A Rich History: American Guest House Celebrates 13 Year Anniversary

WASHINGTON - Nov. 22, 2017 - PRLog -- This December, American Guest House will celebrate its 13^th Anniversary of establishment as a Washington D.C. bed and breakfast, but the building itself has been around a lot longer than 13 years. The house on 2005 Columbia Road NW was designed by famous architect Henry Ives Cobb. Cobb was in Washington on request of American University after notably designing a plethora of University of Chicago buildings. He teamed up with Arthur Cowsill, a local builder who once tried to sue the government for not accepting his bid to help build the Lincoln Memorial.

         In 1898, the house was completed, with the Evening Star releasing a news article about it, noting it as "somewhat different" for its Venetian Gothic structure, something more often seen on museums and government buildings rather than houses. The house was built with light-colored dressed stone and bay windows with cathedral-style mullions.

In the early 1900s, the house became the residence of Emmanuel de Peretti de La Rocca, the French Ambassador, and his wife. The pair often hosted afternoon tea and dinner parties with some of the world's most highly respected politicians. They were often in the papers, which detailed where they were with whom and what they wore. In a few instances, Evening Star and Washington Times reported Mme. Peretti de La Rocca, who was born and raised in Mexico, performing Spanish dances for President Woodrow Wilson and his guests at parties. Nevertheless, the couple loved to travel, and the French government realized they needed to consolidate their government offices and residences in Washington, and 2005 Columbia Rd was soon up for sale once again.

Public records and information on the next line of owners are very scarce, and practically everything we know about them are from what they left behind when American Guest House owners Lucia and Claudio Rosan bought the property. Nevertheless, from what they can piece together, the next line of owners was perhaps the most interesting of all. While the house next door at 2003 Columbia used its ample space and unique design to open Lucia Gale Barber School of Rhythm Dance, 2005 Columbia was turned into a boarding house.

The property, called Columbia Road Guest House, was owned by the Bird family. Walter Bird was a military man who married a German woman named Charlotte Veronika Rubsamen. They had a son, Richard, who would run the guest house with his mother when Walter died tragically in World War II. However, Richard was a patriot at heart, and at the age of 21 in 1958, he joined the Army in order to pay homage to his father. (Lucia, current owner of American Guest House, found Richard's old uniform hanging from the wall of the property.)

However, after his time with the Army, Richard inherited the Columbia Road Guest House from his mother when she passed. Richard ran the guest house with the help of a Russian maid and a war veteran innkeeper. Lucia found journals, Irina, the Russian maid had kept. Despite being 30 years younger than the unmarried Mr. Bird, Irina fell in love with him, or perhaps, some would say, with his magnificent fortune. Nevertheless, Mr. Bird entered in a relationship with her, and eventually moved her to her own house in Arlington, though he did not move with her.

On August 8, 2002, Mr. Bird dropped dead from a heart attack and internal bleeding. Irina rushed to George Washington Hospital, but the doctors decided they could not legally turn his body, or his fortune, over to her. The body of Mr. Bird remained in the hospital's mortuary cold storage for two months before he was finally buried with his mother and father in Arlington Cemetery.

In March 2003, Lucia and Claudio Rosan bought Columbia Road Guest House and everything that had been in it when Mr. Bird had died. They found stained photos of his childhood, clothes, tax documents, social security information, paintings, and books of pro-Hitler propaganda. A few years ago, a DC detective contacted American Guest House owners for more information on the bloodline of the Birds. The government has searched D.C. and Germany for an heir, and yet Richard Bird's trust remains unclaimed.

American Guest House has been in operation as a bed and breakfast for business travelers and those looking for a personal hospitality experience since December 2004. When making a reservation, please mention this coupon code PR2018LR and receive 10% off our regular rates.  You must make your reservation via our website at www.americanguesthouse.com.  Not valid with any other discounts or gift cards/certificates.