while Cherry was a paralegal for Planning Research Corporation, a client of Gibson Dunn with offices on K Street. We were married in 1983, so our 40th anniversary is coming up in June. In 2007, Peter opened the Dubai office of his firm and Cherry became a member of the Dubai Rotary Club. (Cherry later became president of the McLean Rotary Club) and she ran the charity ball for the American Women’s Association of Dubai.
We raised our 4 sons in our home in McLean, Virginia, which we sold in 2009 after the “boys” were grown, and we purchased our Georgetown house. We did a major remodel of the Georgetown house in 2009 which included totally reconfiguring the basement to make a proper bedroom; moving the basement stairs in order to make room for a proper kitchen on the main floor; and rearranging the master suite on the top floor (while keeping the slanted floor from the now enclosed original sleeping porch and the now interior window which used to look out on the porch). In the rear of the house we completely changed the garden/patio area and turned the garage into a studio, garage and playroom space. We understand that Charles Graves used to sell coal from that area in the early part of the 20th century.
We bought a home in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2010 and we now split our time between D.C. and Scottsdale. Cherry loves to paint in her studios in both homes, and lately she has been painting a lot of animal portraits, www..cherrytreeart.com. Peter plays golf everywhere.
We belong to the historic George Town Club just a few blocks away on Wisconsin Avenue, where we love having both casual and formal dinners. We also attend St. John’s Church around the corner in Georgetown. Peter is on the Board of the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.
Baumbusch home on 34th Street. Photo courtesy of Peter Baumbusch.
“In the rear of the house we completely changed the garden/patio area and turned the garage into a studio, garage and playroom space. We understand that Charles Graves used to sell coal from that area in the early part of the 20th century.” Photo of the 34th Street house 100 years ago with Charles Graves and his coal delivery truck. Courtesy of Peter Baumbusch.
Cherry celebrating the use of her art to promote International Women’s Day at the World Bank. Photo courtesy of Peter Baumbusch.
A flower painting by Cherry Baumbusch from cherrytreeart.com.
A bird painting by Cherry Baumbusch from cherrytreeart.com.
Thank you Cherry and Peter for your generous support of time and effort by adding your personal touch with this Mapping Georgetown story toward this legendary annual community fund raiser!
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To learn more about the Mapping Georgetown project, visit https://georgetowner.com/articles/2021/07/19/marilyn-butlers-vision-for-mapping–georgetown/.
To submit your Georgetown recollections to Mapping Georgetown, visit www.mappinggeorgetown.com or visit the Georgetown Public Library to pick up a physical map-story form to fill out.
Marilyn Butler can be reached at marilyn.butler@gmail.com.
More about the Georgetown House tour at https://www.georgetownhousetour.com/
