THE
WASHINGTON
POST
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SATURDAY,MAY
7, 2022
EZ
4
The house “was always the cen-
ter of attention for us,” she said.
“There were a lot of lazy after-
noons where we’d take the kids
over and we’d be in the pool. Ver-
non liked to sit in the hot tub.”
The six-bedroom, eight-bath-
room, 8,417-square-foot house has
an elevator that serves three of the
four levels. The owner’s suite has
two dressing rooms, two bath-
rooms and a sitting room with a
fireplace and a balcony. The at-
tached garage has room for two
cars.couples and then they would sit in
the kitchen and eat,” Bush said.
Bush said the library is where
Vernon Jordan liked to have quiet
conversations with Washington
power brokers, while Ann Jordan
preferred to work in the sitting
room off their bedroom.
“She did take a lot of care with
the decoration” of the house, Bush
said. “She always wanted a style
that was elegant but comfortable.”
Bush, who lives in Washington,
was grateful to have her children’s
grandparents nearby.is a beautiful house, but it is spec-
tacularly beautiful at night during
parties.”
One of Bush’s fond memories is
of her mother making fried oys-
ters and grits for breakfast on
Christmas morning.
The Jordans loved to host not
only large family gatherings but
also elegant parties and intimate
dinners in the house. Vernon Jor-
dan’s annual lunch at the home
before the Alfalfa Club dinner was
a highly sought-after invitation.
Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Jeff
Bezos (who owns The Post) were
among those who attended. Presi-
dent Barack Obama came one
year.
The lunch “started in the dining
room and then it got to be 100
[guests], and so they would cover
the pool and put a tent in the
backyard,” Bush said. “You’d have
cocktails in the house and then
you’d go outside for lunch. The
other thing that was important to
him about that lunch was it was
always bipartisan. There were al-
ways Republicans and Demo-
crats.”
Not all the Jordans’ entertain-
ing was on a large scale.
“Vernon liked to have what he
called Sunday supper in the kitch-
en, where they just had one or twoBY KATHY ORTON
The home of Washington power
couple Vernon and Ann Jordan in
the Woodland Normanstone
neighborhood of Northwest
Washington is for sale for $5.9
million, down from $6.9 million.
Vernon Jordan, who died last
year, was described as “one of the
most influential figures in Wash-
ington” in the obituary that ran in
The Washington Post. A civil
rights leader who became a confi-
dant of presidents, congressional
leaders and prominent business
executives, Vernon Jordan was
one of President Bill Clinton’s clos-
est advisers and a partner in the
law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hau-
er & Feld. He also served on the
boards of more than a dozen com-
panies.
Ann Dibble Jordan, who mar-
ried Vernon in 1986, is a former
professor of social work at the
University of Chicago. She also
served on the boards of several
companies and nonprofit groups,
including Revlon, Johnson &
Johnson, Sasha Bruce Youthwork
and WETA. She is an honorary
trustee of the University of Chica-
go and the Brookings Institution
and former chairman of the Na-
tional Symphony Orchestra and
co-chair of the Kennedy Center
Honors. In 1996, she co-chaired
President Bill Clinton’s second in-
auguration, becoming the first Af-
rican American to chair a presi-
dential inauguration.
The red brick Colonial was built
in 1995 by developer Marshall
Coyne, who owned and operated
the Madison hotel at 15th and M
streets NW. Coyne never lived in
the house. Instead, the Jordans
bought it shortly after it was com-
pleted. According to Toni Bush,
global head of government affairs
at News Corp, her mother and
stepfather were attracted to the
house for a couple reasons.
“I know that my mother was
enamored with the entertaining
space,” Bush said. “It has fabulous
entertaining space. That was one
thing because they entertain a lot.
The second was the convenience.
Vernon’s office was in Dupont Cir-
cle. Mom was very active in the
Kennedy Center.”
Plus, Bush said, the house ac-
commodated their blended fami-
lies for the holidays.
“The holidays were a big to-do,”
Bush said. “My mother decorated
the house to the nines. There
would be a huge Christmas tree in
the front hall.”
The family, including Ann Jor-
dan’s siblings who lived in the
area, would gather for Christmas
Eve dinner in the dining room,
which can accommodate 40 peo-House of the Week
Where the Jordans influenced elites t o have fun
PHOTOS BY HOMEVISIT
ABOVE: A v iew from behind of Vernon and Ann Jordan’s red brick Colonial, built in 1995. Here the popular Washington power couple
entertained members of the political and business e lite. BELOW: The library, which Vernon Jordan favored for quiet conversations.ple. Later that evening, they invit-
ed friends for dessert and carol-
ing, hiring a piano player to ac-
company the singing.
“When the Clintons were [in
Washington], they would come
over for Christmas Eve dinner,”
Bush said. “That was special. ... It$5.9 million
2940 Benton Pl. NW,
W ashington, D.C.
Bedrooms/bathrooms: 6/8
Approximate square-footage:
8,400
Lot size: 0.18 acre
Features: The four-level house has
a two-story foyer, a dining room
that can seat 40 , a wood-paneled
library, five fireplaces and an
elevator that runs to three floors.
The lower level has a rec room, a
wine cellar and a bedroom with an
en suite bathroom. The large
private terrace at the back of the
house is well suited to outdoor
entertaining. There’s also a
swimming pool and a hot tub. The
two-car garage is attached.
Listing agents: Anne Hatfield Weir,
Heidi Hatfield, Andrea Hatfield and
Tammy Gale, Washington Fine
Properties