Washington, D.C. doesn't have quite the wealth of celebrities of our counterparts in New York and Los Angeles. Lucky them! Still, every once in awhile, big names from CSPAN or ESPN pop up in listing news and allow us to be all starstruck and wowed (or on occasion, confused) by their design choices. So from local philanthropists and business owners to world-renowned newscasters, here's the year in D.C.'s Celebrity Real Estate.
The ESPN Zone: It's been a big year for professional athletes in the area. Now-retired Baltimore Ravens defender Ray Lewis put his exorbitant $1.1 million Baltimore County mansion on the market. Spoiler alert: there was a huge closet for all of his shoes, lots of Ravens paraphernalia and an aquarium in the wall. Sadly, when former Washington Wizard Gilbert Arenas pricechopped his Virginia home earlier this year, there weren't any listing photos of the infamous shark tank. C'mon Gilbert! We got all the details behind the Potomac home that current Wizard John Wall bought for $4.9 million...including the indoor basketball court. Meanwhile, Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III bought a $2.5 million home in Leesburg, VA. At least he got to go home to a nice place after this year's cringeworthy season.
Rock And Roll Halls of Fame: The Arlington childhood home of the poetic The Doors frontman Jim Morrison hit the market this year. It ultimately sold for $650K and who wouldn't want a bedroom with an awesome painted tiger!
Houses of Representatives: It was the fiftieth anniversary of JFK's assassination and a big year for Kennedy Real Estate. Wexford, the vacation home that John and Jackie built went on the market for $11 million and the former McLean home of brother Ted Kennedy sold for $9.5 million. Senator Claire McCaskill is putting her condo on the market and gave potential buyers a sneak peak. Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner listed and quickly sold his Bethesda home at $995K. Finally, former White House advisor and Secretary of State Alexander Haig listed a $5.495 mansion in McLean.
Media Real Estate: 60 Minutes' Lara Logan listed her $2.2 million Cleveland Park home. The listing was ultimately removed in October. BET's CEO Debra Lee sold her rather prestigious home for $4.7 million. The home next to Washington Post living legend Bob Woodward of Watergate fame was put up for both sale (at just below $5 million) and rent (at $16K per month).
Local Business Home Owners: LivingSocial CEO Tim O'Shaughnessy dropped $1.4 million and returned to T Street for his second move in just over a year. That wasn't the craziest real estate move made by a local business owner. Taylor Gourmet owner Casey Patten gave away five years of free hoagies with the $489K sale of his Penn Quarter condo. Bethesda philanthropist Lyn Rales put her Bethesda behemoth with its indoor tennis court on the market for $10 million. Meanwhile, business owners played musical mansions in Georgetown. Deborah Winsor, widow of Bank of Georgetown founder Curt Winsor III sold her $7.8 million mansion to Under Armour founder Kevin Plank. Meanwhile, Winsor moved into the home that disgraced IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn could not seem to get off the market.