As a team that specializes in historic homes in the nation’s capital, The Best Address® Group is often asked by their clients to show them properties with “old world charm.” A good place to start learning more about such properties is “Best Addresses: A Century of Washington’s Distinguished Apartment Houses” (Smithsonian Institution, 1988).
In this book, author James M. Goode profiled the most architecturally significant apartment buildings in Washington, DC. These have come to be known as the “Best Address” buildings.
Many are often surprised to learn exactly which buildings were included in the book. That’s because they range from Victorians of the 1880s to “modern” apartment houses constructed more than a century later.
However, when a building is described as a “Best Address,” it has a certain cachet to it, inspiring visions of elegant spaces with high ceilings and fine architectural detailing (moldings, decorative plaster, mosaic tiles, etc.) — characteristics that are unlikely to be found in 1980s (much less 1960s) buildings.
To help potential buyers who are looking for a home with old world charm, we’ve compiled a list below of some of the “Best Address” buildings located in Northwest DC. These were all built prior to 1931, and today are condominiums or cooperatives. This list includes a few buildings that were not mentioned in the “Best Addresses” book, but are buildings that The Best Address® Group recommends you check out because of their unique architectural features.
