The Obamas will be Living in Kalorama

The Obamas will be living in Washington, D.C., for at least the first two-plus years of the Trump administration. And while Sasha Obama is no doubt happy to be able to finish high school at the nearby Sidwell Friends School, one can only imagine that the rest of the family would rather avoid regular run-ins with their new neighbors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. But despite the fact that recent presidents have tended to get out of dodge as soon as the opposing party takes over the Oval Office,
Barack H. Obama is far from the first U.S. president to live in Kalorama.

Currently, with its 28 embassies and multiple ambassadors’ residences, Kalorama is considered to be one of the nicest neighborhoods in D.C. In 1807, the poet and diplomat Joel Barlow moved into a home known as Belair in a rural area of Washington. He renamed the estate Kalorama, which is Greek for “fine view.” The surrounding area soon adopted the name of the manor, and by the late 1800s, larger homes had begun to be built throughout the area. Since then, five of President Obama’s predecessors have called Kalorama home.

 Below, all the semi-comforting facts you need to know.

Herbert Hoover lived in Kalorama before and after his presidency.
Hoover, who is remembered for his Depression-era presidency, first lived in the neighborhood while serving as secretary of commerce during the ’20s. He moved in in 1921, lived there until his 1929 inauguration, and then returned in 1933 after he left the White House. The home is now the Embassy of Myanmar.

Woodrow Wilson also moved to Kalorama immediately following his presidency.
Wilson is the only other president to do so. His Georgian revival home is now a museum and a National Historic Landmark that is now open to the public. Three years after Wilson moved in, the World War I president passed away.

In the same year Hoover and Wilson moved into the area, so did William Howard Taft.
In 1921 Taft, Wilson’s predecessor, moved into a Colonial revival home. He, too, lived in Kalorama until his death. Taft’s home later became the Syrian Embassy. Currently, Syria’s diplomatic mission to the United States is suspended.

Franklin D. Roosevelt is perhaps the most famous president to ever live in the area.
For a three-year period, while Roosevelt was serving as assistant secretary of the Navy, he lived in Kalorama. FDR moved in in 1917, and left in 1920. His former home is now used by the Republic of Mali.

Warren G. Harding also lived there.
At the time, Harding was a senator for Ohio. He conducted a successful presidential campaign while living in Kalorama, and moved out in 1921 when he was inaugurated as the 29th president. His former home is now the current residence for the ambassador of Monaco.