
Pittsburgh recently made the Forbes list of most affordable cities. The probably weren't thinking about the high end of the market but there are deals there too. Check out the Babcock Mansion, a vintage beauty in the Shadyside area that dates back from the 1880s. The elegantly columned home was designed by Pittsburgh Architect George Orth for the founders of the Babcock Lumber company. The home has entertained presidents, Madam Curie, Mary Pickford and a host of others. The home has five bedrooms and all sorts of period details including stained glass, ten exquisite fireplaces, hardwood floors, chandeliers and ornate ceilings. It's gorgeous although as we often see with older homes, it might not work for those with more modern wishes like a home theater and a massive bathroom. It is listed at just $1.85 million. After the jump, walls that whisper history.























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
8-08-2007 @ 11:23PM
Mary said...
It's perfect. That's all. 10 fireplaces. And just a beautiful as the day is long. Perfect. Now I just have to want to live in PA......
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8-09-2007 @ 8:25PM
Melanie said...
I in Pittsburgh. Being 1 of the oldest established cities in the country, there are many gorgeous old homes. It would be nice to see more of them featured.
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8-09-2007 @ 8:59PM
David said...
I live in Pa. So in reply to what #1 said, it's
perfect, that's all, 10 fireplaces and just as beautiful as the day is long. And I do want to live in Pa. Now there's just the small matter of 1.85
million dollars.... hmmmmm
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8-09-2007 @ 9:37PM
Grant said...
Pittsburgh is a wonderfuil city to call home. Pittsburgh has made the transition from a steel and coal mining city to great high technologh city. Pittsburgh is full of history with the glow of the great steel mills and dirty coal mines that had dedicated employees that loved their city and work that added to what makes America great. There are greater days ahead for the grand old city. There was a day when the sun was blocked out by the pollution of the Pittsburgh industry, the sun now shines brighly on the beautiful city called the steel city PITSBURGH.
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8-09-2007 @ 9:38PM
Mary of Sherwood said...
www.sanfernandovalleypoliticallyincorrect.blogspot.com
I used to live in Pittsburgh (West Mifflin). Recently, I read a public health report written by a doctor that said leprosy was endemic in the northeast, due to illegal immigrants who are not health-screened. Does anyone know what this doctor was talking about? I never heard of this on the news. Any Pittsburghers care to comment?
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8-09-2007 @ 9:53PM
von said...
And just how HAUNTED is this place..call taps maybe ?
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8-09-2007 @ 10:15PM
kirk said...
Lived In Monroeville for 1 1/2 years and surrounding area for 29 years. No leprosy in family,and nothing indicated on family tree...but there was this one crooked branch. You are all correct about Pittsburgh, can't wait to get out of Atlanta and move back. Nothing beats western PA in the summer.
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8-09-2007 @ 10:18PM
Mary Kay said...
How I miss the beauty of the city neighborhoods since moving to Florida 3 years ago. I miss great health care, great universities,and great people. It is true, you don't know what you miss till it is gone. I applaud those who restore these old homes and preserve the history for all to enjoy for years to come. I would like to recommend to all my displaced Pittsburghers a really good book by Samuel Hazo (published in 1986,he was then, a Duquesne University professor),the title: The Pittsburgh That Starts Within You. Once you read it, you will know why you while you are living in Florida or California or England that you proudly state, "I am from Pittsburgh, PA!!)
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8-09-2007 @ 10:20PM
david said...
Check out Buck Mansion in White Oak for sale thru Howard Hanna. This house blows away the featured home with 36 acres!!!
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8-09-2007 @ 10:22PM
KerryBabyxx said...
A mansion like this would cost 5 million in Shaunnessy heights,the wealthy neighborhood here in Vancouver,BC.
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8-09-2007 @ 11:20PM
Cheryl said...
When can I move in?
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8-09-2007 @ 11:28PM
lebogrl said...
I grew up in Mt. Lebanon, raised my kids in Florida.They missed out on alot of culture and great sports teams.
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8-10-2007 @ 12:48AM
Lori said...
