1941 Colonial in D.C. on the market for nearly $7 million

1941 Colonial in D.C. on the market for nearly $7 million

From a look at the outside, passersby might guess that the grand house at 2812 Woodland Dr. NW has a history of ownership by prominent D.C. residents. It’s 7,100 square feet and on the market for nearly $7 million. But inside, old maps and hidden cameras add a hint of intrigue to the story.

Construction of the house, in the Massachusetts Heights neighborhood, was completed in 1941, and the house was purchased by William L. Clayton, a businessman who, as the first undersecretary of state for economic affairs, would help develop the Marshall Plan in the aftermath of World War II. A 1944 Evening Star article chronicled a garden party, hosted by the Claytons, at which the Women’s National Democratic Club raised $350,000 through the sale of war bonds.

In the late 1940s, Thomas ‘Tommy the Cork’ Corcoran and his wife, Margaret, bought the house. Corcoran was an architect of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal — work that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. After his government career, he remained influential in Washington and became known as one of the first modern lobbyists.

Transcripts of wiretaps of Corcoran’s phones, ordered by President Harry S. Truman’s White House, were released after Corcoran’s death. And small, no-longer-functioning cameras were hidden in the ceilings of the dining room and the foyer. Corcoran, who owned the house for more than four decades, left behind large World War II-era maps lining stairs between the second and third floors.

The family room has custom paneling.

More recently, the house was owned by Washington Post journalist Haynes Johnson and his wife, Kathryn Oberly, who was a judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals. He won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and he reported behind-the-scenes goings-on in Washington politics. The couple added a new wing and a garage to one side of the house in 2008. They sold the house in 2012, about a year before he died.

The current owners of the house — a four-level whitewashed-brick Colonial — reconfigured the third floor and lower level, updated the kitchen and renovated most bathrooms.

The front door opens to a foyer next to a library with built-in shelving. The living room has a fireplace and connects to the dining room, which, like much of this floor, has original crown molding. The kitchen has a butler’s pantry. The family room, part of the 2008 addition, has custom paneling and a nearly 13-foot ceiling. The back of the house on this level is bordered by a raised patio with iron railings.

The dining room has oversize windows and a fireplace.

On the second floor, the primary bedroom suite has a fireplace, a dressing room (of about 150 square feet) and a bathroom with a soaking tub and a shower. Two more bedrooms on this level each have an en suite bathroom.

On the third floor, there are three more bedrooms, each with a walk-in closet. There are two bathrooms on this level, one en suite, the other on the hall.

The property is almost half an acre.

The lower level has a game room with a bathroom that also opens to the backyard for easy access before or after a swim in the pool. This level also has a recreation room, several points of access to a covered terrace, a bonus room, with flex space, off the recreation room, a two-car garage, a laundry room and a mud room.

The house is on almost half an acre, which includes a heated pool, a hot tub and a “secret garden,” a tucked-away patio off a wing of the house.

$6,995,000

2812 Woodland Dr. NW, Washington, D.C.

• Bedrooms/bathrooms: 7/8
• Approximate square-footage: 7,100
• Lot size: 0.47 acres
• Features: This Colonial-style house in D.C.’s Massachusetts Heights neighborhood was built in 1941 and has been enlarged over several decades. A number of prominent D.C. residents have owned the house, which has three floors above a finished lower level. Original details include moldings and fireplaces. There are two parking spots in the garage and two in the driveway.
• Listing agent: Liz Lavette Shorb, Washington Fine Properties