The sweeping staircase at the front of the house with its elegant balustrade
In 1982, long before he became Taiwan’s number one in America, Representative Wu married Ruyuh Wu. The many celebrants at the wedding included his godfather Dr. Fredrick F. Chien, who, in 1983, would come to Washington, D.C. as the representative of the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (later renamed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office or TECRO). During his tenure, Dr. Chien would buy back Twin Oaks from the Friends of Free China, and along with his wife Julie, supervised the estate’s restoration. When Representative Wu took his post here 24 years later in 2007, he was able to enjoy his godfather’s work firsthand.
First conceived as a summer home for the family of Gardiner Green Hubbard, founder and president of the National Geographic Society, the Twin Oaks estate later served as home to nine representatives from the Republic of China (R.O.C.). Located at 3225 Woodley Rd, N.W., in Cleveland Park, the twenty-six room mansion sits atop a hill on 17.6 acres of land and is the largest privately-owned estate in the District. In 1986, it was placed on the National Register for Historic Sites in recognition of its storied past and architectural significance.
