Lawyerly Lairs, Real Estate

Lawyerly Lairs: From Horse Stable To Organ Factory To $2.3 Million Home (Replete With Trapdoor!)

This renowned trial lawyer's home has no shortage of character.

By  
on
110 Tenth Street SE

110 Tenth Street SE

New construction is great and all (I’m loving my central air conditioning right now), but sometimes it can be a bit boring. The fancy new condo developments popping up all over the place here in New York City just don’t have the same history and character as, say, prewar buildings.

Here in Manhattan, “prewar” generally refers to buildings erected before World War II. Today’s Lawyerly Lair, down in D.C., is also “prewar” — if you count World War I and the Spanish-American War as well. From the Washington Post:

Built as a horse stable in 1878, this unusual Capitol Hill house also spent time as an organ factory before becoming a private residence. Through all its transformations, its winsome details have been maintained.

Samuel S. Waters bought the stable in 1897 and converted it to an organ factory. He built organs there until his death in 1963; many of them were sold to local churches and theaters.

The next owner, William E. Richards, turned the organ factory into a private residence. It passed through various owners before becoming a Lawyerly Lair:

[C]urrent owner David W. Sanford bought it in 2007. Sanford, chairman and co-founder of Sanford Heisler, a national law firm, restored the building, preserving its period charm. He also updated the kitchen and bathrooms and added a powder room.

“It is country-quiet, offering a sense of solitude unmatched by other urban homes,” Sanford said. “It is reminiscent of the French Quarter, peaceful like Middleburg and vibrant with the energy of Eastern Market.”

David Sanford

David Sanford

Sponsored

An eloquent description of a truly unique and magnificent home. But one would expect nothing less than eloquence from David Sanford, a leading trial lawyer who, as noted in his firm bio, “has recovered more than one billion dollars for individual clients and the United States government since 2004.”

And Sanford is not just a leading litigator; he’s also built a successful law firm:

Sanford Heisler, LLP is a nationwide employment law firm with offices in New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, and San Diego. We represent individuals against powerful interests. We act as a private attorney general in support of the private and public good.

Our attorneys have been educated at the nation’s top law schools, clerked for judges throughout the United States, and amassed extensive experience litigating cases that have earned over $1 billion.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers tend to be known more for pugnaciousness than pedigree, but the lawyers of Sanford Heisler possess credentials as well as courtroom skills. The firm is #8 in the Above the Law ranking of top litigation firms by law school pedigree.

As you’d expect from the residence of a successful trial lawyer, David Sanford’s home is asking a pretty penny:

Sponsored

The two-bedroom, three-bathroom, 1,800-square-foot home is listed at $2.3  million. An open house [was] scheduled for Sunday [the 14th] from 2 to 4 p.m.

If I still lived in D.C., I would have wanted to attend that open house. Going to open houses, even though I’m not in the market for a home, is a hobby of mine.

Alas, being based in Manhattan, I’ll have to settle for a “virtual tour” of this unique and splendid residence. Won’t you join me?

1 2 3 4 5Next »

Topics

, , , , , , , , , ,