P.S. Nest Pick: Anderson House, A Washington, DC Hidden Gem

A mansion with a surprisingly personal story.

There are grand houses in Washington that feel like monuments to wealth. Anderson House feels different.

Maybe that's because, beneath all the marble, carved wood, gilded ceilings, and elaborate entertaining rooms, you can still sense the people who lived here—and the very particular life they created.

Larz and Isabel Anderson built the house in 1905 as their Washington home. Isabel was a writer, traveler, philanthropist, collector, and formidable hostess. The house was the setting for diplomatic receptions, dinners, concerts, and all the social choreography that came with Washington's winter season. Today it is the headquarters and museum of the Society of the Cincinnati.

Why I'm recommending it

I love a historic house that gives you something to wonder about beyond Who slept here?

At Anderson House, I find myself thinking about how people used a house to construct a public identity.

Which rooms were meant to impress? Which were meant to make guests comfortable? What did Isabel choose to display? What did she want visitors to think about the Andersons?

That makes the house feel less like a collection of rooms and more like a very elaborate self-portrait.

Look for

The transitions between rooms.

And then look at what happens when the architecture changes: carved wood, marble, painted ceilings, decorative objects, furniture. The house was designed for entertaining, and the movement from one space to another was part of the performance.

While you're there

Take your time with the walled garden. It was designed as an extension of the house and as a setting for entertaining, and it changes the feeling of the visit completely.

The P.S. Nest question

If this house is a portrait of its owners, what does it tell you about them?

Good to know

Anderson House is currently the headquarters, museum, library, and archives of the Society of the Cincinnati/American Revolution Institute. It is a guided historic-house experience, so this is a place where I would embrace the structure of the tour rather than trying to rush through independently. Current museum information and tickets are available through the Society of the Cincinnati. The Dupont-Kalorama Museums Consortium traditionally hosts a free neighborhood festival every year during the first full weekend of June and Anderson House participates.

Go explore → Anderson House

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