Historic Homes for Sale in the DC Metro Area

There are few places in our country where you’ll find more historic homes for sale than in the Washington Metropolitan area. From DC to Northern Virginia to Maryland, this region is awash in tradition and very old, and very cool, properties. But even so, the inevitable evolution and growing of the DC Metro area present a conundrum—the preservation of something old versus the excitement of forward-thinking modern development.

If you're looking for a home with character, we have it!

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2000 Massachusetts Ave Nw, WASHINGTON

$29,950,000

2000 Massachusetts Ave Nw, WASHINGTON

4 Beds 6 Baths 23,600 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2095294

DUPONT CIRCLE

3508 Prospect St Nw, WASHINGTON

$15,995,000

3508 Prospect St Nw, WASHINGTON

8 Beds 6.5 Baths 9,086 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2129376

GEORGETOWN

3210 R St Nw, WASHINGTON

$15,000,000

3210 R St Nw, WASHINGTON

5 Beds 7 Baths 8,448 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2123682

GEORGETOWN

2727 Q St Nw, WASHINGTON

$11,950,000

↓ $2,000,000

2727 Q St Nw, WASHINGTON

8 Beds 8 Baths 7,481 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2085818

GEORGETOWN

13320 Signal Tree Ln, POTOMAC

$11,500,000

↓ $1,250,000

13320 Signal Tree Ln, POTOMAC

6 Beds 12 Baths 26,698 SqFt Residential MLS® # MDMC756732

RIVER PLANTATION

3150 South St Nw #ph2a, WASHINGTON

$11,250,000

3150 South St Nw #ph2a, WASHINGTON

4 Beds 6 Baths 6,400 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2114220

GEORGETOWN

6615 Malta Ln, MCLEAN

$9,999,000

↓ $996,000

6615 Malta Ln, MCLEAN

6 Beds 8 Baths 10,453 SqFt Residential MLS® # VAFX2119006

LANGLEY FARMS

1908 24th St Nw, WASHINGTON

$9,888,000

1908 24th St Nw, WASHINGTON

7 Beds 7.5 Baths 10,292 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2112056

KALORAMA

2211 Nw Massachusetts Ave Nw, WASHINGTON

$8,000,000

2211 Nw Massachusetts Ave Nw, WASHINGTON

5 Beds 7.5 Baths 8,685 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2125594

KALORAMA

811 Prince St, ALEXANDRIA

$8,000,000

811 Prince St, ALEXANDRIA

4 Beds 4.5 Baths 8,600 SqFt Residential MLS® # VAAX2028270

OLD TOWN HISTORIC

3313 O St Nw, WASHINGTON

$7,995,000

3313 O St Nw, WASHINGTON

6 Beds 6.5 Baths 6,184 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2130126

GEORGETOWN

7610 Fairfax Rd, BETHESDA

$7,875,000

7610 Fairfax Rd, BETHESDA

7 Beds 8 Baths 7,308 SqFt Residential MLS® # MDMC2121378

EDGEMOOR

1644 Avon Pl Nw, WASHINGTON

$7,450,000

1644 Avon Pl Nw, WASHINGTON

6 Beds 7 Baths 5,254 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2131236

GEORGETOWN

1816 Jefferson Pl Nw, WASHINGTON

$6,850,000

↓ $650,000

1816 Jefferson Pl Nw, WASHINGTON

0 Beds 3.5 Baths 9,091 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2106720

DUPONT CIRCLE

7167 Old Dominion, MCLEAN

$6,500,000

↓ $1,495,000

7167 Old Dominion, MCLEAN

7 Beds 5.5 Baths 5,595 SqFt Residential MLS® # VAFX2036290

NONE AVAILABLE

1633 31st St Nw, WASHINGTON

$6,350,000

↓ $500,000

1633 31st St Nw, WASHINGTON

3 Beds 3.5 Baths 3,867 SqFt Residential MLS® # DCDC2119334

GEORGETOWN

1120 Guilford Ct, MCLEAN

$6,200,000

1120 Guilford Ct, MCLEAN

4 Beds 6 Baths 8,445 SqFt Residential MLS® # VAFX2155682

RUCKERS LANGLEY

1342 Potomac School Rd, MCLEAN

$5,925,000

↓ $25,000

1342 Potomac School Rd, MCLEAN

8 Beds 8.5 Baths 14,799 SqFt Residential MLS® # VAFX2123238

NONE AVAILABLE



From palatial manors to funky Craftsman cottages, and from Art Deco towers to Neo-Gothic row houses, historic homes for sale in DC Metro come in all shapes and sizes. But before getting to the here-and-now, there’s the small matter of a timeline.

