The Northampton White Oak: Old Enough
RIP circa 1814 – 2024 The fabled old Northampton Oak gave up its secrets on a sweltering Monday morning in July. Waiting until no one was watching, it pierced the …
HOUStories Archives
Since May 2020, Cate Toups Atkinson has been writing a bi-monthly blog about the intriguing history of the houses, streets, and people of Chevy Chase DC. If you have an idea you want her to hunt down, or wish to join her mailing list and be notified of new postings, email her at cate.atkinson@gmail.com
Hollywood Moderne: A House that Lived Up to Its Name
The house at the corner of Chevy Chase Parkway and McKinley Street has long been a curiosity for its unusual architecture. But few today recall that it actually produced a Hollywood star.
The Mysterious Provenance of Four Victorian Fireplaces
Four bungalows were built side by side on Chevy Chase Parkway in 1911. They each had identical Victorian marble fireplaces in different shades, likely salvaged from a mansion razed on Washington Circle.
The Mystery of Conjoined Houses in the 3800 Block of Legation Street NW
Why was this wing added to join these two houses a century ago? Undoubtedly it was designed to deal with the socially awkward problem of a dependent divorcee.
A Greek Tenor’s Operatic Take on Gardens
A Barnaby Woods resident was a rising opera star in the 1970s. But despite giving that jet-setting life up long ago, the very ground on which he lives is in itself a musical serenade.
A Backyard Castle on Livingston Street NW
Alley walkers know the place -- a medieval-looking “castle” behind a house in the 3900 block of Livingston Street NW. With its thick stone walls, slate roof and solid red door with iron fastenings, it could be in Germany atop a walled fortress touching the clouds.
Highwood Estate: All That’s Left is the Gatepost
On Stephenson Place, halfway between Broad Branch Road and 33rd Street NW, is the second highest elevation in the District after Fort Reno. On this spot, amid the cows and cornfields and patches of tall oaks, Gen. Henry Clark Corbin built his retirement home in 1907. He and his socialite wife Edythe Patten Corbin called it “Highwood.”