Almost three decades after she died at age 64, the 18th-century residence where former First Lady Jackie Kennedy and her children Caroline and John Jr. briefly lived shortly after JFK was shot and killed while traveling through Dallas in a presidential motorcade is up for grabs.
Tucked away in the historic Georgetown enclave of Washington, D.C.—and reportedly purchased by the widow in 1963 for $195,000—the Federal-style estate was listed earlier this year for $26.5 million. Currently priced at $19.5 million with Jonathan Taylor of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, the place is now set to go to the highest bidder Oct. 24 via a no-reserve auction held by Concierge Auctions.
Built in the early 1790s by Thomas Beall, Georgetown’s second mayor, the stately red brick and black-shuttered structure also has been occupied during its history by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker and former Miss America Yolande Betbeze Fox. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the “Newtown Baker House” in 1976, and also designated as a National Historic Landmark.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which previously reported on the sale, the late construction entrepreneur David W. Hudgens began assembling the compound in 1997, when he doled out $1.2 million for a traditional brick home next door to the former Kennedy House. He subsequently added a circa-1880s house on the block for $1.6 million, and then paid the Fox estate $5.2 million for the former Kennedy house in 2017.
Hudgens went on to enlist architect Dale Overmyer to remodel and combine the trio of buildings, which have a total of 13 bedrooms and 18 baths sprawled across 16,300 square feet of living space. There also are “secret” passageways connecting the homes, plus a three-car garage.
As for the central house where Kennedy resided, it’s fronted by a portico-topped door opening into a entry foyer displaying a traditional staircase and portrait of the late First Lady. From there, a living room where Kennedy gave her Warren Commission testimony about the murder of her husband is warmed by a fireplace, and an eggshell blue living room boasting a gold-leaf ceiling and elegant moldings leads to a gourmet kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island and top-tier stainless appliances.
The entire second floor holds a master retreat, which comes complete with parquet floors, a private balcony overlooking the rear gardens, walk-in closet, and marble-clad bath spotlighted by dual vanities, a soaking tub and two separate showers; and elsewhere is an office, a gym, wood-paneled library and family room with bi-folding doors spilling out to an expansive terrace. Topping it all off: an observation deck providing picturesque views of the Washington Monument.
Click here for more photos of Jackie Kennedy’s former Georgetown house.
Sean Shanahan/Elle Pouchet
Source: Luxury - robbreport.com
