I just found the perfect house!!

[hyphenate]

It's in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on sale for $15 million. Isn't it pretty?

http://a1040.g.akamai.net/f/1040/759/1h/pic.infospace.com/:6:_1_21EVTIR04CYZREG__vzn.isp/be9308b3-e719-4d53-95b9-3dcc7dd0646c.jpg

[matcom]

1. looks like it has a termite problem

:rofl:

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Why does that look so familiar?

I swear I've been there...what is it?

[Corgigal]

3. Does it have a dragon?

That would keep burglars at bay if it did.

[Brigid]

15. And does it have a moat and drawbridge too?

It does look very impressive, though.

[Lavender Brown]

4. Buy it, we'll be neighbors!

:D

[hyphenate]

5. I should have posted some details!

• 120-year-old Searles Castle stands in Massachusetts' Berkshire mountains
• Seven-floor French chateau-style castle going for kingly sum of $15 million
• It's been private home, a private school, conference center, tourist site
• Balconies, terraces, lagoon, tennis courts, temple, dungeon -- but no moat

GREAT BARRINGTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- The Searles Castle has towered over this Berkshire town for 120 years, its seven turrets and blue dolomite exterior creating a fortress at the end of Main Street.

The French chateau-style castle is for sale -- a $15 million property joining a small niche of the world's luxury real estate market.

Searles Castle is no ordinary mansion. It may not have been designed to keep enemies away from a royal family, but it has all the trappings to make it worthy of Sleeping Beauty.

There isn't a moat, but the seven-floor castle has a dungeon that could be used for a friendlier purpose -- a restaurant, perhaps, or an extensive wine cellar.

Thirty-six fireplaces are scattered among more than 40 rooms, one of which once contained a pipe organ and served as a mini-concert hall.

Marble is everywhere -- rising in columns, carved as mantles and in slabs as flooring.

Balconies and terraces overlook the property's sprawling 61 acres, which include a T-shaped lagoon, tennis courts and a garden temple guarded by two marble sphinx sculptures.

And if the 60,000-square-foot castle seems too overwhelming, it's just a short walk from the front gate to a busy row of restaurants and shops. Think the tax bill is too high? Cross the street and file a complaint at Town Hall.

Built in 1888, the castle was commissioned by Mary Hopkins, the widow of railroad tycoon Mark Hopkins. Mary Hopkins hired noted interior decorator Edward Searles for the project, and the two married a year before it was finished.

Hopkins died in 1891, but Searles stayed in the castle until 1902 before spending more time in Methuen. After his death in 1920, the castle spent the next three decades as a private school for girls. It then changed hands among business owners and an insurance company, serving at different times as a storage area, conference center and cultural attraction.

[Left Is Write]

6. It looks cold and drafty.

[AlCzervik]

7. love it but it needs moat.

[billyskank]

8. I think it's too understated

By the way, that castle sucks. Look at the size of those windows. You can't do any decent archery through those. That wouldn't survive much of a siege. Whoever built that castle is a dumbass. :P

[LynneSin]

9. I was looking to get a lil 1 bedroom condo in Wilmington but...

...perhaps I should get this instead

:rofl:

[matcom]

10. BTW Lynne - you asked for home buying advice the other day

if you can afford it, you would be MUCH better buying a 2 bedroom condo. IF you can afford it.

it makes it easier to have out of town guests and lets say you go to sell in 5 years (at a profit). a 2 bedroom is MUCH easier to sell if a young family is interested.

just my .02

[LynneSin]

11. I know - and there might be a 2BR on the market june 7th

but for the neighborhood I want it's gonna be tough to swing.

[Zuiderelle]

12. The state should buy it and turn it into a halfway-house.

Would love to see how all the snotty neighbors complain.

[Brigid]

16. Me likey.

Sitcom idea! :rofl:

[madinmaryland]

13. Where's the garage for the Hummer?

[RetroLounge]

14. When's the annual all-DU meetup?

:hi:

RL