Did you know that in 1864 it was possible to build a home with central heating, indoor plumbing, a geo-thermal air conditioning system and a burglar alarm?

These futuristic marvels are not the imaginings of a steampunk author. Two years before the birth of H. G. Wells, the residents of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion embraced the very latest in Victorian scientific advancements.

I first toured the mansion fifteen years ago. It was then that I learned the story of the mansion’s epic tale. From exalted beginnings as the country’s finest example of Second-Empire architecture, the house fell into disrepair. The City of Norwalk scheduled the sixty-two-room manor for demolition. As the house was prepared for the wrecking ball, snow-plows were stored in the once grand rotunda. Out-buildings were demolished to make way for a municipal police station.

Today, I toured a house that is slowly coming back to its former grandeur. The lower floor of the house has been restored. You can see the superb craftsmanship of nineteenth-century artisans on every surface. The cool splendor of inlaid marble floors stretch beneath ceilings lavished with gilded frescoes. Exquisite marquetry decorates a library worthy of a fine country gentleman. A virtual tour of the mansion is available here. However, if you are close to Connecticut, the house is well worth a visit. The house will be open for guided tours until January 4th, 2015.