The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, along with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, announced Friday that the former Textile Museum property at historic 2320-2330 S St., NW, was sold to a private owner.
The property in the Kalorama neighborhood was sold for $19 million. The proceeds from the sale will be directed toward The Textile Museum endowment at GW, which provides ongoing support for The Textile Museum’s operations and programs.
Sylvia Bergstrom, Marin Hagen and Joseph Zorc of Coldwell Banker represented the seller. Anita Galang-Mason of Weichert Realtors represented the buyer.
The Textile Museum’s founder George Hewitt Myers commissioned Neoclassical master John Russell Pope to build a house at 2320 S St., NW, in 1912. Mr. Pope also designed the Jefferson Memorial, the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, the Scottish Rite Temple and the National Archives and Records Administration building. Completed in 1915, the stately, Adam-style estate originally served as the Myers family’s home.
In 1925, Mr. Myers purchased the adjacent residence at 2330 S St., NW. Prominent architect Waddy Butler Wood designed it. An established architect of private residences, Mr. Wood also designed the Woodrow Wilson House, the U.S. Department of the Interior Building on C Street, NW, and the Masonic Temple that would eventually become the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Mr. Myers’s growing collection of textiles was moved into the manor at 2330 S St., NW, in 1925. After his death in 1957, the original family house gradually became staff offices and museum storage. Together, the mansions served as The Textile Museum’s home through the end of 2013, when the museum closed to prepare its move to a new location on GW’s Foggy Bottom Campus. In March 2015, the museum re-opened as the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum.
“Long before his death, George Hewitt Myers was acutely aware that the museum’s collection had outgrown the space provided and was thinking of moving from S Street as a way to enhance the financial resources of the museum,” said Bruce P. Baganz, president of The Textile Museum Board of Trustees. “Mr. Myers would be delighted that his vision continues and The Textile Museum’s sustainability is ensured for generations to come.”
Both houses are part of the National Register of Historic Places and zoned R-1-B/D for residential or cultural use.