Evening star., 1938-04-09
Doors of 10 Other Georgetown
Homes Open for Tour Today
Gen. Grant House and Modern Residence
ofMr. and Mrs. l.. NJ. C. Smith Inspire
Questions and Comment.

Hundreds of women and a few men
yesterday walked or rode in the chilly
rain through Georgetown visiting the
10 houses opened to the public for
four hours by their owners for. the
sake Of raising money to help support
st. Johns Episcopal Church. 3240 o
street NV. Ten more houses will be
open today from pm. to 10 pm.
Holders of ST tickets may visit any
or all the homes.
The red brick house on a little
knoll at 1898 r street NV, famous
as the dwelling place Of Gen U. S.
Grant just before he became President,
and more recently of Thomas Cor
coran and Benjamin Victor Cohen,
was the most popular home on yes
terday's list. Four years ago it was
popularly regarded as house of mys-
terry when DR.. William G. Writ of
Gary. Ind, referred to it before a con-
gressional committee as the little red
house." where, he intimated, many of
the young brain trusters concocted COL
lectivlSt schemes after midnight, with
the shades drawn.
Upside Down" House.
Most of the visitors yesterday, how
ever, asked about Gen. Grant and
reacted vaguely to remarks about
Messrs. Corcoran and Cohen, the New
Deal advisers. They were startled
chiefly at finding the home a sort OF
upSide-doWn house, with a bedroom
at the left of the front door and a
modern streamlined kitchen at the
right-hand end of the front hall. From
the living room and dining room up
stairs the tour-makers got an excellent
view of an inviting garden.
It. Col. and Mrs H. c. Davidson
own the house now, and their name
is on door plate. but it is popu-
larly known as Gen. Grants residence,
or the Dent home. It is scarcely a
block from the modernistic white
brick home of Mr.. and Mrs. Lawrence
M. c. Smith, at 1880 Reservoir road
NV.
On Display Again.
The Smith house, six months old.
is the only house on yesterdays tour
list which is open today as well.
It's two-day stand is attributed to
the belief that modern house in old
Georgetown is almost an oddity, al
though the Messersmith home at 1889
Twenty-ninth street NV. offers a
view of 100-year-old servants quar-
ter connected with a 25-year-old
Colonial wing by Spanish patio
remarkable chiefly for two Moorish
archways.
Stanley Brown, the architect for
the Smiths home. stuck to plane
surfaces and brought glass brick into
play, and the decorator conjured up a
living room with floor and walls
stained black A white rug offers a
startling contrast. and the person who
sits at the head of the dinning room
table stares at Dadaistic oil paint
ing done by the nephew of the late
Maxim Cork, Russian writer.
Upstairs, however, the Smiths have
placed a canopied tester bed, an
ancient but handsome piece of furni-
ture, in one of the bedrooms. Mrs.
Smith found it in her mother-in-law's
attic, painted crimson and due for
the ash heap. She rescued it, had
the paint scraped of, and refused to
part with it just because she was
moving into the most modern house
in Washington.
Houses Open Today.
Besides the Smiths place, these
houses will be open to visitors today:
Mr.. and Mrs James S. Vance, 1929
@ street NV; Victor H. Sutro, 30i9
p street NV; Miss Katherine Dougal,
5000 P street NV; Mr.. and Mrs. H.
H. Tittman, jr.. 30l0 o street NV:
Mr.. and Mrs. Walter G. Peter. 3027
N street NV; Mr.. and Mrs. Walter
White, 14ll Thirty fourth street NV;
1t. Comdr. and Mrs. w. D. Thomas,
3508 Prospect avenue NV: Mr. and
Mrs. Vernon Lowrey, $500 Prospect
avenue NV. and Mr. and Mrs. Will
liam H. Little, 1912 Thirty-fifth
street NV.