Historic home
Lord of the Rings star’s charming Texas house hits market for $1.85 million
After pouring money into upgrades, actor Elijah Wood of The Lord of the Rings fame has put his 130-year-old Texas home on the market for $1.85 million.
Wood bought the classic Victorian home, at 608 W. Mary St., in Austin's Bouldin Creek neighborhood, in 2012 for $1.075 million. The three-story, 3,285-square-foot home features four bedrooms and four-and-half bathrooms. In the eight years Wood has owned the home, he has made both interior and exterior improvements.
“Austin’s a really special place — it has everything you’d want out of a big city … and yet it also feels like a small town,” Wood told Texas Standard in 2016.
The listing says a restoration and subsequent remodels completed in 2009 and 2011 — before Wood purchased the house — “resurrected the home’s grandeur.” The work showcases details such as ornate hand-carved trim, solid wood banisters, an original antique doorbell, elaborate door casings and millwork, and original longleaf pine floors.
The first floor has two sitting rooms; a formal dining room; a bathroom; and a gourmet kitchen with Carrara marble countertops, a Viking range, a Bosch dishwasher, a wine fridge, and a wet bar.
The second floor contains three bedrooms. The main suite features Carrara marble tile, a frameless glass shower, and a freestanding clawfoot tub.
The top floor comes with a fourth bedroom and a view of the downtown skyline. And other amenities include two wraparound porches, a detached two-car garage, and 11-foot ceilings.
Hotel magnate Conrad Hilton built the home in 1890 in the town of Marlin, southeast of Waco. Marlin, once a popular resort destination known for its natural hot springs, was the site of Hilton’s eighth hotel. The house eventually was moved to its current location in South Austin, near the bustling South Congress Avenue strip of shops and restaurants.
Austin broker Blake Taylor has the listing.
