A distinctive Beacon Hill home sells for $4.45 million

The former home of Admiral Richard E. Byrd at 9 Brimmer St. in Beacon Hill has sold for $4.425 million.

Constructed circa 1867, the five-story riverside mansion has remained relatively unchanged, although it was converted to three condominiums nearly 30 years ago.

Still the architectural details, such as the grand curved staircase, reminiscent of Alexander Parris, ornate crown moldings, decorative ceilings and handsome carved mantelpieces have endured.

Tracy Campion of Campion and Company Fine Real Estate listed this 8,250-square-foot double house with seven bedrooms, seven fireplaces and five-and-a-half baths as a property that could easily be returned to an elegant single-family residence.

The selling broker was Barbara Donovan Rizzo of Prudential Howe & Doherty Realtors of Andover. The sale was completed June 29.

Before the sale the 16-room brownstone comprised two spacious duplexes with their own outdoor space, plus a garden-level apartment. The buyer plans to restore the home to its original grandeur.

The walnut-paneled library features an elegant fireplace with a carved wooden mantelpiece, flanked by built-in bookcases. The dining area created in front of the diamond-paned bay windows look out to the garden.

A gracious reception hall opens into a grand living room with a large marble fireplace. The soaring ceiling is rimmed with crown molding.

Beyond this is a magnificent walnut-paneled library with an ornately carved wooden mantelpiece, built-in bookcases and a secret passage. A dining area in front of the three-window bay with diamond panes has views of the garden below.

Also on the first floor are a large eat-in kitchen, a wet bar and a powder room.

On the upper floor of this 3,049-square-foot unit the master bedroom suite has a large sitting room and an outdoor terrace.

An enormous private roof deck is part of the penthouse duplex, which has 2,734 square feet of living space, which also includes a balcony.

The home is equipped with an elevator and has central air conditioning.

Before the construction of Storrow Drive in the early 1950s, the mansion’s land swept to the Esplanade.

The large sitting room off the master bedroom on the third level has a large fireplace surrounded by floor-to-ceiling bookcases. French doors open onto a terrace.

Byrd called 9 Brimmer St. his home for 30 years although his career kept him away for years at a time as he undertook explorations of the North Pole and the South Pole by air and by sea.