Property Watch: Live in a Storybook; Walk to the Bars
Image: Courtesy of Angie Miller
Longtime Property Watch readers (or longtime observers of local architecture) are familiar with Frederick Anhalt, the prolific yet whimsical builder of the 1920s—we can't get enough of his tiny castle homes.
Anhalt, while never officially an architect, helped define the visual identity of Capitol Hill with historic Revival-style apartments. His designs bring to mind medieval European villages; their layouts feel more like houses than today’s typical multifamily developments do. This condo in the Twin Gables building at 16th and Republican, built in 1929, is more like a rowhouse, with two stories and a charming tree-lined entry from an equally charming courtyard.
A second-floor balcony creates a little overhang above the front door, carving out a small sheltered patio. The door and the windows have an airy vintage look, tall with rectangular grills, a treatment that applies to every window in the home.
Image: Courtesy of Angie Miller
Two wide gothic arches anchor the living room. One is an open doorway to the kitchen. The other is a bent wood frame for the green tile fireplace, recessed below the mantle. It expands into a larger corner built-in with bookshelves and lower cabinets.
Image: Courtesy of Angie Miller
One half of the kitchen is actually a dining area, with a large banquette and hutch built along a three-window bank. The other half is the kitchen itself; it has floor-to-ceiling subway tile, which is fine, but it also has a back door for easy trash disposal.
Image: Courtesy of Angie Miller
A curved staircase along one side of the living room leads to the second floor, with the bedroom and two bathrooms. One has a tub; the other is en suite with a generous walk-in shower. Both occupy dramatic sloped nooks that show off the roof shape. The bedroom has french doors to a quaint front balcony under a dormer.
Image: Courtesy of Angie Miller
The building is less than a block from the main drag of 15th Avenue East, but the hedges and trees around the courtyard shelter it from the street, especially since the balcony faces inward and the back door is off to the side, not on the alley. Abundant white subway tile aside, it’s like your own tiny personal ren faire.
Image: Courtesy of Angie Miller
Listing Fast Facts
1516 E Republican Street Unit 12
Size: 881 square feet, 1 bedroom/2 bath
List Date: 9/15/2023
List Price: $775,000 ($685/mo HOA)
Listing Agent: Margie Zech and Jimmy Chuang, Windermere
