Oscar Kuldell and his two brothers, who together ran a construction company, built this house and others near Observatory Circle for their families. For several decades, this one was a multifamily house, with four units (two on the main level, two on the second level), each with a parlor, a dining area, a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom.
The four-level house is mostly symmetrical. The front door opens to a foyer with stairs. On one side is a family room, on the other a living room, each flanked by a sunroom. Also on this level are the library, with floor-to-ceiling shelving, and the formal dining room, with access to a deck. At the rear of the house is the kitchen, which has an island with a sink and connects to a casual dining or family room. The deck can also be accessed from the kitchen. Near the back of the house, a spiral staircase connects the main level and the second floor.
It became a single-family house in the 1990s, after it was bought by Lynn Fischer, who has been an anchor for WTTG-TV (Channel 5) and the host of a Discovery Channel cooking show.
Fischer made major changes — which included soundproofing the kitchen, where she filmed part of her show. She built a primary bedroom suite with an en suite bathroom, removed walls on the main level to widen the kitchen, and added central air conditioning and heating.
By the time the current owners moved to the house, in 1998, the transformation from four units to one was complete. They added storm windows and a two-car garage with a roof deck, converted an old kitchen into a bathroom and added shelving in the library. Despite the many changes, the house still has original details, including the chandeliers in the library and the foyer.
On the second floor, the primary bedroom suite has a fireplace, two walk-in closets, a gym and a bathroom with a shower, a tub, two toilet closets and a laundry room. This level also has three more bedrooms, two with en suite bathrooms, and there is an office.
The third floor has two bedrooms with vaulted ceilings. They share a hall bathroom with a skylight. This floor also has storage space.
On the lower level, the two-car garage can be reached from a bedroom and a living room. This level, which could be used as an in-law or au pair suite, also has another bedroom, a large storage space, a laundry area, a dining room, a bathroom and a kitchen.
The house is surrounded by greenery, with lawn on either side and a narrow strip of grass in the front and the back.
- Bedrooms/bathrooms: 8/6
- Approximate square-footage: 7,400
- Lot size: 8,000 square feet
- Features: This house in D.C.’s Observatory Circle neighborhood was built from a kit in 1923. It has a deck and a lower-level suite with two bedrooms. The garage has space for two cars.
- Listing agent: Jonathan Taylor and Maxwell Rabin, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
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