801 25TH STREET NW

Built in 1880, the Budd family lived in this large house with their adult children and some of their spouses in the 1900s. During the 1920s-1940s, the house was occupied by laborers, messengers, a charwoman, a driver, and an undertaker.

In 1960, accomplished architect Melita Rodeck was hired to renovate the house - she liked her renovations so much that she bought it and moved there from nearby Potomac Plaza. Ms. Rodeck lived here for 43 years, moving out only when she became unable to navigate the flights of stairs. When she purchased the house, it was deteriorating and a risk to visitors. She made several changes to the improve the stability of the structure and create a more functional modern living space. The house still had a total of six rooms on three floors. Ms. Rodeck is same architect who designed the row houses on Queen Anne’s Lane and renovated houses in Foggy Bottom and beyond. In June 1966, her house was viewed by many on the first FB Home and Garden Tour.

She sold the house to novelist Thomas Mallon. His works include "Two Moons" (2001), a historic novel story set at the Naval Observatory in 1877. The observatory at that time was located in Foggy Bottom on the hill across 23rd St. from the State Department. He is the author of the novels Bandbox, Henry and Clara, and Dewey Defeats Truman; In Fact, a collection of essays; and the nonfiction books Stolen Words, A Book of One's Own, and Mrs. Paine's Garage. A frequent contributor to The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, and other magazines. His 2007 novel, "Fellow Travelers" was made into an opera in 16 scenes composed by Gregory Spears to a libretto by Greg Pierce, a co-commission by Cincinnati Opera and G. Sterling Zinsmeyer, the opera was developed by Opera Fusion: New Works, a collaboration between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music which focuses on the creation of new American operas