The stunning Washington DC townhouse where Jackie Kennedy sought refuge after the JFK assassination has hit the market for a staggering $26.5 million, more than five times the price it was listed just six years ago.
Located in the heart of Georgetown, the Federal-style home is part of a three-building complex created by developer David W. Hudgens, who combined Jackie’s former home and its two surrounding properties into a 16,300-square-foot residence.
The complex has 13 rooms and the houses were designed to function as one house or three separate houses. In addition to being linked above ground, they are also connected by underground passages.
Jackie moved into the house in January 1964, with her children John Jr and Caroline just two months after her husband, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. They moved at the end of that year.
If the home sells for asking price, it would be the most expensive ever sold in Georgetown, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The house is located in the heart of Georgetown. It was built in 1794
Jackie Kennedy moved into the house just two months after President Kennedy’s death.
Jackie and her children lived in the main house of the complex.
The house was built in 1794 and covers 7,000 square feet with six rooms plus staff quarters.
Over the years, the house changed hands several times, passing from wealthy businessmen to their sons, to government and military officials.
From 1916 to 1920, Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of War, Newton Diehl Baker, lived in the house while organizing the deployment of American troops for World War I. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 under Baker’s name.
Kennedy bought the house shortly after her husband’s assassination and had the children’s rooms painted to match the same colors their rooms had had in the White House.
But instead of becoming the haven she hoped it would be, its public and central location made it a tourist attraction.
People flocked to the sidewalk in front of the house and even climbed trees hoping to catch a glimpse of the glamorous former first lady and left her trapped in her own home.
Seeking more refuge, Jackie moved to New York City to be close to her sister, where she remained for the rest of her life.
A grand staircase inside the house where Jackie Kennedy lived
One of the rooms in Jackie Kennedy’s house that is now for sale in Georgetown
A grand dining room in the former Georgetown home of Jackie Kennedy
The first floor of the house was left largely as it was when Jackie Kennedy lived there.
The backyard garden of the house. The kitchen opens onto the garden.
Hudgens, who died last November, began buying the complex properties in 1997 when he paid $1.2 million for one of the houses that border Jackie’s house.
He then paid $1.625 million for the other house in 2006, and in 2017 he finally paid $5.25 million for Jackie’s house, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Over the next four years, Hudgens combined the houses, creating a space where “presidents and dignitaries could visit and fundraising events could be held,” according to project architect Dale Overmyer.
“I also wanted all three houses to work independently or together.”
Much of the main house where Jackie lived was left as it was when she owned the house, including the grand entry and living room, the wood paneled library and dining room with gold leaf ceiling. All the fireplaces in the house are also original.
Amenities were added to the home, including a gym, and the upper floors were updated with more modern touches. There are spa-like bathrooms, a top-floor patio, and the newly-equipped kitchen opens to the rear garden.
Jackie Kennedy outside the house in Georgetown. He started living there in 1964.
Jackie Kennedy and her daughter Caroline arrive at Georgetown House
