Though Dupont Circle may be best known for its central location, shops, restaurants and charming brownstones, one of its most interesting buildings is the historic Fraser mansion.
Built in 1892, this beaux-arts-style mansion on Connecticut Avenue and R Street Northwest served as a private residence until the 1930s and has functioned as a boardinghouse and elegant restaurants and today is owned by the Church of Scientology.
Fraser mansion’s original grounds included a carriage house, now a private residence located in a mews at 1735 Fraser Court NW, just north of R Street between 19th and 20th streets. This unique residence, currently home to a designer on Architectural Digest’s Top 100 designers list, is an elegant mansion in its own right, with approximately 5,260 square feet on three renovated levels and a hidden rooftop garden.
On the market for $2,495,000, this grand residence includes formal entertaining spaces, three fireplaces, high ceilings, wood floors, a professional-grade kitchen and a climate-controlled wine cellar. The home also has four bedrooms, four full baths and a powder room.
The charming exterior of this home includes ivy-covered brick walls with meticulously groomed shrubs surrounding the carriage door. The entry-level foyer has an entrance to the garage, which has space for two or three cars, and into the wine cellar, which has space for 1,300 bottles. The garage opens into a studio with recessed and track lighting, exposed duct- and brickwork, several storage closets and hardwood flooring.
The lower level also has a one-bedroom in-law or au-pair suite accessible from a private entrance off a side courtyard as well as from the studio. The suite has two skylights, two windows, two closets and a kitchenette in addition to the open living-dining and sleeping space and a full bath.
The main level features a dramatic living room of 43.5 feet by 19 feet, with windows covered by plantation shutters on three sides of the room, crown molding, recessed lighting, a wood-burning fireplace flanked by stone and columns, and hardwood flooring. A gently curved staircase leads from the living room to the upper and lower levels.
Adjacent to the living room is a library with three windows, a gas fireplace, two walls of custom-built bookcases and a private staircase to the master suite. The main level also has a splashy formal dining room with a deep skylight opening into the roof garden, walls of mirrored English conservatory paneling, French doors, ornate columns, recessed lighting and a limestone floor.
The chef’s kitchen includes recessed and under-cabinet lighting, granite counters and professional-grade stainless steel appliances, including dual wall ovens, a six-burner cooktop, a dishwasher and an under-counter icemaker in addition to the refrigerator-freezer.
The main level also has a powder room with granite walls and counters and granite floors, as well as a bedroom suite with a gas fireplace, two windows and a closet. The suite includes a full bath with granite flooring, granite counters and granite walls.
Upstairs, the master suite and a guest suite are arranged around the rooftop garden. The master suite, accessible by a private staircase from the library below, has a bedroom with built-in shelving, a wood floor, two windows and French doors that open onto the terrace. The suite has two walk-in closets and a luxurious bath with a skylight, two sinks with granite counters, an infinity tub with a granite surround, marble flooring with granite inlay and a marble steam shower with a bench and a glass door.
The guest suite has a bedroom with a skylight, built-in bookcases, a closet, a wood floor and a full bath including a granite shower with a glass door, a pedestal sink, granite floors and granite walls.
The hallway has wood floors, recessed lighting and a laundry closet.
Perhaps the most spectacular feature of this home is the extensive rooftop garden, which has mature plantings, including crape myrtles, flowers and trees, a koi pond and fountain and a shaded dining area hidden under a green trellis. The terrace has a stone-and-wood floor and approximately 880 square feet of outdoor living space.
For more information or directions to this Dupont Circle home, contact Realtors Patrick Chauvin at 202/243-1621 or Cecelia Leake at 202/256-7804 or visit www.washingtonfineproperties.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.