The late former U.S. Secretary of State had lived in the Federal-style house since 1968 and originally purchased it for $100,000.
No one can predict the future of real estate, but you can prepare. Find out what to prepare for and pick up the tools you’ll need at Virtual Inman Connect on Nov. 1-2, 2023. And don’t miss Inman Connect New York on Jan. 23-25, 2024, where AI, capital and more will be center stage. Bet big on the future and join us at Connect.
The Washington, D.C., home of the late former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has hit the market for $4 million, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Albright had lived in the Federal-style row house located in Georgetown from 1968 until her death in 2022. Albright and her husband at the time, Joe Albright, originally purchased the property for about $100,000 and raised three daughters in the house, according to Madeleine Albright: A Twentieth-Century Odyssey by Michael Dobbs. The home became a gathering place for monthly dinner parties and those interested in politics and national security, according to Albright’s former chief of staff Jacob Freedman.
The house dates back to about 1853 and spans 4,000 square feet with four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms, according to the listing description.
Michael Rankin and Logan MacKethan of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty are representing the listing.
The property includes many original details that are evocative of its era, including wide plank floors, fireplace mantels and crown moldings. From the street, the property features a brick façade and semicircular staircase with iron railings wrapped in ivy. A rear brick terrace with a stone fountain can be accessed from two sets of French doors in the home’s double salon.
The dining room where Albright hosted her well-known dinners features built-in wooden cabinetry and access to the exterior terrace. The kitchen and primary bedroom underwent renovations in recent years. The kitchen now features marble countertops, a center island, a large pantry, a SubZero refrigerator and freezer and Viking six-burner range.
The second floor includes a library. Albright converted the third floor into an office where she would prep to teach class at Georgetown University, Freedman told The WSJ.
The oversized two-car garage — a luxury in the tight streets of Georgetown — was partially repurposed during Albright’s tenure as secretary of state for security reasons, according to Freedman. “They had a little watch room with cameras and secure communications,” he told The WSJ.
Albright served as secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. Prior to that, she served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1996.
Year to date, single-family home sales in Georgetown declined 20 percent from the same period in 2022, Sotheby’s told The WSJ. Meanwhile, the median sale price increased 2.5 percent to just over $2 million during that same time period.
Get Inman’s Luxury Lens Newsletter delivered right to your inbox. A weekly deep dive into the biggest news in the world of high-end real estate delivered every Friday. Click here to subscribe.