An historic Georgetown landmark is being sold. “The Bliss Family Carriage House” on thecorner of 28th and Q streets N.W., is under contract following the death lastyear of Dr. Jesse Gallant Rubin. The circa 1900 carriage house was originallypart of the property on which diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wifeMildred built after donating the bulk of their nearby Dumbarton Oaks estateto Harvard University in 1940. The original structure, with its handmademolded brick exterior and slate roof, has been beautifully and carefully renovatedand expanded over the past century. The estate is particularly noteworthy for itsantique iron entry gate, a thirty-foot formal dining room with its original brickfloor, and a double vaulted living room ceiling with a wall-sized wine cooler builtinto an enormous kitchen pantry.

The exquisite home is set well off Q Street down a long brick driveway amida lush wisteria covered courtyard with a holly tree that itself has an historicdesignation as the largest of its species in the Washington-Baltimore area. Dr. Rubin,who was born in Baltimore, moved to D.C. in 1963 and thereafter founded thePsychiatric Institute of America, one of the nation’s largest chains of psychiatrichospitals. He also helped establish the Psychiatric Institute Foundation, aprivate, non-profit firm providing community services such as drug rehabilitationcenters and half way houses. Dr. Rubin was 68 at the time of his death. LoisRobins, a realtor with Long & Foster, listed the historic property at 2750Q Street N.W. for $2,895,000. Anne Hatfield Weir of Sotheby’s InternationalAffiliate, Washington Fine Properties is the selling agent for the prospectivebuyers. The settlement date is set for next month.

The former home of Grammy award winner Mary Chapin Carpenter, thehometown musician who made it big with such hits as “I Feel Lucky” and“Shut-up And Kiss Me,” has been sold. In February of this year Ms. Carpentermoved, in apparent anticipation of her June marriage to Virginia buildingcontractor Timmy Smith. Her home at 1530 29th Street N.W. then became theproperty of Lisa and Scott Hughes, an architect who divides his time betweenclientele in D.C. and Juniper, Florida. Shortly after making their purchase, the couple,who seemingly prefer the Sunshine State to the nation's capital, placed the homeon the market with RE/MAX agent Jean Smith. The new owners of thethree-bedroom Victorian, which is said to be "in lovely condition," are John andKim Cutler, who paid $1.3 million to own a bit of historic Georgetown anda piece of rock and roll history. John Cutler is “the Cutler” of the Beers &Cutler accounting firm. Nancy Taylor Bubes of Coldwell Banker represented the buyers.

John F.Kennedy's first Georgetown home has also been sold. RepublicanAbigail Pearlman, a lobbyist with Philip Morris, now owns the three-bedroom townhouse at 1528 31st Street N.W. where JFK lived when he came toWashington in 1947 as a congressman. The seller was Patricia Sturdevant,the executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. Ms.Sturdevant received an even $1 million for the house that the former president(then a senator) rented. Nancy Taylor Bubes was both the listing and theselling agent for this celebrity home. Some of the other Georgetown homes whereJFK once resided include: 3271 P Street N.W.(where he lived as a newly electedsenator); 3321 Dent Place N.W., where he and Jackie lived after their 1952marriage; and, 3307 N Street N.W., where JFK and his family lived prior to movinginto the White House in 1961.

Jeff Connaughton, a principal at the lobbying firm Quinn Gillespie& Associates, also purchased a three-bedroom home in Georgetown. Thehouse at 1510 33rd Street N.W. went for $779,000. The sellers were RichardCaines, an environmentalist with the World Bank, and his wife, Fiona.Coldwell Banker agent Jamie Peva represented the sellers and Susanna Monroneyrepresented the purchaser.

2107 Wyoming Avenue, N.W.

Jim Bell, long a major player in Washington real estate, is now aresident of Kalorama. He and Mark Scott, a mortgage banker with Wachovia, paid$1,950,000 for the old Field School at 2107 Wyoming Avenue N.W. whichincludes a 7000 square-foot, six-bedroom townhouse set in a large gardenwith a two-story carriage house. The broker and the banker will be stayingin the carriage house for the next nine months until renovation of the property’smain house is complete. Jim Bell, who is with Coldwell Banker/Pardoe, servedas the selling agent. Guy D’Amacourt, vice-president of Barnes, Morris, Pardoe& Foster Real Estate, listed the property for The Field School which this yearcelebrates its thirtieth anniversary as a middle school and high school. The FieldSchool is now located at 2301 Foxhall Road N.W. where two new buildingshave been erected. The former residence of the late philanthropists Morris andGwendolyn Cafritz houses a media center and student lounge.

