Colonial is full of hidden potential

50 Park St., Medford
Price: $710,000
Style: Colonial
Year built: circa 1810
Square feet: 5,260
Rooms: 14
Bedrooms: 6
Baths: 3 full, 2 half
Sewer: City

MEDFORD -- Sometimes, what lies beyond the garden gate -- or, in this case, the overgrown vines on the wrought iron fence -- is an unexpected foray into the past. This stately and expansive Colonial is set back from a nondescript street of faded Victorians and two-family homes, but inside (if you ignore the outdated kitchen, baths, and red shag carpet), the possibilities for transformation are abundant.

There are 10 fireplaces with wood surrounds, one with blue Delft tile, and one with tall Doric columns. The dining room is a stunner: rich oak paneling, a wide brick fireplace, beamed tray ceiling, and hand-painted wallpaper depicting New England coastal scenes. It has minor tears, but can be restored.

The listing broker, Ward Shifman of William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services in Newton Centre, said the house was designed and built ''by upper-class shipbuilders looking to settle near the Mystic River."

The original butler's pantry remains intact, as does a marble sink in the mud/garden room. Hand-turned spindles brace both the front and back stairs from the third floor to the basement. An original, and remarkable, round skylight is in the ceiling above the stairs, and its curves are reflected in the second floor's arched doorways and walls.

Intriguing design details from the 1800s abound on all three floors: A coat-warming closet is behind the living room fireplace, a narrow leaded-glass window lights the path along the staircase, a nautical light fixture of brass and enamel hangs in the front parlor, hand-hewn columns that may have been ships' masts, Shifman said, support the roof. And a peculiar closet in the basement was constructed of packing crates from a casket company.

The house sits on three weedy lots large enough to add a driveway and gardens.

BETH GREENBERG