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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend January 25, 2007 A 26-room house for $160,000? ... Now, that's a museum piece The Washington Post Nybelwyck Hall is a 26-room estate, with 19th-century architectural elements suggested by homes in Washington and the Hudson River Valley and filled with about 900 interior objects — many of them hand-crafted. Built over 10 years by Mark O'Banks for about $20,000, it was recently appraised for $160,000. What's the catch? Well, to live in it, you'd have to be really, really small. The elaborate dollhouse was built by O'Banks in his Washington, D.C., apartment before he died of AIDS in 2002. His hope was that the mansion, would end up in a museum. And so it has. Advertisement "Nybelwyck Hall," a name O'Banks said he divined using a Ouija board, was given to New York's Hudson River Museum ( www.hrm.org ), where it is on display through April. Its furnishings include antiques bought from the now-closed Washington Dolls' House and Toy Museum, needlepoint rugs that O'Banks designed and were crafted by his mother and pictures he framed with molding found on the street. The façade of the central portion is loosely based on the Hudson River estate, Staatsburg. The orange and green color scheme on the high Victorian addition is based on Wilderstein, the family home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's secretary. The concept of the lantern comes from George Washington's home Mount Vernon. The roof line in the French style was drawn from buildings on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C. Nybelwyck Hall is filled with allusions to O'Banks' friends, family and special moments woven into the story of the dollhouse's fictional Van Nybelwyck family. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary