This Week's Find: DC's Mansion in the Sky

• October 25th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

This Week's Find might be the largest penthouse unit in the District. 

The nearly 9,500 square-foot unit sits atop The Towers condominium complex, built beside Glover Archbold Park in 1960. The complex was originally constructed as apartments, converted when the tenants purchased their individual residences in the late 1970s. Developer Melvin Gelman designed the two-story penthouse as his private residence, hosting events there over the years.

When featured in the book Best Addresses: A Century of Washington’s Distinguished Apartment Houses, the unit was described as DC's largest penthouse. Gelman's widow bequeathed the apartment to George Washington University upon her passing in 2009, and the university then sold it in 2013. The current owners spent the past eight years giving it a makeover.

A private elevator opens into a marble-clad foyer, complete with mirrored walls and a marble spiral staircase. The great room has 16 foot-tall ceilings, a fireplace below stacked mirrors, and access to a huge terrace with parquet floors and a retractable awning.

A library has mahogany walls and a wood-burning fireplace, and the spacious dining room retains its 19th-century black and gold Chinese screen concealing the door to a huge commercial-style kitchen. The current owners replaced the green velvet that covered nearly every surface of the media room and its built-in bar, bringing it into the 21st century with grey carpeted floors and white wall paint.

The owner's bedroom has a wall of mirrors that conceals entry to a generous dressing room with access to a private balcony and one of the en-suite baths. A second en-suite bath and an office with closets are on the opposite side of the room. 

The unit also has two laundry rooms and comes with four reserved parking spaces, and the community amenities include a market, a pool, and a sauna. Additional details are below.

• Full Listing: 4201 Cathedral Avenue NW, #PH1215E (map)
• Price: $5,999,999
• Bedrooms: Six
• Bathrooms: 5.5
• Square Feet: 9,450
• HOA Fees: $8,715/month
• Year Built: 1960
• Listing Agents: Mark Lowham, Carroll Dey, Greg Gaddy, TTR Sotheby's International Realty

Photos courtesy of HomeVisit.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/this-weeks-find-dcs-mansion-in-the-sky/18861.