On the Market: Renovated Victorian in Squirrel Hill
This faithfully restored house reminds us that the turn of the last century was a very colorful era.
4610 Springfield Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19143 | Bright MLS images via Plumer & Associates
Utter the word “Victorian” and some people still conjure up images of overwrought ornamentation, filigrees everywhere, and darkness. Dark wood, deep dark colors on the walls, stuff like that.
We should have long since been disabused of this notion that the Victorians were a glum and colorless crowd. Too much evidence to the contrary has been presented, from the “painted ladies” of San Francisco to the colorful summer resorts of Cape May.
Now comes another myth debunker in the form of this nicely restored turn-of-the-20th-century Queen Anne house for sale in Squirrel Hill.
The color riot begins the moment you lay eyes on this yellow-brick twin. Look at the detailing on the front porch, the trim on the windows, the bands on the mansard roof!
The riot continues once you walk through the front door. This one, however, is a quiet, dignified riot.
As should be immediately evident from these photos, this house has been beautifully maintained, with all of its original character preserved.
Living room
Second-floor family room
Look at the leaded windows! The beamed ceilings and arches!
Dining room
Those pops of yellow in the foyer, that lovely burnt orange in the dining room, and the pastels in the bedrooms!
Kitchen
The kitchen got a surgical makeover rather than a wholesale one. The old cabinetry remains, but the butcher-block counters, granite-topped island, and restaurant-grade appliances are all new. (So are this house’s electrical system, water heater, security system, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and roof.)
Bathroom
The bathrooms even retain their original style, with updating where it counts.
Bedroom
With five bedrooms, this house has plenty of room for a growing family — and it’s in the Penn Alexander catchment, so your kids have a fighting chance at attending the best public grade school in the city, bar none. (“Fighting chance” because the school is so wildly popular, it’s oversubscribed: even those who live in its district have to win a lottery to get a slot.)
This house for sale in Squirrel Hill is also convenient to Baltimore Avenue dining and shopping and SEPTA transit to the Penn campus and other points east, west, north and south. But if you just have to have a car, it also has a one-car attached garage.
Seems to us that this colorful Victorian makes eminent sense.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 5
BATHS: 2 full, 1 half
SQUARE FEET: 2,514
SALE PRICE: $880,000
OTHER STUFF: This house’s sale price has been reduced twice, most recently by $45,000 on Sept. 3.
4610 Springfield Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19143 [Michael Waxman | Plumer & Associates, Inc., Realtors]
