Beverly Waterfront mansion for sale
News
Water View has lived many lives since it appeared on the bank of the Delaware River in 1848. If you buy it you will also inherit a treasure trove of furniture spanning 190 years.
Have you longed to live in the past without giving up modern conveniences? You can do so if you place the winning bid on this historic 1848 Delaware mansion at 2 Walnut St., Beverly, NJ 08010 / Photos courtesy of Peter Costanzo Auctioneers or * By Maria DiVentura-Cronin, Keller WIlliams Moorestown
Would you like to own your own living history museum?
A golden opportunity has just presented itself to own one in Beverly, New Jersey, right on the banks of the Delaware River.
The owner of Waterview, a riverside mansion dating back to 1848, is putting the house on the auction block, and if the price is right, it could be yours.
Dr. John Brewer, a Philadelphia physician, built this waterfront mansion in Beverly for sale as a summer home. At the time, this section of the river above Rancocas Creek was a popular summer resort, and rowboats transported residents and visitors to their summer destinations.
The four-acre parcel containing this house is located next to a place called Dunk’s Ferry, where George Washington first attempted to cross the Delaware River on that fateful Christmas Eve.
Over the years after Brewer built it, Waterview lived several different lives. In addition to being a private residence, it also housed a boating club and, for a time, served as the home of a sports club, the Rancocas Club.
“Members came from the main line in Pennsylvania to enjoy hunting pheasants, geese and wild turkeys; “Fishing for golden carp and shad,” the home’s current owner, broker Maria DiVentura-Cronen of Keller Williams Moorestown, wrote in an email. “Meals were cooked to perfection. After dinner, it’s time for toast, dessert, coffee, cigars, card games, darts, billiards or a walk along the picturesque riverbank.
But by the time it passed into the hands of Temple doctoral student Jill Cook and her obstetrician husband, Dr. Albert Cook, it had become what she called a “dilapidated dump” in 1978. Philadelphia Inquirer Article about restoration efforts.
The Cooks converted the house, which had been divided into apartments, back into a single residence that looked as it did at the time attorney Walter Freeman improved the house in 1861. What you see in the photos and videos here largely represents the legacy the Cooks left when they sold This house and lot belong to broker Maria DiVentura-Cronyn of Keller Williams Moorestown.
By the way, this lot is now only 1.44 acres, but it was one of the features that attracted the chefs to the house in the first place. It has outbuildings including a caravan, gazebo and tree house.
View from the front balcony*
The house also has two floors, one each on the second and third floors. The front porch opens onto a patio with a wonderful view of the river. A second, partially covered patio in front of the addition offers a similar view.
Lobby (Leave) And the stair hall (right)*
The chefs rehabilitated the house, added a new wing to the first floor, and refurbished it with an eclectic mix of nearly 190-year-old furniture from various sources.
Antique piano in living room (Leave) and a formal dining room (right); The dining room is a tribute to designer Gianni Versace*
The items range from a secretary in the dining room circa 1835 to a table, eight chairs, two buffets and a child’s highchair that they purchased for $312 from an urban renewal center in Atlantic City sometime after they purchased the house and its lot in 1968.
You’ll also find this antique baby piano, also from the 1800s, in the living room. DiVentura-Cronin’s Casa LaBella added more period furniture during the home’s 18-month renovation.
Kitchen dining room*
And all of the furniture you see in these photos and video below comes with the house. But wall art, sculptures and some books don’t. The video does more justice to this house than these words and pictures ever could.
However, although this home is mostly a historical throwback, it does have some modern features and amenities.
kitchen*
the*
bar in *
These include a commercial kitchen, a den with a bar as well as bathrooms recently renovated by Casa LaBella.
And now DiVentura-Cronin is putting it up for auction. Why?
“The goal of the auction is the highest price and widest bid in the shortest period of time,” Peter Costanzo, owner of Peter Costanzo Auctions, wrote in an email. “This is a ‘trim’ property in a prime location that deserves to be featured during a well-planned 30-60 day promotion, which in turn should result in lively and competitive bidding.
“Competition not only results in full and current market value, but also provides the opportunity to obtain the highest price while limiting downside risk.”
There are just over 30 days left until Costanzo holds the auction on December 12 at 1 p.m., in person on the premises and online. If you want to live surrounded by history in an elegant home reminiscent of a Southern plantation house in a town on the banks of the Delaware River, you should consider bidding on this Beverly waterfront mansion for sale.
Good print
Beds: 11
Bathrooms: 4 full, 2 half
cubic feet: 6,200 (approx.)
Opening show: $950,000
Other things: Several open houses will be held between now and the auction date. Check the auctioneer’s website for details. See the Bidder Information Packet available on the website for information about what is required of you to participate in the auction. A four percent buyer’s premium will be added to the winning bid. A 2% commission will also be offered to the buyer’s agent if the buyer uses one.
2 Walnut Street, Beverly, NJ 08010 (Peter Costanzo Auctioneers)
