Robards Mansion in Hannibal, Missouri - Part 2

I love staying at bed and breakfasts and my parent's house, Robards Mansion, is no exception!  However, they would (finally!) like to fully retire and have placed their home on the market.  I just had to go around the house and take more pictures to remember it by. 

Robards Mansion has three floors, a mezzanine (a floor between the first and second floor), a full basement, AND a cupola.  How many houses do you know that have their own cupola?

You climb upward on a flying staircase.  That's a staircase with no visible means of support.  One day, when I was waxing the banister, I discovered Romans numerals underneath the railing.  Evidently, it was built somewhere else and then re-assembled by matching up the Roman numerals.

I stripped off wallpaper and painted the guest room in the mezzanine the last time I was here.

The suite takes up one whole side of the 2nd floor and has two bedrooms, a bathroom, and...

it's own living room.

On the other side of the 2nd floor are two more bedrooms.  Did I mention each bedroom has it's own bathroom?  And when you include two additional bathrooms on the 3rd floor, which is just used for storage right now, there are nine and a half bathrooms in the house.  They could be yours to clean!

This bathroom belongs to the blue room pictured above.  I love the old pedestal sink and black and white tile on the floor.

This is my favorite guestroom though.  One interesting note:  when John Robards built the house, in 1871, he had a closet made in each bedroom, which was very unusual for the time period.

The view to the floors below, from the third floor, is a little scary!

Once on the third floor, you ascend even more stairs to reach the cupola.  I have no idea how many steps it takes to reach here from the ground floor.  I ran out of fingers and toes!

You can view most of Hannibal, and even the Mississippi River, from the huge windows.  During World War II, Hannibal was a bustling manufacturing town and housing was at a premium.  Someone divided the house into apartments and sleeping areas.  Even the cupola was used as some one's home.

If you're a rich man in Hannibal in 1871, not only do you have your own cupola, you have to have your own carriage house.

No 19th century home would be complete without one!

I'll finish up the tour of Robards Mansion Bed and Breakfast with this original stained glass window in one of the two kitchens.  This historic 8,000+ square foot house with twelve inch thick walls, nine and a half bathrooms, two kitchens,  three Italian marble fireplaces, etc., etc., could be yours today!

Next time I'll give you a little tour of the town of Mark Twain's Hannibal.