Coming Home for the Logan Circle Holiday House Tour

 
 
Written by Andrea
November 16, 2009
 

Photos courtesy of the Logan Circle Community Association

You know you're home for the holidays when the Annual Logan Circle Community Association Holiday House Tour rolls around. Logan Circle’s 50 square blocks are rich in history, architecture and—yes—cultural events, including this very unique tour. Logan is a friendly neighborhood that brings together a vibrant mixture of residents, galleries, and businesses often host to Greg's List DC selected culture, fashion, food, and party picks. Sunday, December 6th is an opportunity to get to know the other side of our neighborhood, when residents of Logan Circle throw open the doors of a few hand-picked homes that showcase all that Logan Circle has to offer. This year's tour features several mixed-usage spaces — buildings that combine retail, residential, and work environments. Indeed, we have already seen several of these mixed spaces holding Greg's List DC selected events, embodying an area of the city where life, work, and play so comfortably and creatively collocate. On December 6th, for the 31st year, Logan Circle residents, sophisticated socialites, and design devotees will meander the streets of Logan Circle to visit the annual array of specially selected holiday house tour homes. This year's showcase includes a mix of the elegantly historic and ultra-modern chic and concludes, according to tradition, with a festive Wassail reception — this year hosted at the Studio Theatre from 3:30-5pm following the tour. Dara Duguay, 2009 Logan Circle Community Association Holiday House Tour Chairperson, and owner of one of the the homes on this year's tour. notes, "the area has experienced tremendous growth and has become ‘the’ place to live. You will see why once you walk around the neighborhood and peek inside these homes.” The properties featured on this year's tour include: - A truly sexy in the city condo (but definitely not the only one) in the Icon on 13th. Owned by an interior designer finalist on Bravo's "Top Design" and set designer for "Sex in the City," and her New York Times reporter husband, this condo combines bold graphics, vintage fixtures, and kitschy collectibles, such as a painting of a pig originally bought for Spike Lee’s movie "25th Hour." - The Louise Hand Laundry building on 12th Street -- now owned by the proprietors of Good Wood on U Street -- which was the White House's laundry shop of choice for the Roosevelt through Kennedy administrations. This industrial space has been converted into a modern home, where the exposed concrete floors and ceiling encompass an impressive array of mid-19th century to mid-1950s antiques. The new owners are excited to bring this true neighborhood relic back to the tour, where it was featured some 25 years ago, and are looking forward to having more than a few longtime neighborhood residents add to their stock of Laundry Building lore. - An elegant 1887 Victorian home turned bed & breakfast. The glorious property features a majestic staircase with delicate spindles and lattice panels, breathtaking stained glass, and vintage chandeliers that will put anyone in the holiday spirit. Old Saint Nick doesn't forget homes like these, whose owners have clearly been good to this local landmark and guests year-round. Tickets for this Greg's List DC Culture Editor endorsed tour can be purchased in advance for $20 at the Logan Circle Community Association website (www.LoganCircle.org) or on the day of the tour at the Studio Theatre, 14th and P Streets, NW for $25. Advance tickets for the event also will be sold at the following local establishments beginning about a week before the big day: Azi’s Café, 1336 9th St.; Barrel House Liquor, 1341 14th Street; Home Rule, 1807 14th Street; Lambda Rising, 1625 Connecticut Avenue; Logan Hardware, 1416 P Street; and 5th Street Ace Hardware, 1055 5th St. Don't wait until the 6th to peruse the neighborhood! Logan is a neighborhood that rapidly renders a transplant a native—and positively in love with the town year-round. Make no mistake—local community, care, and culture are alive and well in our Logan and mix fluidly throughout the year at neighborhood businesses, galleries, and homes. Your ticket to the self-guided tour and accompanying Wassail reception will provide holiday cheer year and Circle-round. Since 1978, the Logan Circle Community Association (LCCA) has dedicated proceeds to its community development efforts in the neighborhood, where we all love to play, regardless of where we reside. This year, the LCCA has pledged a portion of tour proceeds to a special cause with a namesake that's close to — or, more accurately, an integral part of — home to longtime Logan residents. The Constance Whitaker Maffin Memorial Fund, named in honor of a resident whose spirit and contributions the LCCA has every intention of maintaining as vibrant as the area Mrs. Whitaker Maffin strove to improve, will enable local volunteer and community projects. For additional information about the event, volunteering, and tickets see http://www.logancircle.org/. Come out and meet your friendly Greg's List DC Culture Editor while you tour her neighborhood!
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