1963 Flat-Roof ‘Phoenix’ MCM in Mantua

Here’s a listing for another flat-roof Phoenix model located in the Fairfax neighborhood of Mantua. The 6/3 home with clerestory windows sits on more than half an acre. This model was done by Phoenix Builders, not Ken Freeman, who designed many of the modern homes in Mantua.

Care-Free in Hollin Hills

“Our goal is to endow the home with a personality … delightful to be in, pleasant to live in, worthy of pleasure and pride in possession.”
–Charles M. Goodman, A.I.A, Alcoa Care-free Home brochure
When I recently wrote about this Charles Goodman Alcoa Care-free house in Minnesota, a reader rightly noted that there is one of the models in Hollin Hills. After the House and Garden Tour on Saturday, I swung by 7801 Elba Rd. to see how our local Care-free stacked up to the one up north. Unfortunately, from the look of the outside, the house (which is not for sale) cannot match the pristine condition of the one in Minnesota.

City Paper Buyer’s Market Column Highlights Modern Capital Tip

The City Paper’s Buyer’s Market column, which enjoys “celebrating the District’s real-estate bust,” highlighted my tip on a modern home that has had a major price drop. This relatively new home (built in 2005) with an MCM feel in Fairfax fit the bill. The last time I wrote about the flat-roof house with indoor koi pond, it had dropped from $1.25 to $950K. The price has now dropped to $899K. Read Angela Valdez’s item on the home built by master builder Jack Willmore. Check out his modern Millenium House not far from George Mason University in Fairfax.

Hollin Hills Featured in Examiner

Today’s Examiner real estate section has a feature on Hollin Hills. Entitled “Not your father’s Virginia,” the piece does a good job describing the community by Charles Goodman and Robert Davenport. Author Katie Wilmeth curiously does not even mention the term mid-century modern and says the community is “so unique” that the homeowners are working to have the neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). No mention in the story that Goodman’s Rock Creek Woods, Hammond Woods in Silver Spring and five homes in Takoma Park are already listed on the NRHP.

Fairfax Virginia