Rupp says Megan’s motivations are purely personal.
“These people have been complaining for a long time about giving up a house, having to go down the hall to the apartment and not having an outdoor space. The living room. [is] Very little,” Rupp said of his daughter’s attitude. “I’ve got to get them off my back. I’ll get them anywhere they want.”
The apartment wasn’t the problem so much as the road leading to it.
“The part I didn’t like at all was that one had to enter the apartment by going through the main lobby, which was very nice, but then on the elevator and down a long hall. “I felt like a rat in a box.”
The solution was one-of-a-kind apartments at Tilden Gardens, a six-building complex on a five-acre triangular parcel off Connecticut Avenue NS. In his 1988 book “Best Addresses,” James M. Goode described Tilden Gardens as “one of the city’s most innovative large apartment buildings built in the 1920s.” Watergate
This apartment was originally a restaurant in the main building. The Tilden Gardens Cafe opened its doors in 1929. Judith and Milton Vierst reviewed it in the 1970 Washington’s Guide to Finer Restaurants: “If your definition of gourmet cuisine is fancy pot roast or homemade custard pie…with a selection of the finest quality dishes available at this restaurant.”
Despite this review, the restaurant closed its doors soon after and the space was leased to the Daughters of the American Revolution until 2005. Karp sold it to Rupp and his wife in 2013. The apartment met many of their requirements.
“It has an outside entrance, so we didn’t feel like it was an apartment,” Rupp said. “It was a house attached to an apartment, and I felt like there was a desk benefit at the back door, someone who received things, kept an eye on things.”
Rupp and O’Brien did extensive renovations. In the main room, they installed hardwood floors, a gas fireplace and octagonal lighting. They added a library, fourth bedroom and laundry facilities. They redid the kitchen and expanded the bedroom windows.
But in the main room, they left many features of the period, such as beams and arches. “What we haven’t changed is what drew us to it in the first place,” Rupp said.
They also added a private yard. Karp had negotiated the right to build the porch but never got around to it. “The previous owner, the guy who did the conversion, he was very smart,” Rupp said.
Not only did they have their own private outdoor space, but they also had the expansive lawns of Tilden Gardens.
“Another thing we love about the apartment is if you go outside, you have the Tilden Gardens, which is a great place to sit, read a book, meet friends,” Rupp said. “We lost our yard [at the Fessenden Street house]But we got a balcony and acres of green space.
In many ways, Rupp’s 3,600-square-foot home offers the benefits of apartment and condo living. He and his wife can’t travel and worry about someone watching over their house and host large gatherings.
“We had 125 people,” Rupp said. “It didn’t feel crowded.”
Rupp, who lives most of the year in Europe, has little desire to return to Washington after his wife died in October, which is why he decided to sell.
“I’m there one or two days a year,” he said. “It makes no sense for me to hold him.”
A four-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment is listed for just under $2.6 million. Monthly payments are $2,455.
3000 Tilden St. NW, Unit 1-I, Washington, DC
- Bedrooms / Bathrooms: 4/3
- Approximate square-foot: 3,600
- Cooperation fee2,455 dollars per month
- Main features: This co-op apartment in Tilden Gardens was once a restaurant known as the Tilden Garden Cafe. It was converted into an apartment in 2007. Although the apartment is attached to the main building, no one lives above or below the room. The apartment can be accessed through the main entrance or a private entrance. Parking is available for rent.
- Listing Agent: Nancy Itteilag and Chris Itteilag, Washington Fine Properties
