House of the Day: 50 Rooms of Handcrafted History

Generally when somebody screams "Once in a lifetime opportunity!" in our direction, we think about the proverbial snake oil salesman and hurry our pace away. This time, that somebody means it.

This 50-room mansion was designed by famed Boston architects Peabody and Stearns during Boston's most notable era in architecture. The Ames-Webster Mansion is a carved-wood aficionado's dream and there are enough hand-made details in every massive nook and cranny to make you feel like you're in a museum, which to some extent, you are. The palatial entertaining rooms are fitted with murals, John La Farge stained glass and mosaic tiles. The 26,000-square-foot home has 28 fireplaces and a baronial scale dining room that features a hidden passage to the butler's pantry and a secret stairway to the master suite above. The orangerie is fitted with walls of curved glass and floored in hearth tile.