The New York Times and the Washington Post have both printed images of Justice David Souter‘s New Hampshire farmhouse. He expects to live out the rest of his life there. So what’s the harm in showing his home here in the “world’s worst city?,” as he once called it.
He won’t be around much longer anyway.
According to Nexis public records, David H. Souter lives on the 500th block of N Street in Southwest (pictured above). Inside, his home’s adorned with boxes—-unpacked boxes, a friend told the Post in a great, revelatory article published on Sunday. “He never unpacked…A few years ago, he said, ‘I figured I’d take the pictures out of the boxes and hang them up, but I figured in a few years I’d be coming back to New Hampshire and I’d have to pack them back up, so I might as well leave them in the boxes,'” the friend stated.
To that, I have to say: Well I’m glad you gave this place a fair shot Souter.
But the man clearly loves his solitude, and he picked a good neighborhood for that. Minus the construction sounds, the quadrant lost what little hustle-bustle it had back in late 2007. That’s when several stores in Waterside Mall—-the area’s commercial center—-shuttered in anticipation of the new Waterfront Station project. Unfortunately, having no one around does have its down side—-Souter was mugged in Southwest around 2004.
Also, I have it on very good authority that Souter did attend a party of Washington elite on Friday evening. He was at a reception honoring the retirement of Sir Colin Lucas, Warden of Rhodes House. (Souter himself was a Rhodes scholar.)