A grand house as old as the city itself —well, its second time ‘round, anyway.

San Diego’s original city charter dates back to 1850, the same year California was granted statehood. Two years later, however, the city was bankrupt and the state revoked that charter, handing over control of the fledgling community to a board of trustees. It would take until 1889 for San Diego to regain its cityhood. Coincidentally, that’s the same year that the Long-Waterman Mansion, a Queen Anne Victorian, was constructed in Bankers Hill — so named for its wealthy early inhabitants — east of downtown. Originally built for local businessman John Long (who ran out of money during the construction), it quickly passed to outgoing California governor Robert Whitney Waterman. Waterman completed the build and, intending to spend his retirement in the residence, instead died several months later.

According to agent remarks from the real estate website Redfin.com, “the elegant residence, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as site #37, boasts an impressive 6180 square feet on a 14,415 square foot lot, blocks from San Diego’s iconic Balboa Park.” It continues, ‘The exquisite craftsmanship is noted by the turrets and balconies resplendent with ornate iron work,” and indeed, the balconies on the first and third floors of the rounded corner tower of the building do look quite impressive from the street. Small surprise that our photo tour begins with several angles of this side of the house.

Why walk up the staircase when you could just stay down here and admire its ornate wood carvings?

We pass the original carriage house, which is currently being used as commercial office space, and get a close-up look at some of that ornate iron (along with some stained glass windows and an ornately carved front door) before making our way inside. “Upon entering the main house, you will embrace the prominence of this true architectural masterpiece,” the listing promises. “The grand foyer showcases original carved anaglyph on the staircase’s curved facade, creating a stunning focal point.” I had to consult a dictionary to learn that “anaglyph” is simply a fancy word for “carved,” so we’ve got a bit of redundancy there. The staircase certainly is grand, however, and given the hours of labor that likely went into it, you probably won’t ever see something like this in a modern build.

I’m ready to move on, but before we leave, the listing would also like us to know that “the intricately designed mahogany fireplace and artisan-stained leaded glass window add to the grandeur” of the room. Oh, and there are three more of those mahogany fireplaces elsewhere in the home. Can we move on now?

No, we cannot: there are more pictures of the staircase, including several that zoom in on the wood carvings, then another couple shots of the foyer, where we see a small table and chairs tucked into a round area behind the fireplace. Then there are more pictures of the fireplace and stained glass. We’re a third of the way through our photo tour and we haven’t left the entry!

Finally, we are allowed into what looks to be a living room of sorts, though there’s a desk just past the entryway, facing away from the middle of the room. The carpet is very busy, though probably the right style for a home of this vintage, and I like the wood trim around the windows and passageways. There are some large posts dividing this portion of the living room from another, cozier sitting area that is focused on one of the fireplaces. I don’t know that I like the posts, but perhaps they’re structural? Of course, we can’t pass by them without looking at some more close-ups of “ornately hand carved wood details,” which seem to be everywhere. Did Mr. Long go broke building this house because of how many people he had on staff just to whittle designs into every piece of wood that went into the construction?

The dining room seems small for a house this big, with seating for only six people at the table. There’s a close-up of the “delicate crystal chandeliers” (actually there are several of these), and a small hole in the wall through which servants can pass food from the kitchen before a wooden door is slammed down to keep their prying eyes away from the dinner guests. The kitchen itself is fairly pedestrian, and again, smaller than I’d expect for a house of this size. But of course, the original owners probably built the space more to be functional for the help than for their own use and enjoyment. We move quickly on to what I think is a powder room, where the focus is a sink that has a floral pattern painted inside the bowl and a faucet that someone probably should have cleaned before taking such a focused shot of it. Hammering home our laser focus on small details, we next get to see a picture that shows only a door hinge — even these are patterned, antique affairs, with gold screws standing out against a darker metal face.

Upstairs, we see a round-walled office that is fairly simply adorned with a single desk, a side table, and another fireplace. I like the look of this space, but the curved outer wall probably doesn’t lend itself to adding any bookcases or other furniture. Then another couple of offices and a simple-looking bathroom before going up to the attic. The space here is unfinished, but I like it that way, and would probably make this into some sort of game room. It would be nearly impossible to get a pool table or Skee-Ball machine up here, but if I have the money for this house, I can probably pay someone to figure it out for me.

And that’s it. We get a quick peek off the upper balcony, and then we’re back outside with our tour concluded. Before we leave, the listing agent would like us to know that the home’s historical designation means it qualifies for significant tax savings — it’s been owned by the same family for decades, and right now it’s assessed based on a value of just $717,000. Public records list the owners of the Long-Waterman Mansion as an Ernst Family Trust. It was offered for sale for the first time in late May; the asking price of $6,485,000 remains unchanged to date.

• 1208 First Avenue | san Diego, 92101
• Current owner: Ernst Family | Listing price: $6,485,000 | Beds: 4 | Baths: 4 | House size: 6180 sq ft