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New York PostBy Hannah FrishbergOct. 12, 2022
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This townhouse — arguably the most svelte in Manhattan — has been claimed.
Greenwich Village’s 75½ Bedford St. is known for once being home to the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay — and for measuring just 9 feet, 6 inches wide. The property hit the market last August and was initially listed for $4.9 million, a number which was cut down to $4.19 million this summer and has now entered contract, 6sqft reported.
But it’s the width that, quite literally, stands out the most. The listing images show a narrow facade that leads to a narrow interior, which can fit a kitchen — one that looks larger thanks to a strategically placed mirror — a skinny bathroom with room for a tub and living areas with built-in storage to help ease the crunch. Previous reports have indicated that, inside, the property’s widest rooms would measure an even tighter 8 feet, 4 inches.
The 19th-century building, known as Millay’s House for the poet’s time there from 1923 to 1924, boasts three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and four woodburning fireplaces spread over a relatively wee 999 square feet of interior space.
There are original exposed bricks and beams, central air, white oak flooring and a fully finished basement with a full bath, two closets and a laundry room. In the rear of the first and second levels, there are floor-to-ceiling French doors that open onto balconies overlooking the “tree-shaded” backyard (there are 124-square-feet of exterior space in total) and all three stories have an open layout. The kitchen has custom millwork and Italian marble countertops.
The second story balcony is accessed from the primary bathroom, which shares a wall with a half-bath.
“With its unique architecture, this famous home is historically significant and shares notable residents,” Oh told The Post. “In 1923, the house was leased by a consortium of artists who used it for actors working at the nearby Cherry Lane Theater. Cary Grant and John Barrymore stayed at the house while performing at the Cherry Lane during this time,” as did the anthropologist Margaret Mead and the cartoonist William Steig.
Millay, meanwhile, is credited with coining the phrase “my candle burns at both ends,” The Post reported in 2013, when the home sold for $3.25 million. In 1999, The Post reported the home hit the market for $2.75 million.
The listing was held by Nest Seekers’ Hanna Oh.
