This Week's Find: The Deer House on Capitol Hill

• June 16th 2020

by Nena Perry-Brown

This Week’s Find is Capitol Hill's Deer House, perhaps the first residential property in the neighborhood to sell for seven figures when purchased by its current owner in 2000. The home went on the market last week.

The seven-bedroom house was constructed in 1903 by stonemason Antonio Malnati as his personal home. In addition to the detailed brickwork on the façade, there are seven painted shells affixed between the roofline and the windows. 

While it is unclear whether the deer statue in the front yard has been there since the house was first built, the residence has become known colloquially as the Deer House. Between a water feature in the front yard and a hand-painted mural along the courtyard, the current owner has added more visual markers to the property's exterior.

Over the past two decades, the house has become known around the neighborhood and in the press for its annual themed Halloween parties and has also hosted fundraisers, community events, receptions, and weddings.

The interior has been restored and renovated over the years, including the addition of skylights on the second- and third-floor landings and reconstruction of a wrap-around porch that was original to the house. Other original features include the restored plaster crown moldings throughout the main level, the chestnut woodwork and built-in corner cabinets in the dining room, and an embossed safe tucked inside the cedar-lined coat closet.

The kitchen is the most updated part of the house and continues the deer theme with antlers attached to the cooktop integrated in the breakfast bar island and deer head handles on some of the cabinets.

The house also has a recently-updated two-bedroom apartment and a walk-in wine cellar on the lower level, a two-car driveway, and a heated two-car detached garage.

For more information on the home's history, take a look at this 2012 article from DC's House History Man.

• Full Listing: 712 East Capitol Street NE (map)
• Price: $4.75 million
• Bedrooms: Seven
• Bathrooms: 4.5
• Square Feet: 5,286
• Year Built: 1903
• Listing Agents: Gary Jankowski, Michael Schaeffer, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/this-weeks-find-the-deer-house-on-capitol-hill/16962.