Historic House Blog

Unfortunately, I do not have enough extra money in my change jar to buy this property for my wife, but maybe some of you are looking for a nice Valentine’s Day gift for your special somebody!  This incredible looking B&B– a former mill site– is located in Asheville, NC, and is currently offered for sale at [...]

I thought that since it is Valentine’s Day, it was a good excuse to feature this unique historic house & promote the non-profits that operate this property as a museum. Blacksmith Isaac Valentine built this four-level fieldstone farmhouse in 1758 near the Boston Post Road. His property included a blacksmith shop, outhouses, farmland, and a number of [...]

Every great architect is – necessarily – a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his time, his day, his age.                            -Frank Lloyd Wright    Frank Lloyd Wright has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects as the “greatest American architect of all time.” He was the founder of the [...]

Just after the New Year, we wrote about how more & more REALTORs host tours of historic houses as a unique marketing tool, as a way to attract buyers of historic homes.  (Read that post here).   Next week, near Chicago, five real estate agencies are collaborating to host an impressive historic house tour in the swanky [...]

The Strawberry Banke Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is auctioning off one of its properties on February 19.  The museum has determined that it is unable to devote the funds and effort necessary to restore, or even maintain, the property, and that money realized from the sale could be put to better use in helping [...]

The Spanish Custom House, the oldest property on Bayou St. John, and among the oldest houses in New Orleans, will be sold at auction on February 10. There is no reserve and this may be a great opportunity for the right buyer to purchase a truly spectacular piece of history at an equally spectacular price. The [...]

A Home for All – A New, Cheap, Convenient & Superior Mode of Building – That’s the way Orson Squire Fowler described his architectural invention in 1848. Fowler had designed the octagon house- an eight sided home that he claimed used space more efficiently by eliminating the need for hallways. The octagon minimized surface area which helped prevent [...]

On the eve of President-elect Obama’s historic inauguration, we turn our attention to perhaps the most historic home in the country- the White House. If a Realtor were to write up a classified ad, it might read something like “Well-Maintained 16 bedroom, 35 bath colonial on 18 acres in the heart of the downtown historic [...]

When I was growing up, I don’t know how many times I accidentally left the front door open on a cold fall day & heard the age-old scolding, “Close the door!  Were you born in a barn?”  Well, if you were born in this barn (left), that would probably be something to brag about. (Don’t believe me? –see more photos here).   Offered [...]

Seven towers, 40 rooms, 54000 square feet, 14 bedrooms, 36 fireplaces- Everything about the Searles-Hopkins Castle is monumentally impressive. Set on 90 acres in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and featuring 1000′ of water frontage on the Housatonic, the castle has long been a treasured Berkshire landmark. Designed by McKim, Mead & White, and thought to be [...]