House of the week: Castle on St. Charles Avenue

When I was in high school, I used to joke with my friends that one day I would own a castle and they could all live there, performing different duties in exchange for room and board. Johnny was the chauffeur, Eva organized the parties, Charlene took care of the horses...you get the idea. Although the castle I had in mind back then was one of those classic, stone monuments in England replete with battlements, turrets and a moat, I think this pretty purple palace on St. Charles Avenue would do.

This abode fit for a princess was built in 1877 and is far bigger than I imagined from seeing its facade many, many times while cruising down the Avenue. The house features close to 6,000 square feet of living space, five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a separate cabana, in-ground pool and a whirlpool hot tub. This fantasy property has all the features I want in my New Orleans dream house including hardwood floors, sliding pocket doors, high ceilings, stained glass windows, ceiling medallions and (as you can tell from the picture) a turret! It's not surprising that this palace is listed at a whopping $2,995,000...