Stately Boston mansion has retained its grandeur

The first block from the Public Garden is a premier location for any Back Bay residence, and the 20-room mansion at 10 Marlborough St. is no exception.

Tony Winter of Campion and Company Real Estate has listed it at $13.5 million.

Just three families have owned this home, including Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edwin O’Connor, who is remembered for his book, “The Last Hurrah,” although “Edge of Sadness,” published five years later, was the award winner. Winter is a son of the current owner.

This five-story limestone residence is younger than its brick post-Civil War neighbors, as the first house, constructed in 1864, was razed and replaced with the current home.

In 1905 Arthur Perry, a prominent investment banker, commissioned the Boston architectural firm of Arthur Little and Herbert W.C. Browne to design this distinctive townhouse surrounded by brick homes.

(About the same time, Little and Browne was overseeing the construction of one of the most magnificent mansions in Washington, D.C. for Larz Anderson III, a diplomat, and his wife, Isabel Weld Perkins Anderson of Boston and Brookline. Anderson later became ambassador to Japan, and their home, now a National Historic Landmark, was donated to the Society of the Cincinnati.)

The Perry house is smaller yet possesses similar grandeur without the ostentation. The exterior has incised blocks of stone on the first story and a large lunette with ornamental ironwork above the front doorway.

A Greek keystone band separates the first and second stories, and floral embellishments are carved into the façade between the second and third floors.

A double door with glass inserts and ironwork flanked by a pair of Ionic columns opens into the marble vestibule and continues to a foyer lined with closets.

The reception hall is magnificent with its soaring ceiling, hand-painted murals, red marble fireplace and grand staircase.

Steps lead up to a landing, where there is a convenient half bath, and continue to an elaborate reception hall.

Hand-painted French murals adorn the walls, and opposite the grand staircase is a handsome red Verona marble fireplace with a huge gilt mirror.

Two doorways with Georgian Revival pediments are on either side of the reception hall. To the right is the living room with a 14-foot-ceiling decorated with plaster moldings. A chair rail and deep crown molding rim the front room.

The fireplace is as beautiful as the one in the reception hall, but the marble mantelpiece is black with white marble carvings of lion heads and garlands.

Above it is an ornately gilded mirror.

Tall mahogany doors open into the formal bow back dining room, which features mahogany millwork and wainscoting and triple crown molding.

The dining room, on the other side of the reception hall, is regal and has mahogany millwork, including the 8-foot doors and china cabinet.

A wide fireplace with a gray and white marble surround accented with acanthus leaves has a grand gold-leaf mirror above it.

The dining table, which can seat 12, is mahogany also and is original to the home. In the corner is a mahogany china cabinet.

Directly off the dining room is a huge butler’s pantry that is well organized with abundant cabinetry with glass fronts, a warming oven and a new KitchenAid dishwasher. It has a dumbwaiter too. The linoleum flooring is original.

An elevator and a second flight of stairs are just outside the pantry.

The grand staircase with a wrought iron balustrade rises to a carpeted mezzanine with a small fireplace and a powder room and continues to the second floor, which has a huge hall with a wet bar.

A black marble fireplace and the original gilt-edged mirror dominate the spacious living room.

At the front of the home is an elegant library with built-in bookcases topped with niches for statuary. The extra wide jade green marble fireplace accented with white marble swags dominates the room, which features plaster moldings on the ceiling and the walls.

On the other side of the hall is the master bedroom suite. Spacious, the carpeted room has a sitting area in front of the bow windows and a fireplace with a wooden mantel. Four large closets are on either side of the passageway to the master bath.

The old-fashioned bath has a double marble vanity, a tub with a shower and a marble-tiled floor. This bath and others have windows that open onto a ventilation shaft that draws in natural light.

Off the master bedroom is another room with an oriel. This room could be a nursery or a sewing room or a study.

The second floor library features a stunning fireplace of jade green and white marble, crown molding and ceiling plaster work.

Four bedrooms are on the third floor. On the south side, two bedrooms have built-in storage and boxed bay windows that let in plenty of light. The north side has a large bedroom with a bay window and fireplace and a smaller bedroom, also with a fireplace.

The fourth floor has a large TV or billiards room. It is wood-paneled and includes a continuous painted frieze of Roman soldiers, plus another fireplace with a red marble surround and a long banquette. Next to it is a maid’s room.

Three smaller rooms, a trunk room, a walk-in closet and two baths complete the top floor.

The rear staircase leads up to the roof, where a deck could be installed. Water and electrical service are already installed.

Last but not least is the garden level with a huge, eat-in kitchen.

A center island with a Viking six-burner gas cooktop in a center island, warming drawers, a stainless steel refrigerator, two separate sinks and Mutschler cabinets occupy much of the workspace, and the pantry has room for foodstuffs and cookbooks.

At the front of the building are the mechanical systems – forced hot water and forced hot air – plus a large laundry room with its original soapstone sink, another refrigerator and a freezer, and a small wine cellar.

At the back is a mudroom with a door that opens onto an enclosed brick patio with a raised planter, a shade tree and outdoor furniture.

This home has retained its rich architectural details and awaits someone who would keep the fireplaces and beautiful millwork and would enjoy hosting grand events.

The eat-in kitchen is on the garden level, where there is a family room and access to a landscaped brick patio.

DETAILS

Address: 10 Marlborough St., Back Bay

BR/BA: Ten bedrooms, six full baths, three half baths

Size: 11,118 square feet

Age: 1905

Price: $13.5 million

Taxes: $77,166 (FY 2011 with residential exemption)

Features of home: Grand five-story Georgian Revival home with stunning architectural detail; formal living room, mahogany-paneled dining room and library with soaring ceilings; 12 fireplaces; elevator; outdoor brick patio.

Close by: The Public Garden and the Esplanade; Back Bay restaurants, shops and galleries; Boston Public Library; easy access MBTA Green Line at Arlington Street or Red and Green Lines at Park Street, Orange Line, commuter rail and Amtrak at Back Bay station; Routes 93 and 90. 

Contact: Tony Winter, Campion and Company Real Estate, 172 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116. Phones: 617-236-0711 (office) or 617-571-4753.

Website: www.campionre.com 

This property may be seen by appointment.