Best Transformation of the Year: LeDroit Park Mansion Comes Back to Life
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

1859 3rd Street NW
Here at UrbanTurf, we love imagining how DC’s crumbling houses can be brought back to life. So when this LeDroit Park Victorian was put up for sale in August, we couldn’t get enough of the history of the transformation.

The exterior before photo. Courtesy of Google Maps
Finally condemned in 2006 after falling into disrepair over a period of decades, the five-bedroom home was renovated from top to bottom by contractor Albarth Molina. In the before pictures, the house looks like it’s suffering from leprosy. Walls are deteriorating, ceilings are eaten away, and the windows are busted or boarded up.
Molina touched every inch of the 2,800 square-foot home, building up the structure, renovating the kitchen and bathroom, and salvaging some original details, including pocket doors, mantles and trim on the main level, as well as the staircase and railing. The HVAC system was replaced, the loft-like great room was opened up on the third floor, and there is now a separately metered one-bedroom unit on the lower level.
In 1889, a physician named Thomas B. Campbell built the original home for just $5,000. It re-entered the market in August at just north of $1 million. Commenters were wowed by the property, but perhaps the price is still a little too high for potential buyers. As of today, it’s still on the market.
More information and before and after photos below.

Entry — Before

Entry — After

Living Room — Before

Living Room — After

Kitchen — Before

Kitchen — After

Bedroom — Before

Bedroom — After

Foyer with restored staircase
- Full Listing: 1873 3rd Street NW (map)
- Price: $1.099 million
- Bedrooms: Five
- Bathrooms: 4.5
- Listing Agent: Fred Bates, DC Real Estate
See other articles related to: best of 2011, ledroit park, this week's find
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/best_transformation_of_the_year_ledroit_park/4808.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever

Cash-out refinancing is a popular financial strategy that allows homeowners to conver... read »

Plans to redevelop a strip mall along the thoroughfare are back in the works after a ... read »

Today, UrbanTurf checks in on the status of the development pipeline over in Congress... read »

The new 230-room citizenM hotel is expected to open at the beginning of 2026.... read »

A new report continues to find that there is an uptick in new listings coming online ... read »
- How Does Cash-Out Refinancing Work?
- 262-Unit Development With 'Main Street' Retail Pitched For Columbia Pike
- St. E's And More: A Look At The Congress Heights Residential Pipeline
- Georgetown Hotel Along Water Street Set To Deliver Next Year
- Three Months In, How Is DOGE Affecting The DC-Area Housing Market?
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro