For more than a hundred years, one New York City apartment has been captivating tourists and residents alike.
Now, 75 1/2 Bedford Street is for sale.
That’s right, 75 1/2. New York’s skinniest house has been home to actors Cary Grant and John Barrymore and poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. Built in 1873, the West Village home is 9.6 feet wide and 990 square feet.
But the skinny home has a fat asking price tag: $4.3 million.
TODAY’s real estate expert Barbara Corcoran recently got an exclusive tour of the slim digs from real estate broker Bo Poulsen, who called it “atypical” of its time.
Built in the carriage style, the wee residence was wedged between two existing homes. “Everybody in New York wanted to use the space that they have,” said Poulsen. “And they squeezed this little house in between the two that were there before it.”
Corcoran was so incredulous of the space, she measured it herself. She even questioned whether a bed would fit in the master bedroom.
While the once-bohemian neighborhood is now one of the borough’s priciest ZIP codes, with a kitchen so mini Corcoran likened its oven to an Easy-Bake, it’s hard to imagine paying so much for so little ... width.
"You know when you enter here it’s kind of like entering the rabbit hole," said Poulsen. “Your mind kind of expands the room and it’s just a great space.”
The house features three bedrooms, two baths, four working fireplaces, original beams and a communal garden. A narrow staircase links the seven rooms. And after a $1 million “gut renovation,” Poulsen believes the asking price (nearly twice what it sold for last year) is a steal. “For under 6 million you really don’t get anything in the West Village,” he said.
Market value aside, even Poulsen admitted it will take a special buyer to snap up this unique home.
“Well, I think it’s definitely someone who has to have an open mind,” he said.