The Logan Circle house, once a home to pioneering artist Alma Thomas, now attracts interest as a potential museum due to its rich history. Suzette Roth-Jacobs and her husband enjoy sharing their residence with neighbors and art students. Built in 1875 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it reflects Thomas's legacy in the Washington art scene. After changing ownership several times since Thomas's death in 1978, the house is now on the market for $2.2 million following extensive renovations by Roth-Jacobs and Jacobs.
Some pedestrians passing this Logan Circle Italianate house assume it's a museum. A few have even tried the front entrance. That's why Suzette Roth-Jacobs and her husband, Jeremy Jacobs, have a doormat with the 'Big Lebowski' quote: 'Hey! This is a private residence, man.'
Built in 1875, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the District's African American Heritage Trail. Before Thomas and her family moved here in 1907 to escape racial violence in the South, the house was owned by a descendant of Frederick Douglass.
After Thomas's death in 1978, the house went to her sister, then to a great-nephew, who sold it in 2013 for $900,000. After a major 2014 renovation and a few more owners, the couple bought the house in 2022.
Thomas was Howard University's first fine arts graduate and a significant figure in the Washington Color School movement. Her paintings often featured this house and landscaping, including the crepe myrtle tree in the backyard and a holly tree that once flourished outside the bay window.
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