Ex-FBI, CIA director William Webster lists D.C. house

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Lynda Webster affectionately compares her home to an animal more frequently located in a desert than in the wilds of Northwest Washington.

“It’s unquestionably a camel, but a charming very little camel,” Webster mentioned.

Like a camel, the property has a “hump” in the middle, with the still left and suitable sides a little bit decreased than the centre part.

Distinguished residences for sale in the D.C. region

Wesley Heights dwelling | The 1947 house was intended by architect Van Tuyl Hart Bien. It has been the very long-time property of ex-FBI and CIA director William Webster. The property is on the industry for$2.8 million. (HomeVisit)

The authentic design and style of the 1947 residence — by architect Van Tuyl Hart Bien for operator James B.C. Howe — was extra Colonial Revival than camel. Bien, who examined naval architecture at MIT, started designing houses in 1928. He experienced an affinity for early American architecture, in accordance to Clare Lise Kelly, who in 2013 wrote the report “Homes Influenced by America’s Past: Colonial Revival Architect V.T.H. Bien” for a Montgomery County (Md.) Historic Society publication, Montgomery County Story.

In 1934, a Colonial Revival house in the Kenwood community of Bethesda, Md., that Bien designed received an honorable mention award from the Maryland Modern society of Architects. This property, in D.C.’s Wesley Heights neighborhood, is identical in design to the Kenwood property.

The house has experienced 4 owners, just about every just one expanding it in different directions. Howe, the initial proprietor, was a attorney with the federal govt for extra than 30 decades. A handful of decades following the dwelling was created, the Howes put on an addition. Right after his death in 1964, his widow remained in the household till 1986.

The upcoming owner, Barbara Tanhamd, marketed the property in 1990 to John H. Makin and Gwendolyn van Paasschen. Makin, who died in 2015, was an economist at the American Company Institute. Van Paasschen is a backyard garden designer. Lynda and William H. Webster purchased the dwelling in 1993. William Webster was director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1978 to 1987 and director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1987 to 1991. He was chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council from 2005 to 2020.

According to Lynda Webster, van Paasschen established the low-routine maintenance garden behind the property. The shady patio is a secluded oasis.

Webster also claimed Tanhamd employed landscape designer Michael Bartlett to reconfigure the entrance garden. The household formerly had a steep slope with a prolonged established of measures to the front doorway. Bartlett trucked in tons of grime to build a amount surface area and added pea gravel. Now readers have lots of place to park and only a couple quick techniques to the entrance door.

Since the property is on a hill, tucked back from the street, it is nearly impossible to see from the road.

“It’s just so isolated,” Webster explained. “It’s a few miles to downtown, [but] I really do not really feel like I’m in a city. I truly feel like I’m in a tiny town for the reason that I hardly ever have to get on a big freeway. … And Invoice owning still left federal government, we just experienced a have to have for privacy.”

Webster additional, “I adore the country, and you truly feel like you are in the region up there.”

She claimed they have noticed foxes, deer and other wildlife at their house, which is sandwiched involving two parks — Battery Kemble and Glover Archbold.

The Websters have left their mark on the house as very well. They additional the bow window in the front, which extended the dining space. They expanded the kitchen and the office. Two years back, they place in a gas hearth in the family place.

Webster mentioned her favorite area in the dwelling is the sunken dwelling home. The tall, skinny French doors on possibly facet open up to the front and back again yards.

“You experience like you’re in a back garden when you’re in the living place,” she mentioned.

Following just about 20 years in the residence, the Websters are reluctant to go away. But the home has gotten also huge for the two of them.

“I think it’s a quite distinctive little place,” Webster stated. “It’s got a ton of history. A large amount of intriguing men and women have been in and out of it. … It is hard to leave a spot you’ve been there so extensive. But everyday living marches on, and here we are.”

The three-bed room, four-lavatory, 4,530-sq.-foot residence is shown at just below $2.8 million.

4777 Dexter St. NW, Washington, D.C.

  • Bedrooms/bathrooms: 3/4
  • Approximate square-footage: 4,530
  • Lot measurement: .35 acre
  • Functions: The 1947 property was created by architect Van Tuyl Hart Bien. It has been modified over the yrs. The sunken residing area has French doors that open up to the entrance and back again yards. The family home has a gasoline hearth. The office has French doorways that direct to the patio. The owner’s bedroom has a fire and a balcony. The two-motor vehicle garage is connected.
  • Listing brokers: Christie Weiss and Christopher Ritzert, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

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