Townhouse pick of the week

A Hamilton Heights townhouse known for the owner's art and acrobatics, for $2,680,000

Mimi headsht
By Mimi OConnor  |
September 12, 2018 - 12:00PM
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The home's double staircase is a striking feature. 

Corcoran

Want a townhouse that doesn't look like everybody else's? Check out "The Art House," aka "Musee Maison" at 532 West 148th St. in Hamilton Heights. Listed for $2,680,000, this two family measures 2,646 square feet and is the home of artist and acrobat Luis Da Cruz, who bought the building in 2006 for $995,000, gut renovated it and filled it with art. (It was previously on the market for $2.5 million.) 

According to the Daily News, he held "champagne-fueled" parties a couple of times a year, attracting art lovers to the whimsically decorated house, where he would entertain his guests with acrobatic performances.

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Built in 1920, the townhouse has many striking features, including five original fireplaces, a grand double staircase, Victorian cherry wood paneling, 14-foot beamed ceilings, and hardwood floors. 

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There's a large and modern chef's kitchen with recessed lighting and exposed brick walls, as well as a sizable formal dining room for entertaining. 

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The townhouse has three bedrooms, one on the parlor floor and two on the fourth floor. 

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A one-bedroom garden apartment has its own entrance to the garden in back. The townhouse also has a roof deck. 

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Storage is available in the building's sub-cellar, and shopping and dining can be found along both Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. Riverbank State Park is a few blocks away, and the A, C, B, and D trains are five blocks away at 145th Street at St. Nicholas Avenue, and the 1 is at 145th Street and Broadway. 

 

Mimi headsht

Mimi OConnor

Contributing Writer

Mimi O’Connor has written about New York City real estate for publications that include Brick Underground, Refinery29, and Thrillist. She is the recipient of two awards from the National Association of Real Estate Editors for interior design and service journalism. Her writing on New York City, parenting, events, and culture has also appeared in Parents, Red Tricycle, BizBash, and Time Out New York.

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

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