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Hill Homes: Behind the Iron Gate

September 2nd, 2010 by Kyra Deblaker-Gebhard · 8 Comments · Capitol Hill

Originally uploaded to flickr by Madame Meow

There is a certain amount of excitement I feel when I see a for sale sign standing proudly in front of a house I have admired for years. I think about, dream about, calling an agent and telling her that I’m in the market for a new home, only to see the “Open Sunday” sign appear days later.

While I have always been saved from making the call that begins with an elaborate lie and ends with a real estate agent wasting her time, there are the few rare homes that don’t change hands as quickly as I’d like them to, making it nearly impossible to even get through the front door–until now. Welcome to Hill Homes: Behind the Iron Gate.

For those of you who feel the same, I am making it my mission to go behind the iron gates and wooden doors that separate us from the homes we love to admire, so I need to know what homes you want to see! Is it a stately three-story on in edge of Lincoln Park, a modern home nestled in between 19th Century stunners, a wood home with a front porch that makes you want to walk through the gate and proclaim, “Honey, I’m home”?

Include your favorite, must-see homes in the comments section. Then look for a behind the scenes tour of your favorite homes this fall!

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  • JMB

    Might want to chill on the desperate, coveting, property porn. When did such open material-lust become vogue? If you want to see a neighbors house so badly, maybe you should get out of the bushes, and introduce yourself to the residents.

  • Kim

    Wow, JMB, that’s a little harsh! I think this sounds like a cool feature. And, no, it’s not “material-lust.” It’s that I like to look at the historic details and I like to see what various owners have done in order to get ideas for my own home.

    Anyway, there aren’t any specific homes I’ve always wondered about, but I think this sounds like a great feature, Kyra!

  • MJ

    I’d like to nominate 808 East Capitol Street.

    Beautiful house and yard, and it’s on my favorite DC street!

  • Eleventh Street

    1. JMB: Whoa there. You need to relax, dude.

    2. This is kind of the opposite, but I’ve always wanted to see the insides of some of the awesome old boarded up properties around the Hill. 10th and C NE comes to mind. I doubt it’s possible (or safe) and probably wouldn’t live up to my Edgar Allen Poe-inspired imagination, but just wanted to throw that out there.

  • Mary

    My favorite is on the northeast corner of 10th and South Carolina SE.

    And I’ve always been curious about the ones on the northwest corner of 12th and C SE, southeast corner of 10th and C SE, and southeast corner of 9th and C SE.

  • http://twitter.com/nicholeaileen Nichole Remmert

    I believe that we have a writer working on a post about the house at 10th and C.

    And JMB, I’m pretty sure getting out of the bushes and introducing herself is exactly what she’s planning to do. But if it’s so offensive to you, don’t let the iron gate hit ya’ on the way out.

  • Cstreet

    We always walk down 6th street with our dog, and I’ve always loved 121 6th street ne (I think that’s the address – it’s a blue federal style home). I think it was recently renovated and I’d love to get a peek of the inside.

  • Elizabeth Festa

    The New Orleans-looking corner home across from Marion Park, white, now off-white, slightly crumbling a bit, wide front lawn, balcony. If Blanche Dubois were a house and lived on Capitol Hill.