Location: Washington, DC
Size/Type: One bedroom, around 600 square feet
Length of Residence: One year
My first apartment was at The Chastleton at 16th and R Streets in DC. I was starting my first job after graduate school and wanted to live in the heart of the city where I could take the metro or walk to work. I loved the historic building, its location and the natural light in the apartment. Years later, I happened to be in the building for an AT House Tour when my apartment (since turned into a condo) was open for a showing. I was able to visit my first home and take a few photos of the renovated space.
After stumbling into my first home, I surveyed AT readers asking: Have You Revisited Your Past Homes? Since I had moved out, the apartment building had converted into condos and been nicely renovated. Images 1-7 show the building's exterior and common areas, including the rooftop deck and the view from the roof. Images 8-10 show the renovated and staged apartment that was once my home. I was impressed by the upgraded appliances (washer and dryer, which I didn't have!), open kitchen and dining area (when I lived there it was a galley kitchen) and expanded bathroom.
What I loved about this home: The light, the building and the location. I loved the look of the gothic building and its history, the high ceilings and the big windows. The common areas (shown in the images) were beautiful. For a newcomer to DC, the Dupont Circle location was ideal. I loved being close to the metro and the 16th Street bus.
What changed when I moved on to my next home: I moved to a brand new apartment building that had newer appliances, faster elevators and was even closer to the metro.
Best bit of advice for people moving into their first home: If you're moving to a new city and don't think you'll be there for long, pick a fun and convenient location that's close to the places you want to explore. Having a shorter commute to work is worth paying a little extra in rent, even if it means having a smaller apartment that needs some work.
Images: Rachael Grad
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Oh my... that is gorgeous.
wow..must be nice.
Dupont Circle. Oh, must be pricey. Gorgeous place.
That's always the struggle with old v new buildings. The old buildings look nicer and feel homier, but the newer buildings have better amenities like swimming pool, gym, parking garage, etc. Modern interiors with modern appliances are also hard to come by in older buildings.
"Since I had moved out, the apartment building had converted into condos and been nicely renovated"
It's a beautiful place and you couldn't ask for a better location in DC. But it pains me to think that she must have been throwing away 90% of her entry-level salary on rent.
Very impressive space... Especially for a first apartment!
The Castleton was my first apartment too -- my senior year in college... my big sister came up from Texas to be my roommate. It was $700 a month at the time, which was EXORBITANT. (this was the 80s).
There was a huge housing crunch in thecity at the time, and I needed something c lose to my job -- an early early morning breakfast chef for a law firm (right across the street).
Just before we looked at the C, my sister and I rtoured a cool deco apartment up the street. She used the - ahem - bathroom and then we went to leave and she realized she had flushed the key to the arpartment. down the toilet.
So we obviously couldn't take THAT apartment. Chastleton was next, no keys were lost, and we had a great view of the Washington Monument.
I took piano lessons at the baby grand pictured, and I did my homework in the same ballroom...lovely place. The kitchens are MUCH nicer now.
pamh
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com
THAT'S your FIRST apartment? Wow! Pretty nice for a first one. Which I could see the one you've moved up in.
I'm tired...I meant "wish" not "which". ;)
Full house tour please. Would love to see the historic details. Love the home of what I see of it.
Oh, my god. One of my friends lived at the Chastleton for a year right after moving to DC. Her very first night in the apartment, she slept on an aerobed on the floor in the living room. When she woke up in the morning, she thought she saw something move...put her glasses on and said hello to the ginormous, bloated looking rat sitting on the kitchen floor a few feet away. Went screaming to the property manager who was unsurprised and basically said that they were endemic in the building even though they continually baited with poison, etc., and that he was scared himself to go down in the basement alone. It was eventually determined that Mr. Rat had crawled through some pipes, or something (can't remember exactly) - and had arrived in her apartment through the dishwasher. ICK.
I personally couldn't believe she stayed in the apartment after that, but she did, for a year.
I looked at a couple units at the Chastleton during my condo search a couple years ago. The building is beautiful, has an amazing roof deck and the location is possibly the best in DC. I had to unfortunately pass on making an offer because the weird financing structure required 2 mortgages.
Just a FYI, the building has been converted to a co-op, not a condo. Although for practical purposes it functions more like a condo since it is such a large building.
Oooh, I remember the Chastleton! I considered living there my first year out of college, but ended up choosing another Dupont Circle building because all the Chastelton apartments were (at the time) carpeted, which I couldn't stand. Always thought the building was gorgeous, though! Memories...
Great building!!