The Washington Post - 14.03.2020

THE WASHINGTON POST

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SATURDAy, MARCH 14, 2020

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house, which was on the George-

town House To ur in 2005, is

listed at just under $2.3 million.

[email protected]

the beginning of the 20 th centu-

ry.

The three-bedroom, three-

bathroom, 2,490-square-foot

cles, and a redwood tree in the

backyard. It is said to be one of a

handful of dawn redwoods that

were planted in Georgetown at

years, the residents included

John Baker, a tanner; Timothy

Carroll, a grocer; Samuel Warner,

a shoemaker; and William Hall, a

laborer.

Harrington’s heirs and rela-

tives held on to the property for

the next 100 years. John A. Har-

rington was the last of the family

to own the house.

The Mahorney-Harrington

House, as it is sometimes called,

has been remodeled several

times. Additions were made in

the 1920s and 1980s. According

to a 1969 HABS report by archi-

tect Walter G. Peter Jr., little of

the original interior detail re-

mains. Nevertheless, the house’s

owners have maintained its 19th-

century look and not taken it too

far into the 21st century.

“Even though it has gone

through a number of renova-

tions, they really paid a lot of

attention to keeping the period

architectural detail intact,” Gal-

ler said.

Exposed beams in the living

room are believed to have been

salvaged from ships. Galler had

muralist Bryan King paint trom-

pe l’oeil wood paneling in the

dining room.

The property has a brick drive-

way, with parking for two vehi-

BY KATHY ORTON

To day, Georgetown is an afflu-

ent enclave in Northwest Wash-

ington. But the oldest neighbor-

hood in the District wasn’t al-

ways wealthy. It once was a

thriving community of immi-

grant and black laborers who

lived in simple frame houses

such as this one in the “Holy Hill”

section.

The circa 1821 house — de-

scribed as a “laborer’s cottage” in

a Historic American Buildings

Survey (HABS) report — was

built by George Mahorney, an

Irish entrepreneur, in the west

part of Georgetown known as

Holy Hill. The predominantly

Irish neighborhood was the cen-

ter of Catholic spiritual life be-

cause of the proximity of George-

town University, the Convent of

the Visitation and Holy Trinity

Church.

Mahorney was one of the

many Irish immigrants who

came to live in Georgetown. T hey

helped build the C&O Canal and

worked as navvies, or laborers, in

its port.

“It’s sort of a hidden history of

Georgetown a lot of people don’t

really know about,” said Michelle

Galler, a real estate agent and

antiques dealer who bought the

house in 2007. “They think every-

thing are these big, grand houses,

and they’re really not. This part

of Georgetown is a really old part

of the city.”

Although he listed his profes-

sion as bricklayer, Mahorney also

dealt in real estate, building sev-

eral houses in Georgetown, and

he operated a handful of other

businesses, including a tavern, a

storehouse and a grocery store.

By 1832, Mahorney had run into

financial difficulties and lost

some of his houses to foreclosure,

including this one.

The house changed owners

twice before William W. Corc-

oran, a founder of Riggs National

Bank and the Corcoran Gallery of

Art, bought it as an investment

property. Corcoran owned the

house from 1853 t o 1866, when h e

sold it to Dennis Harrington, a

laborer. Harrington and his wife,

Mary, lived in part of the house

and rented the rest of it to fellow

laborers a nd tradesmen. Over t he

House of the Week

This ‘cottage’ has

much to tell about

Georgetown’s past

PHotos by HomeVIsIt

The house at 1423 36th St. NW has been remodeled several times since it was built by an

entrepreneurial Irish immigrant in the “Holy Hill” section of Georgetown about two centuries ago.

1423 36tH st. nW,

WasHington

$2.3 million

Features: t he mahorney-

Harrington House was built circa

1821 by Irish immigrant George

mahorney. Dennis Harrington, a

laborer, bought the house in 1866

from William W. Corcoran, co-

founder of Riggs National bank and

the Corcoran Gallery of Art. the

house remained in the Harrington

family for the next 100 years. the

house has exposed beams, high

ceilings, a fireplace and a roof

deck. the property has a brick

driveway and a redwood tree.

Bedrooms/bathrooms: 3/3

approximate square-footage:

2,490

Lot size: 0.08 acre

Listing agent: michelle Galler

 For more photos of this house

and other houses for sale in the area,

go to washingtonpost.com/realestate.

Exposed beams in the living room are said to have been salvaged from ships in t he port of Georgetown.