Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Searles Hopkins Castle For Sale

"Holy Turrets! See 10 Castles for Sale in the U.S." by Diane Tuman, Zillow Content Manager, © Zillow Blog, March 8, 2011. (Real Estate Listing)

"If you think castles only exist in Europe, think again. Surprisingly, there are many castles in the U.S. and some are even for sale ... struggling to find buyers just like most other high-end homes ... 389 Main St, Great Barrington, MA 01230 For Sale - $11 million: Now, that’s a castle! Known as the Searles Hopkins Castle, this 1888 French Chateau-style stone castle was commissioned in 1889 by Mary Hopkins, who was the widow of Mark Hopkins, founder of the Central Pacific Railroad. Several years after her husband’s death, she continued to build the castle, hiring designer Edward Searles who was 22 years her junior. As the castle’s name implies, the pair eventually married. Castle highlights include a Louis XIV drawing room with details in gold leaf and original painted ceiling, acoustically engineered music room with 42-ft dome ceiling, and large stone terraces overlooking a dramatic cross-shaped reflecting pond and gardens. The property consists of 61 acres with over a thousand feet of frontage on the Housatonic River. Located in the Berkshire Mountains, Great Barrington real estate is considered accessible and desirable to urbanites in New York City and Boston since it’s only two and a half hours away from each city. ... " [More]

[Courtesy Google Alerts.]