This house for sale in Tobin Hill is so old that it seems there’s a disagreement regarding just how old it is. City records show it as being built in 1907, but the current owner is in touch with the descendants of its builder, F.M. Hagner, and provided a photo of him with his family outside of the home. The date on the back of the photograph is 1895.
Like any good Victorian, F.M. Hagner built this 3,483-square-foot house with a morbid purpose in mind. An open-floor-plan living area greets guests upon entry, and it includes a nook that was intended for the purpose of home funerals, according to the seller’s research.
In Victorian times, it was common to hold funerals at home. Households would keep a loved one’s corpse for up to 10 days before burial, allowing friends and family the time to travel by carriage and pay their respects.
The seller has gone to great lengths to lovingly preserve this historic gem, including refinishing all original brass hinges on doors throughout the house. The lights are all period replicas and the floors are original hardwood, with some planks up to 27 feet long. Elegant raised-panel wainscoting also features throughout the house, complimented by its coffered ceilings.
The living area flows into the kitchen with a 10-foot pocket door between them. Throughout the house, several fireplaces were used to warm rooms independently, with the interior doors used to trap heat in.
These days, the house is outfitted with the modern convenience of dual HVAC systems, one handling the first floor and the other able to handle the second floor plus the semi-finished attic on the third. The fireplaces have also been outfitted for electric heating.
A bay window retains its original large-plate glass. If you look closely, the owner says in an overview of the house, you can see streaks where gravity has dragged down grains of sand that were once heated to form the glass.
Upstairs in the primary suite, a clawfoot bathtub is also original to the house. Supported by golden lion’s paws, this tub-and-shower combo is in great condition for being turn-of-the-century vintage.
Outside, the buff-brick Neo-Classical house also comes with a carriage house, which now serves as storage rather than harboring a buggy, horses, hayloft and room for a footman.
The current asking price for this historic gem is $863,000.
This home is listed by Libby Ross with Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper Realtors.
All photos and listing info via Realtor.com.
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