The earliest Virginia colonists founded Jamestown in 1607 and gradually spread out. Early land grants spawned the tobacco trade, with the first landowners in what is now Washington DC, arriving around 1662. By 1670 plantations were showing up in Fairfax County. Around the same time, a Scotsman named John Alexander purchased farm and in what would become Alexandria.


And while historic homes for sale in the Washington Metropolitan area don’t date back quite that far, there are still plenty of antique properties. The Melwood Park House in Upper Marlboro, Maryland was built in the Flemish bond brick style in 1710. The Ramsey House in Alexandria dates to 1724 while the Ball-Sellers House in Glencaryln Arlington, was originally built as a one-room log cabin in 1750.

As for Washington, DC, some of the oldest existing homes include a trio of brick Federal mansions in Georgetown—the Prospect House, the Halcyon House and the Forrest-Marbury House, all built between 1787 and 1788. Also worth noting are DC’s oldest known row houses, Wheat Row—four townhomes in the Southwest Waterfront dating to 1794.

While there are a number of brick Federally-inspired structures in Alexandria and DC from the early-to-mid 1800s, residential development kicked into a much higher gear during the post-Civil War era. From grand Colonial manors to an incredible variety of Victorian-inspired row houses, the Washington Metro area became a vast boomtown featuring a golden age of architecture.

In DC alone, a massive wave of row house construction from the 1870s to the early 1900s saw a diversity of style that is still marveled at. Among the many architectural types, are Victorian, Beaux-Arts, Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque, Second Empire and Italianate. Some of the most renowned builders at the time were Henry Wardman (sometimes referred to as “King of the Row Houses”), and James McGill who designed 64 unique row houses in LeDroit Park between 1873 and 1877—no two were alike!

But as prevalent as row houses are, they represent just a portion of the historic homes for sale in the Washington Metropolitan area. Detached single-family structures also come with an amazing variety of sizes, styles, ages and prices. There are giant Georgian estates, stately Colonials, picturesque Victorians, classic Tudors, Dutch Revivals, Arts & Crafts, French Country and so much more.

And of course, don’t forget the trendy Craftsman homes for sale, the most common supplier being the Sears Modern Home Catalog. Between 1908 and 1940, 70,000 to 75,000 kits in 447 different styles were sold, shipped and assembled! And while models ranged from seasonal cottages to deluxe Dutch Colonials, the most recognizable design influences are low-pitched gabled roofs and open porches.

You can find historic homes for sale throughout the Washington Metropolitan area. The largest concentrations can be found in the many officially recognized historic districts, but many others are sprinkled throughout the region. Ready to own a piece of the past? Start your search engine!

To learn more about historic houses, condos and row houses for sale in the Washington DC Metro area, call the experts at District One Partners at Compass, 202-798-3600.

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© 2024 BRIGHT, All Rights Reserved. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. The data relating to real estate for sale on this website appears in part through the BRIGHT Internet Data Exchange program, a voluntary cooperative exchange of property listing data between licensed real estate brokerage firms in which COMPASS participates, and is provided by BRIGHT through a licensing agreement. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than COMPASS. are marked with the IDX logo and detailed information about each listing includes the name of the listing broker.The information provided by this website is for the personal, non-commercial use of consumers and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. Some properties which appear for sale on this website may no longer be available because they are under contract, have Closed or are no longer being offered for sale. Some real estate firms do not participate in IDX and their listings do not appear on this website. Some properties listed with participating firms do not appear on this website at the request of the seller.

Listing information last updated on March 19th, 2024 at 7:15am EDT.