Interior decorator Ashley Trippelhorn has sold her three-bedroom SpringValley home at 3810 49th Street N.W. to Timothy and Terry Cribb.Terry Cribb works for AOL and Tim is a commercial broker for Costco. The saleprice for the 1940 brick colonial was $663,000, $114,000 more thanTrippelhorn paid just over two years ago. The home features French doorsleading to a stone patio and garden. Susanna Monroney of Coldwell Banker representedthe seller and both Susanna and Coldwell Banker’s Salley Widmeyer brought thebuyers to the table.

The fabulous stone house at 4519 Cathedral Avenue N.W. in Wesley Heights has finallyreached completion after almost two years of meticulous construction andcustom design by one of Washington’s premier builders. It sold for $4.75million, not too bad when you consider that in California’s San Fernando Valleythe estate belonging to Cybill Shepherd recently sold for only $3,499,500 yethas five bedrooms, a guest house, a wine cellar, a pool, tennis courts anda mountain top spa with a view. The lucky buyer of the gorgeous new fivebedroom D.C. home built by National Development Corporation is JamesShinn. Shinn was the senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations whoin the aftermath of the Enron scandal argued that the U.S. must putcorporate governance on its foreign policy agenda. A renowned expert on Asianaffairs, Mr. Shinn is now expected to be an effective special ambassador tothe United Nations. Although he and his wife Masako will be the home’sfirst residents, the property was owned briefly by the Heather-Mitchell Trust.Jean Smith of RE/MAX listed the home for the seller. Carol Netchvolodoff ofArnold, Bradley, Sargent, & Chew represented the Shinns.

And, the 1820 Georgetown mansion owned by the late grande dame PollyFritchey and her late husband, award-winning journalist Clayton Fritcheywas purchased by Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and his wife Elizabeth. Theasking price for the home was reportedly $3.8 million. The Edwardses aresaid to be trying to sell their home off Embassy Row.

Maryland

Pardoe realtor Ellen Wilner was the selling agent who helped Denise and BradAlexander move into what is the first house ever to have been built on BradleyBoulevard. Constructed in 1938, the charming four-bedroom home sits on a1.72 acre lot and is currently being renovated and refurbished by architecturaldesigner Jim Wilner. The Alexanders, who also live in Palm Beach, sold theirprevious residence on five acres at 10121 Norton Road in Potomac to a neighborin a private sale which worked out well for both parties since Denise prefersBethesda, and the neighbors wanted to double the size of their estate.

6513 Tilden Lane

Pardoe’s Ellen Wilner also recently served as the listing agent for a beautifulproperty in the Lux Manor subdivision of Rockville. The buyer of the fivethousand square foot, six-bedroom property that boasts a swimming pool andwaterfall is a law partner with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP. The sellerwas Zvi Levgoren, the founder of Exent Technologies, which provides web-based software applications on demand. Levgoren received $775,000 for the saleof his home at 6513 Tilden Lane and has returned to Israel.

Virginia

A five-bedroom home at 3703 Lorcom Lane in Arlington has sold for$950,000. Highlights include a superb two-story marble entrance foyer with acircular staircase and a spacious solarium running the full length of the rearof the house. The sellers were David Osterhout, president of the WashingtonDivision of Lockheed Martin, and his wife Priscilla. Weichert realtor SueHuckaby was the listing agent. The new owners are Katherine and AndrewViola who took possession of the property in the Lorcom Grove subdivision onSeptember 26.

By press time, Weichert realtor Penny Yerks will have gone to closings for atleast three spectacular Fairfax County properties, including 2204 ArynessDrive in Vienna. The six-bedroom home with a pool, deck and lovely landscapedgrounds is under contract to John and Martha Howard for $1,359,500. Thesellers are Donna and Brian Sheehan, the president of Washington DefenseMarketing, Inc.

8020 Greenwich Woods

In Great Falls, Penny Yerks was the listing agent for 8020 Greenwich Woods.This property also has six bedrooms and a pool, as well as carefully landscapedgrounds that were specifically designed to ensure privacy. While the diplomatwho is parting with this secluded retreat is not about to go public now, WashingtonLife can report that the prospective buyers are Mark Gray and his wife, JodieMonger, Ph.D., a customer service expert and president of Customer RelationshipMetrics. In addition to being protected from prying eyes, the prospective buyerscan also enjoy the convenience of having two kitchens, a home theater and a walk-in humidor. Mr. Gray and Ms. Monger are expected to have paid close to $1.8million to move here from 1241 Gilman Court in Herndon.

Also in Great Falls, Penny Yerks was the listing agent for a truly charmingEnglish cottage-style home on five acres at 11011 Forest Oak Lane inRunning Brook Estate. By press time, the four-bedroom home with four fireplaces and beamedceilings will likely belong to Kenneth and Nada Susskind.The sellers are Thomas and Kristen Whitney who are moving to Connecticutnow that Thomas has apparently accepted a job in Manhattan with TheMay Company. The Whitneys are expected to get their asking price of $860,000.

11011 Forest Oak Lane