Greta Garbo Was Maybe This $3.5M Estate's Intended Owner

What's a good celebrity listing without a healthy dose of hearsay and conjecture? Legend has it that this seven-bedroom, eight-bath estate was built for Leopold Stokowski, director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and his lover, Hollywood star Greta Garbo, but following a disagreement, they never acquired the home. Instead, "River House," currently listed for $3,575,000, was purchased by Helen Tyson Madeira and Louis C. Madeira IV (one-time associate curator of the Philadelphia Museum of Art) in 1940, and the Madeira family lived there for nearly three-quarters of a century. As one of the original Monk Road families, the Madeiras were able to choose their own address, and they went ahead and chose 1600, after the address of the White House. Although the only resemblance, one would argue, to the Presidential residence is the fact that it is also a structure with walls and a roof.

On the market for the first time since their initial purchase, the home features American cherry paneling, a bluestone terrace, gorgeous moldings throughout, yet a sadly institutional kitchen. There's a deluxe master suite with his and her baths and dressing rooms (perfect for one who does, actually, want to be left alone), and three additional family or guest rooms each with en-suite baths. There's a four-car garage and exquisitely-landscaped grounds.

· 1600 Monk Road [Estately]