The Lindens, also known as the King Hooper House, is an historic three-story house located in the

Sheridan-Kalorama Kalorama is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States. It includes the Kalorama Triangle Historic District and Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District. It is named after the Kalorama mansion. Kalorama Triangle is bordered by C ...

neighborhood of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It is the oldest house in Washington (although it was not originally built there) and has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since 1969. The house was built in

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...

, in 1754 as a grand summer home for Robert "King" Hooper, a leading shipowner and merchant in Marblehead, Massachusetts, who sided with the Tories before the Revolutionary War and lent the house for four months to

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the ...

, the reviled British governor. Hooper lost the house to creditors. After passing through several other owners, including one who used it as a boardinghouse, the house was purchased in 1860 by Francis Peabody Jr., who restored and added to it. It was again sold in 1933 to antiques dealers

Israel Sack Israel Sack (September 15, 1883 – May 4, 1959) was a Lithuanian American antiques dealer specializing in early American furniture. Sack was instrumental in developing the private collections of Henry Ford, Henry Francis du Pont, Ima Hogg, and o ...

and Leon David, who sold the paneled drawing room to a Kansas City museum. The remainder of the house was sold the next year for about () to George and Miriam Morris, who were seeking a period house to showcase their collection of early American furniture. The Morrises had the house dismantled and shipped to Washington, with the pieces numbered, in six railroad boxcars. Under the direction of the key architect at

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...

, it was slowly reassembled from 1935 to 1938 on a concrete foundation, supported by steel beams. Over the next 45 years, some 50,000 visitors passed through the house, greeted by the owners in period costume. In 1983 it was sold to Norman and Diane Bernstein, who modernized and updated the kitchen and plumbing. At that time, some of the furnishings were auctioned for $2.3 million at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

. In 2007 it was resold for $7.2 million, and in 2016 the house was listed for sale again. The house measures , with 11 fireplaces, and has nearly ceilings, interior columns, stenciled floors, and wallpaper designed in Paris in the early 1800s.

References

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15 Things You Must Know About Washington’s Oldest Mansion

Washington, D.C.'s Oldest House is On the Market for $10.5M

15 Things You Must Know About Washington's Oldest Mansion

Houses completed in 1754 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. 1754 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Relocated buildings and structures in Washington, D.C. {{WashingtonDC-NRHP-stub

See also

References