PoPville » Shugrue Farmhouse Likely to be Torn Down in Palisades

Shugrue Farmhouse Likely to be Torn Down in Palisades

Thanks to Susie from Palisades-DC for sharing:

There is a “new house” sign from Pollin Construction on the old Shugrue property. It is likely that the house will soon be razed to make way for another mansion. Located on Foxhall Road just south of the Field School, it is one of the oldest farmhouses in Palisades.

The Shugrue and Malone families operated a dairy farm for about 150 years in the 19th and 20th centuries, using for pasture the land currently occupied by the Mt. Vernon/GW campus. (They donated the land to Our Lady of Victory Church on MacArthur Blvd.) As I understand it, they grazed their herds from as far east as Georgetown along Que Street to as far west of the Wells Fargo location at Arizona and Macarthur Blvd.

This house was the Shugrue family home, and until August 2012 was occupied by Sylvia K. Shugrue an award winning science teacher…and in whose name a grant was established for teachers who create an interdisciplinary lesson plan through the National Science Teachers Association.

Sylvia was known to say upon departing, “See you in the Funnies.”

Category: History, Palisades

By: Prince Of Petworth | 04 January 2013 2:30 PM | 16 Comments

Anonymous Coward

Can we get it on the historical register? That house has valid history behind it.

January 4, 2013 at 2:48 pm
ah

How about paying Pollin not to tear it down?

Ms. Shugrue, who I assume descends from the original owners, didn’t see fit to protect it, selling for maximum dollar. Why should the buyer bear the cost of others’ desire for preservation?

January 4, 2013 at 3:09 pm
- textdoc
  
  I was assuming that she had died and that her heirs had sold the house.
  
  A quick Google confirmed this, as I found her obituary.
  
  http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Sylvia-Shugrue&lc=2216&pid=159159096&mid=5202215
  
  January 4, 2013 at 3:41 pm
- emmaleigh504
  
  Just because someone sells a house doesn’t mean they don’t see fit to protect it. Maybe they (the heirs) needed the money and didn’t have a choice in selling.
  
  January 4, 2013 at 4:17 pm
- crin
  
  Because this a society where the culture and history is owned by us all, not some Ayn Rand primordial death-match.
  
  January 5, 2013 at 9:22 am
anon

only constant in life is change…

January 4, 2013 at 3:31 pm
- Anonymous
  
  should nothing be perserved?
  
  January 4, 2013 at 5:12 pm
Anonymous

That’s a shame…

January 4, 2013 at 4:10 pm
Brian Kraft

The buyer, a developer, must be fully aware of the consequences in purchasing any property, and must exercise due diligence. At this point, the seller’s views on preservation are no more relevant than yours or mine.

January 4, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Anonymous

Rich folks in the Palisades about to lose farmhouse of dubious historical value to be replaced by another McMansion? How will I go on?!!!

January 4, 2013 at 4:30 pm
- Anonymous
  
  Lame.
  
  January 4, 2013 at 4:35 pm
- zero_sum
  
  Teehee.
  
  That’s a nice lot of land.
  
  January 4, 2013 at 4:42 pm
  - ah
    
    Actually, it’s not that great. It’s surrounded by the Field School, and right near by is a new large Foxhall development where all the trees were cut down. A McMansion will fit in quite nicely.
    
    January 4, 2013 at 9:24 pm
AllTheThings

Bleh. Mansions are ugly. I get that people have the right to do what they want with things they buy. But I can still think: bleh.

January 4, 2013 at 4:59 pm
kyle-w

Looks good to me. Rich people need a place to live too. Rather it be DC than Potomac or McLean. Should be a 3 million dollar house, so DC gets 100k in transfer fees, and probably 50k a year from its new residents in taxes.

Preservation of an old farmhouse on super value land, just for the sake of preservation? Lol. If you want to preserve it, buy it yourself.

January 6, 2013 at 9:51 am
So, Just Sayin'

Historical preservation is a tool that empowers rich and well-to-do folk to keep others from doing things they don’t like. It doesn’t apply when rich and well-to-do folk want to tear down properties of historic interest in order to do things (like putting up McMansions) that they DO like.

January 6, 2013 at 1:39 pm