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A seafood tycoon turned an abandoned former bootlegger's hideout into a $25 million dream home — take a look inside the Maryland mansionhttps://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/a-seafood-tycoon-turned-an-abandoned-former-bootleggeraposs-hideout-into-a-25-million-dream-home-x2014-take-a-look-inside-the-maryland-mansion/slidelist/78286248.cms2020-09-24T03:35:24+05:30

A seafood tycoon turned an abandoned former bootlegger's hideout into a $25 million dream home — take a look inside the Maryland mansion

Melissa WileySep 24, 2020, 03:35 IST

A storied estate overlooking the Severn River in Maryland has hit the market for $25 million.

Known as the Friary on the Severn, the home is situated on 23 wooded acres about 10 minutes from downtown Annapolis and less than hour from Washington, DC.

Built in 1922 by bootlegger E. Bartlett Hayward, the home later housed Capuchin friars and a Japanese boarding school before falling into disrepair.

When current owners Maxine and Steve Phillips purchased the home in 2002, it had been abandoned for over a decade and raccoons lived in it, they told Bloomberg in a recent interview about the estate.

Phillips, the millionaire CEO of Maryland-based Phillips Seafood, purchased the home for $2.5 million in 2002 with the intent of turning it into a dream home and embarked on a multi-year renovation.

The end result is a far departure from a raccoon-filled decaying estate.

In place of the friars' dormitory, the Phillipses built a 60-foot-long infinity pool ...

... surrounded by modern outdoor lounges.

The former friary is now a spacious ballroom ...

... and in place of a dated bowling alley is a sleek indoor resistance pool.

Some rooms, like this wood-paneled den, feel of another era ...

... while others, like this windowed sitting area, are bright and contemporary.

The home is built for entertaining. Between the main residence and guest quarters, there are 11 fireplaces ...

... 7 bedrooms, and 11 bathrooms.

One of the more lavish features is the estate's nine-car garage.

After dinner, residents and guests could head to the wine cellar for a nightcap ...

... or to the game room for a round of billiards.

A covered pavilion offers a peaceful respite in nature ...

... and walkways wind along the water's edge from the six-slip private dock with a boat lift.

To get to the dock from the house, residents have their choice of options: They can take a small funicular, or walk through a secret tunnel built during the days when the house served as a base for smuggling booze and guns. The tunnel is hidden behind a vault in the billiards room, listing agent David DeSantis told Trulia.

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