Largest home in Wisconsin up for auction

ELLISON BAY - Stepping through the doors at the Sur la Baie mansion is like stepping back in time.

"This is designed as a receiving room before large parties,” said Michael Fine of Hilco Real Estate Auctions, as he showed FOX 11’s crew the grand foyer.

The 43 rooms of the Ellison Bay mansion are ornately decorated, ready for grand entertaining.

• Click here to see photos inside the building

“The house comes with three sets of china,” said Fine, as he showed off the elegantly-set dining room, butler’s serving room and kitchen. The main kitchen measures 18 by 25 feet.

Heiress Judith Blazer built the house in 1993 to mimic 19th century homes on the East Coast.

She sold it to the current owners in 2005.

“It’s been on the market three years, conventionally, at which time the owners decided to take it to auction,” said Fine.

He says the couple from California who purchased it took ill before moving in. They never lived in the home. Now, their estate maintains the property.

One of the more traditional and eye-catching rooms: a stately two-story library, designed in the style of the Vanderbilt mansion.

“Spiral staircase, leaded glass stained window,” described Fine. “An entrance from the balcony above into the owner's bedroom."

But the mansion's not without modern amenities.

"Down the hall here is the home theater,” he said, leading the way into a recreation of an old movie theater, complete with box office and concession stands.

“The house comes with the movie collection as well,” he said, leading our crew into a cavernous back room behind the big movie screen, with shelves of classic films spanning several genres.

Down the hall from the movie theater, past the library and several sitting rooms, there’s the pool and spa wing of the house. The pool room itself includes tropical plants, a floor made of Jerusalem quarry stone, and several waterfalls—including one that connects the 14-person whirlpool spa to the pool.

The indoor pool area also includes its own fully-functioning kitchen, guest locker room, steam shower and bathroom.

The lavish home boasts three grand guest suites, 14 total bathrooms and one astonishingly large master suite: two dressing rooms, two bathrooms, a sitting room and a fitness room—complete with elevator access.

“(The master suite) is 5,000 feet total, so it's larger than the average home in the United States,” said Fine.

The home features views of Green Bay with plenty of outdoor seating. But with nearly $140,000 in annual property taxes, Sur la Baie's costs are breathtaking as the view.

"We've had a lot of interest in it already,” said Fine, saying he’s convinced the house will sell well. “The Door County area is incredibly well-known around the Midwest and the entire country.”

There's no minimum bid for the auction. But, the home previously sold for $18.5 million. Real estate agents expect with the markets how they are right now a buyer with enough cash could get a great deal on this priceless home.

Sur la Baie hits the auction block Nov. 14.

A beach house, guest chalet and 80-acre development site are also up for auction. You can bid on those parcels together or separately. You can also bid on the mansion for a furnished or unfurnished price.