I live just north of Pittsburgh. Glad to see the city recogized for the gem it really is! There are beautiful, affordable homes all over the Western PA area.
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8-10-2007 @ 12:49AM
Laura said...
#9 your comment "Nothing beats western PA in the summer"......Hey NOTHING beats Western PA in the Autumn.... Absolutely Gorgeous!!! and all I can say to #10 of your comment "you don't know what you miss till it is gone" AMEN!!! I long for the Day I leave over crowded,overpriced, overpolluted and overrated So.Calif. and go back home to Pittsburgh.. I've heard that if Pittsburgh was located in a more favoritable climate, it would be a more popular than San Fran (lived there) and Boston. Love the 4 seasons.. There is no place like home..There is no place like home....
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8-10-2007 @ 1:41AM
denise said...
There nothing quite like coming thru the Ft. Pitt tunnels into the city. I've lived here all my life and it still takes my breath away. Saturday morning in the Strip (or Friday night), Steeler football, all of the great parks here, colleges and universities, healthcare that is unparalleled and really affordable housing. That first warm spring day with a blindingly bright blue sky, the day you know summer is really here because the grass is just so green and the ice cream truck is down the street, the first morning you get up with a little fog and cooler to remind you that fall is coming, and we just won't mention the other one because sometimes it forgets to come here. People just don't realize how cheap you can get a house here. I've traveled all over the world but there's nothing like pulling into your own driveway.
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8-10-2007 @ 2:19AM
j. g. pastorius said...
Well, I grew up in Pittsburgh, too. Of course I recall when neither the Steelers nor the Pirates could win a game, and saw it change entirely. There is barely any resident of this town who is not totally devoted, but at the same time almost anybody who can leaves Pittsburgh. The reason is labor unions, taxes, and Democratic/populist corruption.
The climate is lovely, the people friendly, the culture great, and the demographics that of a Florida retirement county. The 'Burgh is about the only major metro center losing population. Why? Give the unions the upper hand and you get Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh. The New Deal is alive and well here. Where else would Clinton have gone to announce some new socialist initiative than a Pittsburgh river mill town?
When I was a boy, during the war, Pittsburgh made more steel than Germany and Japan combined. When the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building were constructed, only a Pittsburgh fabricator could supply the steel. Westinghouse, where alternating current and nuclear power were developed was once the major employer in Pittsburgh. It's all gone now, including Mesta Machine, once the premier manufacturer of steel making equipment. Why? Unions, liberals, and Democratic politicians.
I wish it could be different, but it may take another generation before the unions are discarded. All those Steeler fans you see in other cities? They are not travelers, they live there, people displaced from Pittsburgh who retain the old loyalties.
I love the 'Burgh, but I must say, frankly, we are getting what the previous generation wrought. That's why housing is so affordable. People find opportuity elsewhere
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8-10-2007 @ 2:52AM
Jonathan said...
I'm only 21, I know Pittsburgh, I have to say there are hundreds of big beautiful homes like this one all over this city. I realize not as many with this kind of history, but places like Sewickley Heights, and the aforementioned Shady Side and even Squirrel Hill are spectacular places for big homes with beautiful architecture and style. But aside from these older homes there are also incredible new and modern homes around the city that aren't insanely expensive. On Mt. Washington there are 3 or 4 HUGE homes for sale for only $4 million ( I realize the use of the word only is ridiculous here) with views overlooking the city, I know for a fact that homes like this in other cities would cost at least double that. Pittsburgh is my home and I am glad to call it that!
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8-10-2007 @ 4:31AM
Cindy said...
I, too, think Pittsburgh is a great city. I live just 25 miles west of Pittsburgh, near Weirton, WV. I recently had surgery at Allegheny General Hospital. I totally agree with comment #18, about coming thru the tunnels into the city...Beautiful!! And I simply LOVE the old Mansions!! I am not a modern kind of person. Give me history and tradition. Go Steelers !!!!!
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8-10-2007 @ 8:52AM
Cnasfan said...
GO STEELERS!
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8-10-2007 @ 9:43AM
Steve Novalk said...
All these beautiful homes..built on the the hard work of all the dumb ethnics . who incidentltly gave us all these corrupt unions, politicians etc.,a
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