By Kim Davis

South Lee Street is well-known as one of Alexandria’s most charming, historic and sought-after residential streets. Renamed in 1874 to honor former Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee by City Council, the street stretches from Oronoco Street to Jones Point Park.

Homes overlooking Lee Street Park have stunning views of the Potomac River. South Lee Street continues to draw many wandering home enthusiasts as it showcases a rich history of picturesque homes dating to the early 1800s.

According to Ethelyn Cox’s book, “Historic Alexandria Street by Street: A Survey of Existing Early Buildings,” the initial frame house occupying this 500 block South Lee Street lot was constructed before 1803 on a 2,613-square-foot lot, consisting of a one-bedroom, one-bath galley house. In 1942, owner and architect J.D. Mathew applied for a building permit to renovate the frame house and add a brick chimney, porch and kitchen.

Sixty years later, in 2002, Lee Carosi Dunn, the current owner of the home, first heard about its sale from her mother, who was out walking one morning in Old Town. Dunn, intrigued, saw that the home had been on the market for almost nine months and made an appointment soon after hearing about the home to view it. She was taken by the view and the home’s potential, and immediately put in a bid for the home. Her interest spurred other bids, and Dunn did not beat out the competition.

“I remember I was working at The Campagna Center’s Scotch Tasting when I learned my [bid] had not been accepted. I thought I would feel some relief from taking on a property that needed work, but instead, I felt sad that I wouldn’t be moving in,” she said.

Two days later, a real estate agent called to tell her the other bid fell through, and the seller, who had lived in the home for 40 years, was willing to accept hers. The purchase was made in December 2002.

“I was so excited when I received that call,” Dunn said. “At the time, I was working as a telecommunications regulatory attorney and had just finished working at the Federal Communications Commission. When I learned the seller was the former chairman of the Commission during the Eisenhower administration, Fred Ford and his wife, I felt it was a sign.”

When Dunn moved in, the home still had several three-prong telephone jacks from the 1950s.

When Dunn bought the home, it had one bedroom, one bathroom, a galley kitchen and a large backyard. Shortly thereafter, Lee Carosi married Brendan Dunn, and they had a son they named Patrick.

“When Patrick was about 18 months old, our plaster ceiling caved in, splitting his highchair in half. That is when we knew we had to renovate the home,” Dunn said.

With its double lot and large backyard, the Dunns had a lot of space to work with to expand the home. Thus began the arduous process of creating an addition that would work for their growing family.

“A home has to grow with you,” Dunn said. “When working with older, historic homes, you have to respect the bones and history of the house and find ways to modernize it. … We really wanted to keep the character of the house and that clapboard feel, but give us a more livable home. We were fortunate that we had a large backyard to play with and determine how far back to go and what it would look like to do more of a shotgun design or take the use of a double lot and get width in the home.”

To that end, the Dunns worked with architect Dale Overmyer and contractor Harry Braswell to create plans for a two-story, five-bedroom, 4.5- bath renovation.

“Looking at the existing footprint of the house and lot, we had some choices. We could have either done three good-sized bedrooms on the second floor and one bedroom in the basement, or done four bedrooms on the second floor with two being pretty small and one bedroom in the basement,” Dunn said. “After thinking it through, we went with four on the second floor with two of the bedrooms only fitting a twin bed and a nightstand and a closet. We figured that we didn’t want kids sitting in their bedroom all day anyhow when we lived across from a park.”

The original first floor encompasses an east-facing room that fills with morning sunlight. It doubles as a dining space and features a cozy reading nook. Built-in bookcases add additional storage for fine China and other incidentals.

A hallway – which formerly housed the galley kitchen – leads to the family’s updated kitchen with a turquoise Swedish Aga stove and plenty of cabinets to accommodate the family’s storage needs. An old, screened porch is now an enclosed family dining area across from the kitchen, and a spacious new family room filled with eclectic art opens onto a graceful back patio for outdoor entertaining.

The couple also added attractive outdoor storage cabinets in the front entryway to store baby strollers, bicycles and sports equipment. The couple rebuilt the home’s quaint original garden shed on the back patio, which aided in storing fire pits, gardening tools, and more bikes.

“Storage is essential for families with kids, and we knew we couldn’t live with big wheels and baby strollers in our dining room forever,” Dunn said.

All-in-all, the renovation took about 18 months.

In addition to Patrick, now 19, who attends Boston College, the Dunn family includes Audrey, 16, who attends Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, and Mimi, 14, a freshman at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda. Biscuit, their adorable, beloved 10-year-old Wheaten Terrier, loves to lounge on the home’s outdoor patio and greet passersby.

The Dunns just enjoyed their 21st Halloween on South Lee Street and said this year was amazing for its great weather and large crowds.

“I still remember my first Halloween [in 2003] on Lee Street. We gave out about 300 pieces of candy and there were no street closures or police, just a small street party. This year, we gave out more than 3,000 pieces of candy, and the police closed eight blocks for everyone’s safety,” she said.

“We enjoy the community spirit on Lee Street,” Dunn said. “We have wonderful friends and neighbors, views of the river and are within walking distance of Old Town’s many shops and restaurants. What more could a family want? Well, maybe more storage!”

The writer is a member of the Hunting Creek Garden Club and formerly served as both president and vice president of the club.