207 Congress Pl, Cape May, NJ 08204

If you want summer life as it was - for the lucky few - in Victorian Cape May, this is the place to be. High ceiling - original gilt mirrors - massive period furniture (much of it built for the house), large, airy rooms an expansive, fully-fenced garden off-street parking for four cars and a whole lot more -make this house truly unique. The "Joseph Evans Cottage" is one of a handful of Cape May's grand Victorian cottages to have survived as a single family home. It is one of the very few with unobstructed ocean views and a large garden. For almost its entire history, the house has been owned by two families, who carefully maintained it and updated while maintaining its historic fabric. It combines the best of the old and the best of the new, with the grandeur and elegance that the house was built with a state-of-the-art kitchen, updated bathrooms, new wiring, new plumbing, etc. There are double porches front and rear. The front porches overlook the ocean. The rear porches overlook the private garden. There are screened porches on the ground floor, front, and rear. The house is 100 yards from the beach perfect for ocean views, and far enough to be away from the crowds and the noise. It is also 100 yards from the pedestrian shopping street, called "the mall", with its supermarket, shops, restaurants, bars, etc. The location is perfect for access to all that Cape May has to offer, and it is easy to park your cars and walk or ride bicycles everywhere. The living room, dining room, first master bedroom, and kitchen are all 28 feet by 16 feet, running the entire length of the house. The elegant living and dining rooms were made for entertaining. They, and the master bedroom, all have tall french doors front and rear, accessing the porches and offering expansive views of the ocean and the garden - and breezes coming from either the Atlantic or Delaware Bay. There are seven bedrooms, including two master bedroom suites. The first master bedroom has both ocean and garden views and a full, ensuite bathroom, with a combined whirlpool-tub and shower. The second master bedroom overlooks the ocean, and has a full bathroom ensuite with a shower. There are five additional bedrooms. Two face the ocean. Three face the garden. In addition to the two ensuite bathrooms, there are four additional full bathrooms, one on each floor. The house provides plenty of space for different life styles. There are formal rooms beautifully designed for elegant entertaining on a grand scale. There are plenty of places - indoors, on the porches, and in the garden - for informal hanging out. It works for people with very different tastes. If the ocean breezes do not cool you down, there is also a new, 3-zone central air conditioning system - with no exposed ducting. You can dine in the massive formal dining room, in the garden, under the roofed pergola or in the screened gazebo, or in the intimate, screened dining porch overlooking the garden, or in the kitchen, or in the new family room/playroom, adjacent to the kitchen. The kitchen has state-of-the-art appliances, including a new, high-speed Bosch cook top, twin GE Monogram wall ovens, a GE Profile refrigerator, and a second refrigerator in the adjacent laundry room. It is fully equipped with a brand new Kitchenaid dishwasher, disposal, etc. Adjacent to the kitchen are a large laundry room and a very large pantry. There is also a large utility/work room, and there is lots of space for storage. There is a generous, private, fenced garden in back with a children's playhouse, a large, paved pergola;,and a large, screened gazebo, suitable for dining. A brand-new, sun-filled family room/playroom, just off the kitchen, offers plenty of space for watching TV, playing games, and it is a great place for informal dining.The large, flat garden offers plenty of space for badminton, croquet, and other games. It is irrigated with a sprinkler system fed by a well, which offers an alternative to city water.