How is it possible that we’ve never noticed 113 Bainbridge St. during our many years traipsing about the city? In case you’re not familiar, there’s a huge mansion located at this address, a home that spans five lots in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in town. Where did this mansion come from? How did the owners manage to cobble together the land to build this thing? Why wasn’t it on our radar until now?
Though Queen Village is a historic neighborhood, we’re pretty sure this building only dates back to the 1960s. The architects that designed the building made some effort to make it blend in with the surrounding architecture, but with mixed results. The double hung windows, the shutters, and the brick facade all evoke the colonial homes in the area, though the garage door, the large front yard, and the columns at the entrance are all indications that the building came along at a much later date. Even though the building dates back decades and not centuries, we sure would like to get a look inside. And it turns out we’ll soon have a chance, because the building will soon go up for auction.
Max Spann Auction House will be selling the property at a public auction at the Penn’s Landing Hilton on October 10th, at 6pm. Between now and then, the auctioneers will have three previews of the property, on September 17th, September 20th, and October 1st. At the previews, potential buyers (and you too) will have free run of the property, and will have the chance to drink in its 7K sqft of interior space spread across 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. The listing includes some interior photos, which show some very classic interior design choices, heavy on the marble and wood moulding.
The property was listed for sale previously, back in 2014, for as much as $2.6M. The opening bid for the auction is a mere $850K, though we believe the price will get pushed up rather quickly. One thing to keep an eye on- as we mentioned, this home sits on five lots in a very tony neighborhood. While it’s possible that someone could buy this home with a plan to move in, it’s perhaps more likely that an investor will buy the property with a plan to demolish the home and build five new ones. Any new home built in Queen Village, assuming it’s got parking, would easily sell for over $1M, so there’s a real chance that the people attending the auction previews might be among the last to walk through this home. So check it out, while you still can.