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       When Laura Handman and Harold M. Ickes lived on P Street NW in Georgetown, they could see, through their bedroom window, a multitiered garden hidden from the road. They didn’t know what property had the garden until they toured — before buying — the house at 1406 34th Street, now on the market again, for $5.3 million.

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       “There’s no indication about the size of the lot or the size of the house from the front,” Ickes said. “It came as a complete surprise, just as a footnote prior to buying it.”

       Handman and Ickes bought the house with the secret garden in 2005, or, as Ickes recalled, right after John. F. Kerry’s unsuccessful campaign for president.

       Active in the Democratic Party for more than 40 years, Ickes was deputy chief of staff for President Bill Clinton and a political strategist for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. (Handman is a lawyer who has represented The Washington Post and other publishing companies.)

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       The house has a history of prominent residents, including Ickes and Handman. Another was Charles Wesson, an Army officer who is known to have lived at this address in the early 1930s. As a newly minted major general, Wesson became chief of ordnance of the War Department in 1938, during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration.

       Some records date the original structure to 1798, and renovations and additions have enlarged what was a “single-story frame dwelling house” to four levels and more than 5,000 square feet, including a carriage house. The house remains largely unchanged since before Ickes and Handman purchased it, and not just because a historic-preservation easement prevents significant changes without approval.

       “It was in beautiful shape and the people who lived there had lovely taste,” Handman said. “That was part of what we fell in love with.”

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       The garden and patio (which Ickes said can fit several 20-by-20-foot tents) have hosted political fundraisers, engagement parties, memorials, book launches and theater after-parties. The space, he said, still feels private.

       Ickes said that “34th Street can be a parking lot.” From the house, you would never know, he said, “that there is just a sea of traffic outside.”

       The front door opens to the foyer, which has a powder room and a walk-in closet. This floor also has a living room, a laundry room and two bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom and a closet.

       The second floor has the kitchen, including a breakfast area, and dining and family rooms, each with French doors leading to the patio. A library has built-in shelves, where the couple kept books of historical interest and letters from Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt to Ickes’s father, Harold L. Ickes, secretary of the interior under FDR and President Harry S. Truman.

       “The library looks like an old-fashioned library that you would find at the Cosmos Club,” Handman said. The library, the dining room and the family room have fireplaces.

       The primary bedroom suite, with a walk-in closet and en suite bathroom, is on the third floor. It has a terrace, surrounded by trees and wisteria, where Handman has hosted yoga sessions. This floor also has an office with two built-in desks and another bedroom with an en suite bathroom. The fourth floor has a bedroom, a bathroom and a walk-in closet.

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       A carriage house at the back of the garden has a bedroom and a bathroom, and it has provided a temporary home to young people getting their first taste of Washington.

       “We’ve long had wonderful young people, children of our friends who are either working on a campaign or interning in the summer on the Hill or just beginning a new job or their first job, living in the back house,” Handman said. “It’s been a wonderful gift to us to … see young people starting in life.”

       $5,300,000

       1406 34th St. NW, Washington, D.C.

       Bedrooms/bathrooms: 7/7 (entire estate) Approximate square-footage: 5,360 (entire estate) Lot size: 8,062 square feet Features: The original structure dates from 1798. Extensive additions have been made since then. The main house has three fireplaces, a terrace off the primary bedroom suite, and a patio and multitiered garden in back. The main house has six bedrooms and six bathrooms, including a powder room. A carriage house beyond the garden has a bedroom and a bathroom. There is a garage with room for one car and a driveway with room for two more. Listing agent: Neil Bacchus and Laura Bacchus, EXP Realty

       Thinking about buying a home? Let us help. Buying a home can be a daunting process. We’re here to help. Start with our Home Buyers Guide, which has everything from important real estate vocabulary to how to find a real estate agent to mortgage options. Or start below for helpful advice on navigating the housing market, or ask us your questions here.

       8 important — and overlooked — questions to ask before buying a home A guide to financing options for first-time home buyers Surprised by what the government says your home is worth? Here’s how to file an appeal on your property taxes. Searching for an affordable home in a tight market How a low credit score can be costly when buying a home Borrowers with not-so-perfect credit may be eligible for FHA home loans

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