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condo development has outdoor tennis courts,
swimming pools, a steam room, massage, and
meeting rooms which can accommodate TV
crews when they interview Cohen on world
affairs (CNN came the day of the Washington
Life Magazine interview). Their three-story
McLean house was “grand” but Langhart Cohen
says she felt too isolated when her husband was
away. “I’ve grown up in apartments, condos
or government projects so I’m accustomed to
everything on one fl oor,” she says.
The security and convenience of the Chevy
Chase condo is also ideal for entertaining
heads of state, diplomats and Washington
power brokers. The centerpiece of their formal
dining room is a round table, which seats up
to twelve. “I like a round table because no one
is competing. Everyone feels equal,” explains
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“I WANTED IT TO BE FROM
our soul,” Janet Langhart Cohen says of their decision
not to use an interior decorator.
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Langhart Cohen, explains. Just as important as
the shape of the table, are the ground rules at
the Cohens’ penthouse dinner parties. “I want
people to know everything is off the record.
This is a learning table,” she says.
Conversation quickly turns to world events,
politics and race in America (the theme of their
memoir). WL interviewed the Cohens on April
4, the 40th anniversary of the assassination of
Martin Luther King Jr. Langhart Cohen was
friends with King. “He was kind, wise and
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gentle,” she says. On the anniversary of his death
“I think about my marriage to Bill and Martin’s
big dream of little black girls holding hands with
little white boys,” she says. “We did more than
hold hands. We joined our hearts.”
The Cohens are clearly proud and
appreciative of all they have accomplished,
refl ected in the substantial Chevy Chase home
they decorated together. “It’s serene,” he says. “I
like everything here,” she says. “And when Bill
comes home, I love everything.”
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