This spectacular custom-built masterpiece was created by acclaimed Builder Clemens Construction and weighs in at just over 16,000 sq ft. But you already knew that, now that all the guesses are in… its time for the big reveal… all this can be yours for $9,500,000 (that would be about a $37,000 a month mortgage if you’re interested)

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From the right perspective, even the massive mechanical monotony of construction equipment takes on a peaceful look at sunset (I know you like that alliteration).

So Washington… where’s your favorite place to watch a sunset in the DC Area?

[Photo Flickr: Grundelpuck] 

What is this exactly? This is a house with an identity crisis, part European villa, part mountain lodge. Can’t imagine the neighbors were to happy to see this huge 16,000 sq ft. monstrosity go up, but now it’s yours for the bidding. Do the neighborhood a favor and make this the most expensive teardown in the area.

The Big Reveal and bragging rights for the closest guess will be this Friday afternoon.

Another picture (with a zebra rug) and all the specs after the jump

As the hundreds of thousands of us who commute everyday on metro take our daily flight down escalators and elevators, we often loose sight of the fact that our metro is in fact just an underground tunnel. Someone had to have dug the hole which we so swiftly, or not so swiftly, travel day in and day out.

This photo circa 1988, shows light pouring through an opening from above onto underground construction equipment. The green glow provides an interesting counterpoint to the light from above.

With the clean lines of our metro system and seem-less integration into our downtown area, many people can go from condo to office building without ever going outside and though Metro doesn’t go everywhere, the thought that went into construction was truly impressive![Photo Paul A. Souders/CORBIS]

The Lincoln Memorial’s architect Henry Bacon and sculptor Daniel Chester French employed hundreds of men and huge systems of pulleys to construct the building with its distinctive architectural acents modeled on a Greek Doric temple.

When you realize the effort it took to build some of these structures it really makes you appreciate their scale.

Well the results are in for the nice little 8 bedroom, 6.5 bath from NW DC… and the listed price for this old stomping ground of old vice presidents….   $4,495,000 well done with the guesses!

Since the market slow down, the builders have slowed the pace of the build-out in order to save on costs. This slowing down of construction is becoming a prevalent method builders are employing to stretch out when new buildings come to market.

It is understandable that builders with multiple new properties in an area would want to delay bringing properties to market, however this practice leaves those who bought into developments early in the lurch. The other method some area condos are using is converting the unsold units to rentals until the market bounces back. Has anyone noticed other developments in the area who are using the “slowdown” or ”apartment conversion” technique? 

If you’re into that type of thing, a construction photo from Monday right after the jump…

It was one of the most prestigious hotels in Washington during the first part of the 20th century, however it fell on hard times after World War II and was eventually shuttered. In danger of demolition, the hotel was extensively renovated and enlarged by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates from 1979-1986 adding the InterContinental to its name.

With views of the White House, Washington Monument, and Capital it is situated at the cross roads of our Nations Capital. Which is probably why plans for Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations took shape when he held meetings in the hotel’s lobby in 1916. We guess they had to meet in the lobby because even back then they couldn’t afford the high conference meeting room rates. Calvin Coolidge lived at the hotel for a month in 1923 while Warren G. Harding’s widow vacated the White House.

Dulles wasn’t the only famous for DC person to live in the house… after the jump a White House connection and a little more history on Dulles…

Former home of:
John Foster Dulles (Secretary of State under Eisenhower)
Bert Lance (Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Carter)
Harold Ickes (White House Deputy Chief of Staff under Clinton)

John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism around the world. He advocated support of the French in their war against the Viet Minh in Indochina and famously refused to shake the hand of Zhou Enlai at the Geneva Conference in 1954.