1872-1874 California Street NW

$1,649,000 | Airy Open Spaces Throughout | Just Closed

6 Bedrooms

3 (full) | 1 (half) Bathrooms

3,784 Square Feet

This airy 4.5 level townhouse is poised to offer you 

a legal rental unit

4 additional levels of living space, monument views, and fabulous walkability to all the shops, restaurants, gyms, and even 2 metro stations.

What Makes This One Special


With four and a half glorious levels of living space and a prime location, this stunning Beaux-Arts townhome offers the quintessential Washingtonian lifestyle experience. Built in 1910, the handsome row house with its large front bays has numerous improvements throughout, with a legal lower level rental unit, a wonderful upper loft, and a walk-out roof deck boasting panoramic views of the city.

Enter through a lovely arched entry and behold a picture perfect combination of old and new. Exposed brick walls, thick crown molding and beautifully restored hardwood floors tell elegant tales of a bygone era, while fresh custom paint and thoughtfully curated updates bring this classic home into the modern age. High ceilings, an airy ambience, sleek wooden floating stairs and a two-sided working fireplace hit all the right grace notes. A stylish powder room adds convenience at the main level.

The culinarian in you will be delighted to see how a formal dining room and kitchen have been opened up into one infinitely welcoming cooking and eating space. Stainless steel appliances, granite counters and island, stylish pendant lights, northern euro-style cabinetry and a wraparound mosaic backsplash add to the food prep enterprise. Enjoy your meal by an exquisite wall of windows, or open the sliders and dine al dente on the deck.

Upstairs, a light-filled owner’s suite features a window bay sitting area, walk-in closet, a vanity alcove with sink, mirror and towel shelves, and a dual-entry bath with quartz-topped sink and a mosaic shower/tub combo. There is also a second bedroom with sunny exposures on two sides. The third level presents two more spacious bedrooms and a full bath. At the very top is a memorable loft with a vaulted ceiling, brick walls, burnished hardwood floors and a walk-out roof deck with magnificent panoramic city views, incuding the Capitol dome and the Washington monument.

The final leg takes us down to a fully inspected and licensed above-ground lower level apartment with windows, private entry and a proven track record for rentals. There’s a large family room with hardwood floors, a breakfast bar, a nicely appointed kitchen, a bedroom and a full bath. Other recent improvements include new pointing throughout, all new recessed lighting, new roof, HVAC, brand new water heater and micro. It all adds up to a stunning home in a highly desirable location.

Ideally positioned on California Street with its leafy canopy of trees, this elegant townhome enjoys the best of two neighborhoods—eclectic Dupont Circle and affluent Kalorama. The gently hilly locale is a Walker’s Paradise, less than one scant block from Washington’s 18th Street restaurant row!

Take a stroll in any direction and you’ll be endlessly fascinated by historic architecture, delightful urban green spaces, and a sense of seamless inclusivity. Dupont Circle with its marble fountain, Mitchell Park and warm summer night movies, and Kalorama Park with its community garden, all contribute to a feeling of dyed-in-the-wool Washington spirit.

Dupont Circle, the Quintessential Washington Experience


Start the morning with a dose of caffeine from Counter Culture or Jolt ‘N Bolt Coffee and Tea House, take the pup to the S Street Park for off-leash play, and end the day with an unworldly number of bars and restaurants to prowl. You might choose just to wander the aforementioned 18th Street corridor with choices as varied as Jack Rose, Souvlaki, Lucky Buns, 18th & U, Blaguard, Lauriol Plaza, Bar Charley or Keren Café & Restaurant. But at that point, you would have only dipped your toes in the culinary waters.

You’ve got two Metros to choose from, Dupont and Woodley Park-Zoo. There’s farmers’ markets, indie clothing boutiques, embassies, art galleries, yoga studios and the list goes on. To say it’s a great place to live is only saying a little.