Marden House, also known as Luis Marden House, is a property located in McLean, Virginia. The house sits right on the Potomac River with views across the border into Maryland.
THE HISTORY OF THE MARDEN HOUSE
In 1944, while fishing on the Potomac River, Luis Marden and his wife, Ethel, spotted a plot of land that they believed would be perfect for a home.
Luis was a photographer, explorer, writer, and filmmaker who worked for National Geographic Magazine. It was Luis who discovered the wreckage of HMS Bounty near the Pitcairn Islands in the mid-fifties. He later counseled Marlon Brando for his role as Fletcher Christian in the movie Mutiny On The Bounty.
After corresponding with renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright for many years, Wright finally came to him with a house design in 1952. However, construction didn’t start on the house until 1956, and the property wasn’t completed until 1959. The total cost of the Marden House was $76,000, the equivalent of $775,000 dollars today.
Luis Marden (right) with his camera and diving equipment.
Ethal wrote in 1959: “Our beautiful house … stands proudly just under the brow of the hill, looking down always on the rushing water which constantly sings to it, day and night, winter and summer”
Luis and Ethel continued to live at Marden House until they reached old age, by which time the property was badly in need of repair. With the house needing major repairs and the desirable location of the property, it became a prime target for property developers to tear it down and build something new.
Thankfully, developers never got the chance after James Kimsey, co-founder of AOL, came to the rescue. Kimsey had recently purchased the land next to Marden house in 1999 and had a huge mansion built on it. In 2000, a year after moving in next door, he purchased Marden house for $2 million as he saw the potential for using it as a guest house.
James Kinney, Co-founder of AOL.
Kimsey said: “I thought of making alterations,” he recalled, “but people told me not to. It wouldn’t be a Frank Lloyd Wright house anymore, they said.”
After deciding to keep the house as close to its original design as possible, Kimsey hired Bailey C. Adams, a contractor known for his expertise in historic houses, to restore Marden House to its former glory.
The process included replacing the gravel roof with a copper one, as well as restoring all the interior woodwork. Robin Rose, a painter and dealer in 20th-century decorative arts, and Daniel Donnelly, a furniture designer and dealer, were then brought in to design the interiors.
The Falls on the left, with Marden House on the right.
THE MARDEN HOUSE TODAY
When James Kimsey passed away in 2016, his estate, known as The Falls, which included Marden house, went on the market for $62.95 million. However, it wasn’t until 2020 that the estate finally sold; while it failed to achieve its original asking price, it did sell for a whopping $45 million, a record in Virginia.
Marden House was built using standard concrete block; it features two bedrooms, two bathrooms3, an office, and a large open living space. Large windows offer lots of natural light inside the property, as well as great views of the Potomac River down below and the surrounding countryside.
The mansion James Kinney built next door (The Falls) can now easily be seen from the Marden House.
Although you can’t see it, one of the trees at Marden House now features a plaque in memory of Luis and Ethel Marden. Luis lived into his 90s, passing away in 2003, while Ethel died in 2012 at the age of 100.
