Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette The estate at 1130 Shady Ave., built in 1902, is set back from the street on a one-acre lot. Click photo for larger image. More information For a private viewing or more information on 1130 Shady Ave., Shadyside, call Peggy Lampenfield of Howard Hanna at 412-361-4000 ext. 225 or go to www.howardhanna.com, MLS. No. 670945.

Turn-of-the-century industrialist Samuel C. Grier died just a year after his magnificent Shadyside estate was built in 1902.

But the coal dealer's wife, Harriet, and three daughters lived to enjoy the elegance of the Colonial Revival house, from the mahogany-inlaid floors to the Corinthian columns of the grand reception hall to the grand ballroom on the third floor.

The home at 1130 Shady Ave. stayed in the family for 65 years -- until daughter Eleanor Grier mentioned that she was planning to sell it.

Neighbor Sandra Ross had admired her friend's house. As soon as her husband, Joseph, stepped inside, it was love at first sight. They bought it that day. The couple spent 40 years there, raising three children, building a tennis court and a back patio around a towering sycamore tree, all the while respecting the house's past.

"You are living in a part of history," said Mr. Ross, a semi-retired real estate developer. "You don't want to change a thing."

For the first time in 40 years, the house with eight bedrooms and 7 1/2 baths is on the market, listed at $1.35 million by Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

A few would-be buyers, including some Steelers, were interested, but ended up buying other houses after they found out it had no central air conditioning, Realtor Peggy Lampenfield said.

"I got the message," Mr. Ross said. "If you pay $1 million for a house, you deserve to get air conditioning."

So he is installing it, a complicated project in a historic house.

The house was built for an estimated $50,000 -- nearly 10 times the cost of an average middle-class home at the turn of the 20th century, according to a house history.

	Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Above: The dining room has built-in mahogany sideboards, buffet and twin china cabinets framing the fireplace. The house is being sold with the original table and chairs. Below: A beveled and stained glass window floods the card room with light. Click photos for larger image.

And it shows.

Set back from the street, the house is reached by a winding driveway. The front door is framed with ornate beveled glass windows and beckons visitors into a grand hallway with golden oak wainscoting, crown molding and Corinthian columns.

The foyer doubled as gallery space for some of Mr. Ross' collection of 19th-century artwork, which he is taking with him to his new house in Fox Chapel.

To the right is the den, a room so handsome you can imagine curling up there after taking a leather-bound classic out of the built-in bookcases with beveled-glass doors. The room, which has mahogany inlays on the floors and delicate plaster moldings on the ceiling, is the Rosses' favorite room.

"We lived there," Mr. Ross said.

Of course, there are plenty of other rooms to choose from in the 8,300-square-foot house. To the left is the living room, with hand-painted floral stenciling, ceiling plaster molding and a bay window.

To call the dining room formal would be an understatement. It has built-in mahogany sideboards, buffet and twin china cabinets framing the fireplace. The house is being sold with the original table, complete with hand-stitched petit point seat covers.

	Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Above: The first floor main stairway, replete with spindle rails and ornate carving, leads up to the home's eight bedrooms. Below: A covered rear porch was built around a sycamore tree, and looks out on to the home's tennis court. Click photos for larger image.

A more airy room is the card room, which could double as a breakfast nook. A beveled and stained-glass window floods the room with light.

The kitchen is spacious, but like the bathrooms, needs to be updated.

"Why sink $150,000 into the kitchen if someone else wants to put in something else?" Ms. Lampenfield said. "They can do it their own way. The space is here."

Next to the kitchen is a butler's pantry, which includes the original ice box, now used for storage.

To get upstairs to the many bedrooms, you can waltz up the open staircase with spindle rails or take one of the other two staircases.

Not many third floors boast a grand ballroom, complete with closets for the guests' coats and turn-of-the-century fire extinguishers. The Ross family used it as a game room, but it also would be ideal as an art gallery or hobby room.

The house sits on one acre, a big lot for the city. When the Ross family bought the house, the back yard was a big lawn. They put in a tennis court and patio perfect for their big neighborhood parties. The back yard also has a four-car garage and a detached carriage house.

"It is a real trophy house," Mr. Ross said. "I just hope whoever lives there next will have the fun we did."