Buffy Cafritz’s Bethesda, Md., house is offered at $2.9 million

Buffy and her spouse, actual estate developer William N. Cafritz, a nephew of Washington business leaders and benefactors Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz, “welcomed politicians, diplomats, Supreme Courtroom justices, lecturers and others [into the home]. She valued charm, wit and kindness, and had minimal time for folks who took them selves as well severely or had no sense of humor,” Roberts wrote. Monthly bill Cafritz died in 2014.

The initial inaugural occasion was in 1985, next the reelection of President Ronald Reagan, whom the Cafritzes had entertained in their residence. Although the inaugural events have been held via 2001 at the Jockey Club in the Fairfax Resort on Massachusetts Avenue NW in D.C. and later on at other resorts, the dwelling in the Bradley Hills neighborhood was the internet site of numerous A-listing Washington functions.

In 2018, when Earl “Rusty” Powell stepped down as the director of the National Gallery of Art, one particular of several beneficiaries of Buffy Cafritz’s philanthropy, she feted him at her property. The party’s guest listing involved Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), former Kennedy Centre chairman Jim Johnson, Librarian of Congress emeritus James Billington, Ann Jordan, Barbara Allbritton, Maureen Scalia and Clarice Smith.

A social gathering at the dwelling in 1972 incorporated actor Paul Henreid, who performed Victor Laszlo in “Casablanca” actress Agnes Moorehead, who was Endora on the tv sequence “Bewitched” Ricardo Montalbán, who was Mr. Roarke on the tv collection “Fantasy Island” and Edward Mulhare, who was Professor Higgins in the first Broadway output of “My Honest Girl.” Surveying the throng at the Cafritz house, Montalbán instructed The Publish that it was “like Hollywood events employed to be.”

The Cafritzes bought the 1944 Georgian-model household in 1958 from William R. Teunis, and they are considered to be only the 2nd proprietors. In 35 a long time as a Washington optician, Teunis fitted eyeglasses for President Harry S. Truman and other large-ranking government officers.

In the early 1970s, the Cafritzes introduced in renowned interior designer Albert Hadley of Parish-Hadley to redesign the dwelling. Elizabeth Stamp wrote in Architectural Digest in 2015 that “few companies have experienced a increased impression on the interior style and design globe than Parish-Hadley. The partnership concerning Sister Parish and Albert Hadley motivated American decor for more than a few a long time.”

By shifting the entrance door, Hadley designed an entry corridor. He also included onto the still left facet of the household, devising a new living space that Architectural Digest described as “large adequate to accommodate the Washington elite who flock to the elaborate supper dances and informal evenings which make the identify Cafritz synonymous with entertaining on a grand scale.”

The renovation was highlighted in the March/April 1975 problem of Architectural Digest.

“It is a home without having tricks,” Hadley explained to Architectural Digest. “But it does have a high quality of fantasy about it.”

The property has been added onto considering the fact that Hadley’s renovation. The bay window that Hadley moved to body the patio and birch trees, no longer faces the outdoors. Now it faces the sunroom, which opens to the yard. Aside from the 3 walls of home windows, an monumental skylight floods the home with organic light-weight.

Among the living area and the sunroom is a family space with a fireplace, 1 of four in the residence. A official eating home, the kitchen and a visitor suite are also on the principal level.

The owner’s suite, on the second degree, has two dressing rooms and two bathrooms. This level also has two much more bedrooms and an place of work. An elevator operates among the first and next floors.

The prime and lower concentrations every single have a bed room with an en suite bathroom. The decreased degree also has an physical exercise space and an place of work.

The grounds, which are just more than an acre, are surrounded by mature trees. The stone path from the patio leads to a swimming pool and a gazebo. The circular driveway and motor court docket have parking for 10 cars.

The 6-bedroom, seven-bathroom, 8,100-square-foot property is detailed at just beneath $2.9 million.

5334 Goldsboro Rd., Bethesda, Md.

• Bedrooms/bogs: 6/7
• Approximate square-footage: 8,100
• Whole lot dimension: 1.08 acre
• Functions: The 1944 Georgian-fashion dwelling in the Bradley Hills neighborhood was the longtime home of Washington philanthropists Buffy and Monthly bill Cafritz. It has been the internet site of many A-list Washington functions around the years. Mature trees encompass the grounds, providing privateness. There’s a swimming pool, a gazebo and parking for 10 vehicles.
• Listing agent: Theo Adamstein, TTR Sotheby’s Global Realty