Big Daddy's Digs

What: Six bedrooms, seven baths in 14,400 square feet on 3/4 acre

Where: Macon, Ga.

Amenities: Beaux Arts brick and wood-frame home. Carved oak central staircase, mahogany-paneled oval dining room, decorative plastering, cut-glass windows, 11 rebuilt fireplaces, new plumbing, heating and electrical systems, guest house

Asking Price: $2.2 million

Opening Bid*: $1.3 million

Owners: Walter Rizzoni and Anne Hall, 478-750-7020

Due Diligence: Built in 1901 by a local businessman, this was the family home of W. Jordan Massee Sr., who died in 1961 and owned a railway, a brick company and other Macon businesses. Many people believed he was an inspiration for Big Daddy, the plantation owner in Tennessee Williams's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." (According to Lyle Leverich, author of "Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams," Mr. Massee, a friend of the playwright, had been dubbed "Big Daddy" by his granddaughter and often used the expression "nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.") Cardiovascular surgeon Walter Rizzoni and his wife Anne Hall, part-owner of an antiques store, bought the house two years ago from a local historical foundation for $600,000. It had been converted into 13 apartments. "Someone needed to rescue the place," says Ms. Hall. The owners say they've spent $800,000 restoring the home to a single-family residence, but that it still needs some painting, landscaping and floor refinishing.

The owners are selling the home without the use of a real-estate agent; if it brings its asking price, it will set a new price record for Macon, according to Calvin Hicks, the county's chief appraiser. Although several new custom residences have been constructed in the area that assess for more than $2 million, he says the most expensive sale to date was to a local doctor, for $1.3 million -- in 1994.

Additional Photos

Photos: Ken Krakow

*The opening bid is Weekend Journal's estimate of a reasonable starting point for negotiations to buy the property, based on past sales, prevailing market conditions and interviews with local real-estate experts.