Real Estate for $625,000 - NYTimes.com WHAT: A Queen Anne with four bedrooms and three and a half baths SIZE: 3,487 square feet SETTING: This house is in Boise's North End, a lush, suburban-style neighborhood with maple-shaded streets and historic houses. The neighborhood was developed in the late 1800s - this house was built in 1898 on an old dairy farm. Many of the houses, including smaller cottages, bungalows, Queen Annes and the more stately residences of Harrison Boulevard, a block away, have been restored within the past few decades. Several large parks are within about a half mile: Camel's Back Park and the adjoining Hulls Gulch Reserve (a total of about 300 acres) and Military Reserve (about 480 acres). About five blocks from this house, in an enclave of the North End called Hyde Park, is a cluster of small businesses, coffee shops and restaurants, some of them housed in converted bungalows. The North End is less than two miles from downtown. INSIDE: The 1899 house was built by a prominent Boise firm which was also responsible for the state capitol building and the city's Carnegie Library. The house was renovated and expanded in 2003 by its current owners, who preserved its original woodwork, leaded-glass windows, door casings and molding. During renovations, they added several period details, including oak flooring salvaged from an old barn, family-room columns taken from a house in the neighborhood, and a coal stove from a courthouse in Idaho City, retrofitted to burn wood. The first floor is made up of a living room, a formal dining room, a kitchen and a master suite. The living room, which has the old coal stove, opens to the wrap-around porch. The formal dining room has a window seat, as well as French doors to the hallway and pocket doors to the foyer. The renovated kitchen is outfitted with a six-burner Viking range, double ovens, granite countertops and heated tile floors, with a bay window overlooking the yard. The other three bedrooms upstairs. OUTDOOR SPACE: The house is set on a quarter acre, with a yard shaded by maple trees. The original barn has been converted into a two-car garage. TAXES: $8,321 (about $6,500 with a homeowner's exemption) CONTACT: Eva Hoopes and Lee Hill, Group One Real Estate Company, (208) 284-7732; WHAT: A one-bedroom, one-bath condo in an 1890 building SIZE: 1,036 square feet SETTING: Back Bay is a neighborhood on the Charles River defined by rows of preserved 19th-century brownstones. It's also home to some of the city's most notable and historic public buildings, including the Boston Public Library, Trinity Church and the 60-story John Hancock tower. Newbury and Boylston Streets, both within a few blocks of this condo, are lined with shops and restaurants ranging from national chains (an Apple store) to local businesses (Raven Used Books, which focuses on literary and scholarly texts). Kenmore Square, a business hub with a rail stop, about a half-mile away, has been the focus of a large-scale development project over the past several years. This condo is within blocks of three stops on the public rail system, according to the listing agent. The Charles River, which has an esplanade, a bike path and a pedestrian bridge to Cambridge, is a block away. INSIDE: This duplex unit is on the first floor and lower garden level of a brownstone built circa 1890. It's one of 15 units in two brownstones, connected at the garden level in 1992 and developed as condos. On the first floor there's a kitchen and a living and dining area with 11-foot ceilings and original oak floors. The living and dining area has a bay window with southern exposure, and the original marble-faced wood-burning fireplace. The current owners refurbished the kitchen and added built-in bookshelves in the living room within the past five years. Off the kitchen, a spiral staircase descends to a family room and the bedroom suite, which has a walk-in closet. The unit comes with its own parking space, and the condo association maintains three more for guests - a coveted amenity in a neighborhood where, in 2009, a resident paid a record-breaking $300,000 for rights to a spot. OUTDOOR SPACE: None, though the Charles River esplanade and paths are across the street. TAXES: $6,292 annually without residential exemption, plus $445 a month in condo fees CONTACT: Betsy Herald, the Charles Realty, (617) 236-0353; thecharlesrealty.com WHAT: A two-bedroom, one-bath cottage SIZE: 1,100 square feet SETTING: This cottage is the Key West historic district, Old Town, a neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places on the western half of the island. Most of the house's neighbors are wood-frame homes and cottages in a mix of architectural styles, with the occasional church or commercial building. Old Town features the city's tourist corridor, Duval Street, galleries, bars, shops and restaurants on palm-lined streets. The island is only six square miles, with several public beaches, marinas and fishing points. INSIDE: This house, known as a cigar maker's cottage for its typical inhabitants in past decades, was built in 1933 and renovated eight years ago. That renovation retained wood beams in the ceilings, and the brick oven in the living room, a remnant of the house's former life as a bakery. Through the front door is a hallway, off of which are two bedrooms and a bathroom. The kitchen is in the back of the house. Two steps up from the kitchen, the living room opens to the pool. A small loft with skylights is above the living and kitchen area, and functions as a sitting room and painting studio. The wood floors throughout the interior are new. OUTDOOR SPACE: There's a pool and patio. CONTACT: Laurie McChesney, Preferred Properties Key West, (305) 923-6639; preferred_propertieskeywest.com