When we imagine the early days of the United States,
we don’t tend to picture glamorous estates, but rather humble cabins.
While this was the case for most, it was not the lifestyle of all. Hi everyone, Ken here,
today we are exploring George Washington’s Granddaughter’s House in Washington DC.
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In the earliest days of the United States, just after the country’s founding,
George Beall began expanding Georgetown to the now lost neighborhood of Dunbarton.
In 1794, A portion of that land was then sold to Francis Lowndes, a wealthy merchant
looking to build his dream home in the nation’s capital. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish
his mansion, selling the property as is to Martha Parke Custis Peter and her husband Thomas Peter.
Martha was born in the Blue Room at Mount Vernon as the grand daughter of Martha Washington and
step granddaughter of first president George Washington. When Martha purchased the property,
there were only two identical wings constructed with no plans available for how to connect them.
She hired Dr. William Thornton, designer of the United States Capital Building,
to imagine a grand Federal Style mansion connecting the two extant wings.
He covered the wings in a buff-colored stucco and extended hyphens inwards towards a central,
bulking structure. In the center, he disrupted
the façade with an iconic Tempietto creating a circular, domed portico.
The façade was nearly symmetrical, save the window details of each hyphen
which substituted a rhythm of blank walls and windows between pilasters.
Acknowledging the construction of the house itself, it was built using the forced labor
of 90 enslaved people which had been gifted to the Peter’s from the Washington’s.
To begin our tour of the home, we will enter on the other side, beyond the formal gardens.
From here we can make our way into the vestibule,
complete with floor to ceiling wood paneling above checkered floors.
This will then lead us into the salon, where a rounded window wall looks out
through the tempietto. Let’s take a step outside to see the view between columns
as checkered floors mirror the vestibule’s floors, pointing out towards the horizon.
Coming back inside, we now see the door to the vestibule at the other end of the salon.
Let’s make our way through the doors to the side to see the drawing room.
The drawing room, with its high ceilings,
boasts a crystal chandelier suspended from an elaborate plaster medallion.
Along the upper portions of the walls, festoons decorate the cornice below crown molding. And
if these details were still not enough to impress, we can take a closer look at the
fireplace where marble pillars support the stone mantle boasting simple, but elegant relief work.
Now we will travel back into the salon, cutting directly across from the drawing
room to find the parlor. Where overstuffed furniture was arranged conversationally,
ensuring comfort for every guest.
Beyond the parlor is the dining room. The Washingtons gifted the Peters many fine
pieces of furniture and china. In fact, of all the houses and institutions in the US,
this house has the second largest collection of items once owned by the nation’s first family.
Behind the dining room is the office, staged with period furniture and mixed
with early technology such as a rotary phone and electric lighting.
Now that we have seen the public rooms of the house, lets find the main staircase,
tucked away from guests and make our way upstairs.
Looking through the bedrooms with their original furnishings will take us back
in time as we imagine the guests who once stayed in the house. The guest log
would have included revolutionary war hero, Marquis de Lafayette.
After both Thomas and Martha passed away, the house now known as Tudor Place passed through
their family. Eventually, it was declared a national historic landmark in the 1960s
and opened to the public tours where guests can learn about the earliest days of American
politics and the first family who set the standards and traditions we observe today.
Of the rooms we viewed throughout this video, which one was your favorite? Let me know down
below in the comments section. And while you’re there, make sure to hit that subscribe button so
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