Somerville, Mass. | $1.395 Million

A three-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium in a converted 1898 schoolhouse with 20 units

This home is in the Spring Hill historic district in the center of Somerville, about five miles from downtown Boston. It is less than a mile from the T stop and commuter rail at Porter Square, in Cambridge, and slightly more than a mile from Harvard Square. The building was converted into apartments in 1980 and became a condominium in 1997. Joe Perry, the lead guitarist of Aerosmith, lived in this unit before it went condo.

Size: 2,852 square feet

Price per square foot: $489

Indoors: The three-story apartment incorporates the former principal’s office as well as a grand, bifurcated staircase made of Douglas fir that originally served the whole building and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The staircase starts on the main level, opposite the front door, and rises toward a wall with an approximately 20-foot-high Palladian window, dividing and twisting as it approaches the long second-floor landing. This landing serves as the dining area.

At one end is a newly renovated kitchen with a breakfast nook; at the other, a living room with built-in bookshelves. Both rooms have views of the Boston skyline.