A rare historic Murray Hill townhouse is ready to be brought into the 21st century

By Virginia K. Smith | April 19, 2017 - 1:45PM

Murray Hill may have the reputation as a favorite weekend hangout of boozed-up young finance guys, but amid the bottomless brunches and high-priced rentals, you''ll also find majestic old gems from the city's architectural past, such as the gated side street at Sniffen Court.

And this five-bedroom townhouse at 150 East 38th Street is another prime example, with its unusual courtyard entrance (shared with the building next door), and elegant old interiors with plenty of original detail. The parlor level includes a living room with built-ins and a fireplace, as well as a wood-paneled library with bay windows, another fireplace, and an adjacent wet bar and powder room:

The library leads out to the terrace, which has a sitting porch overlooking a spacious garden.

The ground floor includes a kitchen, a separate service entrance, and the dining room. (The listing notes that this is the first time in 53 years the home has hit the market, and given that neither the bathrooms nor the kitchen are pictured, it's a fair bet that any prospective buyer should budget likely renovations in both areas.)

The second floor has two bedrooms, both of which have en-suite bathrooms, though the listing notes that the entire floor could be turned into a single master suite. On the next floor up, there are two more bedrooms (again, each with its own full bathroom), as well as an office with a fireplace.

Though most buyers will certainly end up spending healthy amount of cash on upgrades to this elegant older home, at an asking price of $4.9 million, the property seems priced to offset its status as a slight fixer upper. Whether it's a worthy tradeoff is up to you.

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