The lengthy dispute over proposed renovations to one of Georgetown’s treasured historic houses — formerly owned by George Washington’s great-grandnephew; by Col. William “Wild Bill” Donovan, who ran the OSS, precursor to the CIA; and by Katharine Graham of the Washington Post — appears to be resolved. Work on the property at 2920 R St. NW, currently owned by Mark Ein, has begun.
The fierce and weird fight over the empty mansion caught the interest not only of Georgetown residents but of outsiders, thanks to write-ups in The Georgetowner as well as in the Post, Washingtonian, the New York Times and the Daily Mail.
The Beaux-Arts-style home was remodeled over the years, lastly by the Grahams, who bought it in 1946. Katharine Graham died in July of 2001. Ein, a businessman and part-owner of the Washington Commanders, bought the house in 2002. More than 10 years later, Ein and his wife Sally presented plans to the Old Georgetown Board — which controls the look and use of Georgetown exteriors — for modernizing and expanding the house.
At the time, neighbors Calvin and Jane Cafritz (he a real estate developer and she an attorney), who shared the driveway with the property, objected to Ein’s plans for additions, a garage, a retaining wall and landscaping. The OGB swatted down the Ein plans several times.
Last month, the Commission of Fine Arts, of which OGB is a part, approved Ein’s most recent concept submission: “No objection to concept design for addition at side, single-story ‘garden room’ addition at rear, underground addition and garage, and driveway ramp, per supplemental materials received 22 August 2025, PROVIDED Option B is used for the general design and massing on the north elevation with the Option A windows, the roof height of the hyphen on the north elevation is lowered, Option B is used for the design of the garden room at the rear, the design of the garage door is restudied, and great thought is put into landscaping and replanting of trees to soften appearance of new retaining wall. File permit submission at DOB, with detailed and dimensioned drawings, engineering drawings for underpinning, complete demolition plan, and condition assessment, for review by the Commission.”
The Georgetowner will report more fully on the renovations in the weeks ahead.
