1890s Victorian Mansion with Hot Tub

Christmas in an 1890s Victorian mansion: a lit tree, dinner for 12 under the chandelier, carols at the piano, and the hot tub out back. Open Dec 13 to 29.

Sleeps 26 in 8 bedrooms, with 5 full baths, canopy beds, a connecting kids' room and cribs. Built in the early 1890s for Franklin and Lucy Dorsey Iams, this huge 6,600-square-foot mansion has a formal dining room for 12, a grand staircase, a game room with a pool table and four arcade cabinets, a piano, and a hot tub and fire pit out back. Three cars fit in the driveway; street parking is free. PNC Park is 10 minutes.

The space
Come in at the grand front staircase that climbs to the second and third floors. Almost every room has a hand-crafted fireplace (decorative now) with a tiled mantel more than a century old, and large original sliding doors connect the living spaces. The formal dining room seats 12 under a chandelier, with a piano for whoever in your group plays. The two parlors split the crowd: one has a wraparound couch and a 70-inch TV for the game, the other is the game room, with a pool table, a dart board and four arcade cabinets holding more than 200 games. The kitchen has a second staircase up to the bedrooms. Each of the eight bedrooms has its own color and a desk, and among them are canopy beds, a private balcony, a connecting kids' room and cribs. Outside: a wraparound porch with two swings, a canopied deck, a patio table for 12 and a swing set. Old photos and census records of the Iams family are displayed through the house.

The neighborhood
The mansion is on Pittsburgh's quieter west side, about 10 minutes by car from Acrisure Stadium, PNC Park and the convention center, so a team or a wedding party can get downtown and back without much driving. The Duquesne Incline, which climbs to the top of Mt. Washington, is 7 minutes away. The Carnegie Science Center is 11 minutes, and Station Square and the Andy Warhol Museum are 12. Pittsburgh International Airport is about a 20-minute drive, which helps when relatives fly in from different cities, and several award-winning golf clubs are within 25 minutes. Three cars fit in the driveway, and street parking is free. Planning a small gathering in the backyard? Ask us first about size. We provide the lodging; we're not a wedding planner.