Rare Bird Sighting in Mt. Airy for $2.25M

714 W. Allens Lane, Philadelphia, Pa. 19119 | Bright MLS images via BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors

If yesterday’s featured home was more striking outside than in, and a typical Philadelphia townhouse mansion more striking inside than out, then this handsome 1925 Tudor Revival estate in West Mt. Airy gives you the best of both worlds: It’s as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

It presents a most dignified face to the tree-lined lane it sits on, sitting behind a wrought-iron fence and custom stone gate. Its massing and proportions display a balance found in very few traditional homes.

Foyer, main floor view

Foyer landing and second-floor hall

Then, when you walk through the front door, you are greeted by a striking foyer with an elegant wood staircase — the kind of foyer those McMansions want to have when they grow up.

Living room

Dining room

They would also pine for the classically detailed yet unfussy formal living and dining rooms on either side. Rich woods — mahogany, walnut, oak — can be found throughout these spaces.

Kitchen

Behind these is an updated kitchen with high-end appliances, separated by a rear staircase from its breakfast room.

Library

And behind all that is a spacious library with vaulted beamed ceilings and built-in Chippendale-style bookcases.

The upstairs bedrooms are all generously proportioned and the bathrooms up to date. And down in the basement is a surprise for the home brewer: a finished basement lounge with carved fireplace and murals from the Red Rose Girls, a Prohibition-era bar and brewing room.

Patio

Side lawn

Terrace

Then there’s what surrounds the inside. The home’s L shape and large side yard produce two private retreats behind arched stone porches (one open, one closed), both accessed from the kitchen and breakfast room. On the side with the closed porch, you’ll find a stone patio with a fountain-turned-planter at its center; on the other, there’s a landscaped lawn and stone-paved terrace with a sculpture at its center.

You now have a rare opportunity to own this masterpiece, as it’s on the market for only the third time since it was built in 1925. (It last changed hands in 1999.) If you do decide to buy it, you will also enjoy easy access to the Wissahickon Valley, SEPTA Regional Rail at Allen Lane station and the shops and restaurants of both Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 6

BATHS: 3 full, 1 half

SQUARE FEET: 6,311

SALE PRICE: $2,250,000

714 W. Allens Lane, Philadelphia, Pa. 19119 [Mary McNamara | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]