Ellen O’Bannon needed to move out of Georgetown in the early 1990s. She was driving her children to and from school, one in Maryland and the other in Virginia, and the afternoon traffic was unbearable.D.C.'s Wesley Heights neighborhood was a good in-between point, and she bought the house at 3024 44th St. NW in 1993. Purchased primarily for convenience, it’s been her home for more than 30 years. Now it’s on the market for almost $6 million.
“Originally, the house was really like living on a railroad train,” she said. “You’d start at one end, walk through the dining room, get the front hall to the living room, to the office. I wanted to create a flow so there’s not just one way in and one way out.” The house, now almost 100 years old, has about 5,900 square feet of interior space across four levels. The entrance on the front porch opens to a foyer flanked by living and dining rooms. On the opposite side of the living room is a hall with a wet bar and a study with built-in shelves. The family room, next to the dining room, has a gas fireplace and more shelves. Beyond the family and dining rooms is the kitchen, which comes with a breakfast room and a butler’s pantry.